Dr. Katie Dudley Highlights Outdoor Recreation's Conservation Role

ALTON - Dr. Katie Dudley will speak in Alton about how time spent outdoors, not memorizing scientific names, helped shape her commitment to conservation and how recreation can open broader pathways into environmental stewardship.

Dudley, a Community and Economic Development Specialist with University of Illinois Extension, will give the talk, titled “You Don’t Have to Name the Tree to Love the Forest,” at the Old Bakery Beer Company. Attendees are invited to arrive early at 5:30 p.m. for dinner and to socialize with Sierra Club members and other environmentalists.

The talk focuses on outdoor recreation as a gateway to lasting environmental commitment and on ways communities can create more inclusive routes into stewardship. It also examines recreation’s role in protecting land and water, supporting local economies, strengthening a conservation workforce, and contributing to long-term community resilience.

“What turns someone into a conservationist? For Dr. Katie Dudley, it wasn’t memorizing scientific names, it was working in national parks, as a whitewater raft guide, and discovering that connection often begins with simply being outside,” she said.

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