Educator Spotlight: Katherine Baxter

Katherine Baxter, a horticulturist at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Gaston County recently earned her NC Environmental Education Certification. Before joining the botanical garden, Katherine worked as an environmental educator at Haw River State Park for five years. As an environmental educator, Katherine is enthusiastic about cultivating an appreciation for nature in every audience. In her personal time, Katherine enjoys spending time growing vegetables and flowers in her garden, walking in the woods, and watching wildlife.

Katherine says her favorite part of the certification program was the opportunity to constantly learn, grow, and improve. “Whether I was in a creek identifying aquatic organisms during a workshop or attending a virtual lecture on environmental justice, I was always learning and growing as an educator during this program. Of course, I also enjoyed meeting teachers, homeschoolers, and non-formal educators from all over North Carolina who are also passionate about the environment and education.”

When asked what part of the program stood out to Katherine, she said it was the “Playing Out” or Playful Pedagogy workshop series by Linda Kinney at the NC Zoo. “I found those workshops unique, fascinating, and engaging. This workshop series is enthralling to me because I am interested in the relationship between childhood play outdoors and developing a connection with nature. Through this experience, I gained an appreciation for freely chosen play and I learned practices to support my student’s play.”

For her community partnership project, Katherine identified a need for an educational garden in her community and established a pollinator garden that provides park guests of all ages the opportunity to appreciate and learn about the importance of pollinators and native plant species. “The pollinator garden is a beautiful, interactive space to increase environmental awareness for the community while providing essential food sources and habitat for pollinator populations!”

Katherine says the certification program changed her approach to teaching. “The program has equipped me with a beneficial set of teaching strategies. I've learned about inquiry-based approaches and have increased the quality of my programs by applying the 5E Teaching Model. I've learned classroom management methods, tips for motivating learning, and the value of embracing teachable moments.”

Katherine said the certification program changed the way she views environmental issues. “While I studied Environmental and Sustainability Studies in college, every day I was learning about environmental destruction caused by human activity. Consistently learning about devastating environmental issues was overwhelming, so when I began the EE Certification Program it was refreshing to change my focus to something constructive: facilitating positive outdoor experiences and promoting environmental literacy. Instead of focusing on environmental degradation, I find it more helpful to emphasis the beauty and wonder of the natural world and feasible solutions to protect the environment. As an environmental educator I can make a positive difference in my community by supporting student's questions, investigations, understanding, knowledge, skills, and decisions.”