The Kentucky Forest Leadership Program (KFLP) is a collaborative effort of UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension, UK Entomology Extension, the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Kentucky Division of Forestry. The educational program managed and administered by UK Forestry and Natural Resources Extension, Laurie Thomas.

KFLP is designed to educate high school students about the importance of Kentucky’s environment and natural resources. The statewide program began in the mid-1980s but has been in its current format that includes three education tracks for students to choose, Forestry, Entomology and Wildlife since 2016. Each year KFLP typically attracts between 25 and 30 students; this past summer 32 students from 21 different Kentucky counties as well as students from Wisconsin, New Jersey and Indiana attended. To date more than 600 high school students have attended and since 2002, 16 past participants have gone on to pursue forestry and natural resources degrees at the University of Kentucky.

The overall goals of KFLP are that participants will: (1) have a greater understanding about the importance of our forests and natural resources as well as the management and conservation of these resources; (2) be introduced to natural resources professionals and learn about academic programs and careers in this field; and (3) develop team building and leadership skills while working in resource management teams.

The week-long, residential program which has been held at UK’s Robinson Forest since 2021 offers three different areas of concentration: forestry, wildlife and entomology providing participants an in-depth learning experience. Even though the students choose an area of concentration they all work together as a team just like real-life natural resources professionals to design a responsible and sustainable resource management plan for an 80 acre parcel of Kentucky land.

Program assessments and evaluations include pre- and post-testing as well as summative evaluations. Based on the 2022 results, students overall had at 39% gain in knowledge regarding the environment, natural resources and natural resource management. Within concentration areas, forestry students had on average a 40% gain, wildlife students had a 38% gain and entomology students had 38% gain in knowledge during the week. From evaluations students indicated they signed up for KFLP for the following reasons: (1) “wanted to learn more about forests and wildlife”, (2) “wanted to learn from professionals in the field”, and (3) “love being outdoors and have an interest in the environment”. Students also reported what they thought was the most important idea that they will take home from KFLP: “all the different aspects of resource management are interconnected”, “there are many possibilities for my future in college and career”, “we are part of the environment and must act responsibly, “we all have different ideas and opinions and we must learn how to work together”, and “just how much we depend on and use our forests”. Additionally 35% of the students indicated they were interested in pursuing a career that involved working with in the natural resources realm.