Educator Spotlight: Anganette Byrd

Anganette Byrd, education coordinator with Mecklenburg Soil and Water Conservation District, recently completed her N.C. Environmental Education Certification. As an education coordinator, Anganette works with both classroom teachers and nonformal educators throughout the year and is responsible for promoting and coordinating contests and programs such as North Carolina Envirothon and the Resource Conservation Workshops.

Anganette says her favorite part of earning her certification was learning about bears and spiders. “I enjoyed learning in an outdoor setting because it really opens up the mind. When I attended school, it was very structured and we only went outdoors for recess. I also enjoyed learning how to customize presentations to appeal to specific audiences such as students with learning disabilities or autism.”

When asked about the certification experience that stands out for her, Anganette says it was a raptor workshop at Grandfather Mountain during which she had to cross the mile-high swinging bridge. “Sharon Becker (the district interpretation and education specialist for N.C. State Parks) had already warned everyone in advance that if you have a fear of heights it might be best that you not attend. I made up my mind that this was my opportunity to overcome my fear of heights. With the help of my fellow classmates encouraging me I made it safely across the bridge and back! What a great experience and I plan to cross the mile-high swinging bridge again someday.”

For her community partnership project, Anganette completed a storm drain stenciling project and litter pickup in her community. Her focus was to educate community members about the connection between the storm drains and the neighborhood creek and how allowing grass clipping, debris, and other pollution to enter the storm drain affects the health of our local creeks and rivers.

Anganette says learning the instructional vision of environmental education and three important concepts: systems, interdependence and the importance of where one lives, shaped the way she approaches education. “We, as educators must take a balanced approach to instruction.”  

To learn more about the Mecklenberg County Soil and Water Conservation District, visit their website. To find out more about the Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs, visit www.eenorthcarolina.org

Educator Spotlight: Ashley Hamlet

Ashley Hamlet, an education coordinator for Sylvan Heights Bird Park, recently completed the N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program. Ashley teaches programs on birds, ecology and wetland conservation, coordinates the park’s summer camp, leads guided tours, and does outreach in eastern North Carolina.

Ashley says the favorite part of the certification program was learning from other educators from all over the state. “I’ve met some incredible people and everyone brings their unique experience to the table.” Of her experiences in the program, Ashley says that the knowledge of resources component stood out for her. “It required me to get out and visit some of our wonderful Environmental Education Centers I don’t always get a chance to see. I love traveling to EE centers to see the work that others are doing and after I experience these wonderful places, I can recommend them to others!”

For her community partnership project, Ashley partnered with the City of Rocky Mount Parks and Recreation Department to create a pollinator habitat within the Rocky Mount parks system on an area of unused green space near the community gardens to attract bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and other insects. “The pollinator habitat was designed to not only increase the biodiversity of the park, but to also give park visitors and local organizations access to the habitat for use in educational classes, activities, and citizen science projects. I enjoyed being able to create a project reflecting my interests and also creating a beautiful habitat in a vacant space. Several of Rocky Mount’s parks have designated open space that was acquired through the FEMA buyout program after the severe flooding damage the community received during hurricane Floyd. These areas, including a portion of Sunset Park, must remain as open space as a part of flood hazard mitigation and are routinely mowed to maintain only grass. As I learned this information, creating pollinator habitat seemed to be a beneficial way to utilize some of the park’s green space, provide habitat for pollinators, and beautify a portion of the park.”

Ashley says participating in the certification program helped her expand her “teaching toolbox.” “Through the classes I’ve taken in the certification program, I’ve learned teaching techniques for environmental education that incorporate science – but also reach into other areas like art, math and language arts. The flexibility of environmental education is the fun part! You can employ any number of different active and hands-on teaching strategies to reach your audience.”

Ashley says the program also changed the way she thinks about environmental issues. “The certification program has expanded my view on environmental issues, not only in gaining a better grasp on the science behind the topic but also on the interpretive side. As science-minded professionals, I think we can sometimes struggle to explain complex data to the public. The certification program has made me more aware of the need for interpretation and given me the tools to tackle those issues. The training helps you to see both sides of the issue.”

For more information about Sylvan Heights Bird Park visit http://shwpark.com

For more information about the N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program visit http://www.eenorthcarolina.org

How I Use Project WET: Whetting Kids’ Appetites for STEAM

In North Carolina, Project WET is coordinated by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources. Project WET workshops provide educators with credits towards the department’s EnvironmentalEducation Certification Program, administered by the Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. Jason Vanzant is currently enrolled in the EE Certification program.

How I Use Project WET: Whetting Kids’ Appetites for STEAM

By Jason Vanzant, STEAM lab educator, Newport, North Carolina

Editor’s Note: In a recent post on his Vantaztic Learning blog, Jason Vanzant (a.k.a. @MrVantaztic on Twitter) called his new job as a science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) instructor a dream come true. It’s a dream he’s worked hard to achieve, applying for and winning a grant for just over $50,000 from Lowe’s Education Toolbox earlier this year. The grant allowed him to turn a classroom in Bogue Sound Elementary School—a K-5 school in Newport, North Carolina, where he had been teaching fourth grade—into a functional STEAM lab. After we contacted him via Twitter, he wrote a guest post telling us how and why he uses Project WET, as well as why water education is important to him. 

Water is and has been important to me since I was a kid. I remember watching Sesame Street's snippet on brushing your teeth and why turning the faucet off was important. When I was in 5th grade, I began to consciously select water instead of soft drinks as my beverage of choice, and that has remained a constant in my life to this day.
As a kid I swam in quarry ponds, and now I live in an area of estuaries and Atlantic waves. Water is part of our life force: Nearly three-quarters of our planet is covered with water, and our bodies are made up of 60 percent water. It's important for our future that young people be aware of how much water we have to share, compared to the increasing population it must provide for, and know what responsible measures we must take to ensure its continuous use.  

I have been fortunate in many aspects of my career. Receiving a grant through Lowe's Toolbox for Education to renovate a classroom into a full functioning lab encompassing areas of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics has been an incredible opportunity. The STEAM lab serves as the hub for all elementary grade levels, offering students an opportunity to create, explore through hands-on experiences and develop critical thinking skills. The lab also provides educators the opportunity to co-teach and gives students alternative methods to learn from one another.
In the lab, all students have access to various forms of technology that allow them to voice their findings and discoveries on social media platforms, learn to code, operate robotics and track and record data. They can apply the data that they track and record to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, while also being able to explore by means of interactive digital labs and supplement as a resource for research.
Overall, the goal of the STEAM lab renovation project is to have each student increase their appetite for one of the many fields science has to offer, and pique those interests by supplying young minds with an environment that engages and stimulates. 

As a full-time STEAM instructor, my role allows me to co-teach with grade levels K-5, meeting their science content, assisting as a math coach and leading students in engineering, problem-based and project-based learning activities. Project WET, Project WILD and Project WILD Aquatic play large roles in many of the lessons I integrate into our learning. All of these resources are my "playbook". What I love about Project WET's activities is that they cover an array of skills and topics within a lesson. The integration of math skills, tied with environmental science, tied to problem-based learning and critical thinking is incredible. What I love above all else is that the activities are hands-on. They reach those students who are the “do-ers”.

There are so many activities to choose from that picking my favorites is tough, but here are three of my particular favorites:

A Drop in the Bucket: This activity is a great way to make students conscientious about water while also showing metric volume measurement and practicing basic subtraction facts. Students can create graphs to match the visuals from the graduated cylinders and can compare how much water is on our planet versus how much water the human race actually has at our disposal. With an ever-increasing population, this one's a wake-up call to my students.

The Incredible Journey: I love that this gets the kids outdoors and moving. It’s an awesome way for students to move through the water cycle and learn important vocabulary, like evaporation, transpiration and sublimation. I use this activity as a precursor to discussing physical changes for fifth graders. Students roll the dice, keep a record of the stations they travel to (groundwater, glaciers, the ocean, clouds, animals, plants, rivers, soil) and then we gather back to analyze the data and compare results. 

What’s the Solution? This one's a forensic investigation, as students use their knowledge of water's solvent properties and chemical changes. They read a case and explore through three hands-on stations (Dissolving Solids in Water, Dissolving Liquids in Water, Dissolving Gases in Water) to figure out that the butler might actually have done it (or not).  It’s another great critical thinking lesson.

Thank you, Project WET.  Thank you for the cross curricular lessons, the hands-on experiences you provide, the awareness of why water is so vital to our existence and the fun that comes with learning.  You've made my job that much easier and more enjoyable.

Jason was also featured on WNCT 9 video and story Bogue Sound teacher gets grant to turn classroom into STEAM lab:

This post appeared on the national Project WET website and is posted here with permission.  http://www.projectwet.org/media/blog/how-i-use-project-wet-whetting-kids-appetites-steam