Malika Shettar
Mississippi Ecological Services Field Office, Jackson, Mississippi
Hi, I am Malika Shettar, a senior in high school in Mississippi. I have been interested in environmental issues since middle school and have been in the Environmental Club at school since its inception. I enjoy volunteering at the Museum of Natural Science as a camp counselor guide for travelling adult exhibits, or catching butterflies for the annual butterfly count. The month at the Prefecto Animal Rescue Center in Costa Rica was incredible caring for inhumanely injured rain forest animals and building habitats for them as well as meeting international students in our joint interest in the flora, and the fauna . The picture of me is from there with Benjamin. I care about health issues of youth and am involved in the Generation Free Youth Advisory Board to educate youth about the dangers of tobacco. I also researched sleep habits of teens and young adults and found significant chronic sleep deprivation leading to a myriad of other problems. I plan to major in Environmental Science in college while also continuing Spanish and will study abroad as well. I dream job would be to be an environmental ambassador in a Spanish speaking country.
More on Malika...
Mississippi Field Office’s Youth Ambassador Malika Shettar Volunteers at Outdoorama
Article by Connie Dickard, Public Affairs Specialist, Mississippi Field Office, Jackson
The Mississippi Field Office’s youth ambassador, Malika Shettar, along with about 500 kids and adults, celebrated National Hunting and Fishing Day and National Public Lands Day at the Mississippi Wildlife Federation’s annual event called “Outdoorama on the Rez”.
Malika volunteered at the fishing station, plus she made the rounds to all of the other activities, taking lots of pictures as she went along. In addition to capturing kids on camera while they caught several catfish, Malika also took some super shots of the budding boys and girls learning how to: reload shells, shoot skeet and sporting clays, tie flies and fly fish, use a bow and arrow, and canoe. There were some more Kodak moments of the children learning to use a tree stand safely, learning about boating safety, watching how knives are made and enjoying several different kinds of live animals up close and personal.
The children, ranging in age from 5 years to 14, got some fun hands-on experience with the tools and concepts of hunting and fishing in Mississippi as presented by a number of agencies and organizations, including: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; Mississippi Museum of Natural Science; American Zookeepers Association; National Wild Turkey Federation; Mississippi Bowhunters Association; Treestand Manufacturers Association and many more.
Outdoorama on the Rez is a free event that takes place every fall at Turcotte Lab, a hunter education and fisheries research facility, located on the Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson, Mississippi.
Malika's page on the Jackson Ecological Services Site
The Jackson Ecological Services Office is proud to have Malika as their ambassador. She has her own page and more photos here: http://www.fws.gov/mississippies/Youth%20Ambassador.html
