DEQ Office of Environmental Education and NC PLT Recognize work of Stanly County Certified Environmental Educator

Stanly County Schools Approves New Outdoor STEM Elective 

Developed by Science and Social Studies Teacher Owens-White

The Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) North Carolina Office of Environmental Education recently visited South Stanly Middle School to present science and social studies teacher Kristin Owens-White with her North Carolina Environmental Educator Certification. DEQ’s Environmental Education Program Manager Lisa Tolley was joined by Renee Strnad with North Carolina State University Forestry Extension who serves as the state coordinator for the North Carolina Project Learning Tree program.

Kristin’s work on the certification program inspired her to develop a new elective for the middle school that will teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) topics through outdoor activities and nature exploration, including weather observations and daily weather reports. The course was recently approved by the Stanly County School Board and the first group of students will begin in August. Owens-White notes that the goal of the new class “is to get kids disconnected from devices and connected to the world around them.”

“It is wonderful to see the direct results of the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification program in supporting teachers like Kristin who are using their local environment and schoolgrounds to engage students in STEM while increasing environmental literacy,” observes Tolley. “We enjoyed touring the school grounds with the students and seeing their excitement as they told us about the birds and plants and why they enjoy their classes with Ms. Owens-White.”

The course will incorporate material from various environmental education programs Owens-White experienced during her certification process, especially NC Project Learning Tree. “Witnessing how Kristin used PLT and the other experiences she had during the EE Certification program to create this new course for her students is so inspiring,” notes Strnad. “I can’t wait to see where it leads.” In addition to Project Learning Tree and other activities, another one of Owens-White’s goals is to have a team from South Stanly Middle School participate in the North Carolina Envirothon, a state-wide natural resource competition for high school and middle school teams that is also part of the international Envirothon competition.

The school hopes the course will benefit students in STEM and other subject areas and expand learning opportunities for students who excel at active and hands-on learning.

The North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program requires 200 hours of workshops, field studies, teaching experiences and a community project. It serves both formal educators in the classroom and “informal” educators, which include educators at parks, forests, gardens, museums, zoos, aquariums, arboretums and other public educational venues. The program builds capacity for education in the state by incorporating existing environmental education programs as essential partners, including NC Project Learning Tree and others. It also facilitates partnerships between formal and informal educators.

The North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program is administered by the DEQ Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. It encourages professional development and establishes standards in environmental education while acknowledging educators committed to environmental stewardship. eenorthcarolina.org

Project Learning Tree ® (PLT) is an award winning, multi-disciplinary environmental education program for educators and students in PreK-grade 12. Nationally, PLT is a program of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. In North Carolina, it is coordinated by North Carolina State University Forestry Extension in collaboration with the North Carolina Forestry Association and the North Carolina Forest Service. forestry.ces.ncsu.edu/ncplt

The North Carolina Envirothon program is a competitive event for high school and middle school teams to compete in a natural resources knowledge and ecology field day against other teams. It stimulates, reinforces and enhances students’ interest in the environment and our state’s natural resources. It is sponsored by the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts with help in organization and implementation from the NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation. ncenvirothon.org

Polk Central Elementary School and Community Celebrate Opening of Nature Trail and Recognize NC Certified Environmental Educator, Nikki Jones

 

Nikki Jones, the Western North Carolina Region Director for Muddy Sneakers, was recognized today for completing her NC Environmental Education Certification. The presentation was part of a full morning of events at Polk Central Elementary, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a restored school nature trail and a special recognition for the school.

Muddy Sneakers is a non-profit organization that provides outdoor science education programs to fifth-grade public school students across the state. The NC Environmental Education Certification program is administered by the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. The nature trail project and new educational programs at the school were part of Jones’s required 200 hours of workshops, field studies, teaching and community project that are required for the program.

Jones’s certificate was presented by Lisa Tolley, the program manager for the Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. Polk Central principal Dr. Kim McMinn attended to congratulate Jones, as well as representatives from project partners which included Conserving Carolina, Polk County Parks and Recreation and RootEd/Constructive Learning Design. The trail project is one of three Polk Central initiatives with RootED, a nonprofit program that helps educators design and deliver project-based and experiential learning. The Polk Central fifth-grade students and several parents, faculty and community members were also on hand for the event.

Nikki Jones and Lisa Tolley

In addition to the honor for Jones and the trail project, the Great Trails State Coalition presented Polk Central with a certificate designating it a “North Carolina Great Trails School” for their efforts in restoring the nature trail. The school trail will now become part of the county’s public trail network.

Andrea Walter and Principal, Dr. Kim McMinn

"I am very proud of our Polk Central Elementary students for taking on this challenge, and for doing an incredible job with the trail,” notes Polk County Schools Superintendent Aaron Green. “Real world learning opportunities make a huge impact on young people, and we are thankful for our community partners and donors who help make these experiences possible. I commend our educators for their emphasis on environmental education, and for helping our students understand that working together to appreciate and preserve our natural resources benefits us all. Thank you, Polk Central students, teachers, and community!"

Jones’s project originated from the longtime educational partnership between Muddy Sneakers and the school’s 5th grade. When she heard that Polk Central’s fifth grade teacher Andrea Walter was looking for help to replace the old tree identification signs on the school’s nature trail, she suggested they collaborate on a bigger project with the fifth-grade students. The Polk Central nature trail had become overgrown and underused, with its old interpretive signs lost, damaged or hidden in new forest growth. Walter wanted to restore the trail for both school and public use, as the immediate area has limited public nature access.

Students, families and community members worked together to rebuild the trail, remove several species of invasive plants and improve the trail’s surface for rainwater runoff. Jones worked with teachers to lead lessons and activities based on the trail and project, design tree identification signs and guide development of student-created virtual signs for the trail that are accessible through Google Maps. “This feature allows the interpretive information on the trail to grow and change over time. Trail users can access the interactive trail map on any device and customize their trail experience by selecting which themes to explore.” The trail is also interdisciplinary. Rebekah Morse, an English Language Arts and social studies teacher, worked with students to conduct community interviews on the history of Polk County which provides an additional layer for the virtual signage.

Jones emphasizes the active role of students on the project. “We worked with students to walk the trail, identify areas that needed repair, plan locations and content for physical and digital trail signs and develop the technology-enhanced trail experiences. Every step of the process was student-centered and aligned with 5th grade standards and project-based learning goals.”

To enhance the community aspect and ensure the success of the project, Jones and Walter connected the teachers and students with supporting organizations and agencies for help, including Conserving Carolina AmeriCorps members, the Kudzu Warriors and the Polk County Parks and Recreation to learn about and remove invasive plants. Students also worked with Ms. Kelly Gay of the Polk Soil and Water Conservation District to learn about how to address erosion on the trail.

Jones notes that the NC Environmental Education Certification Program not only led her to her project with Polk Central, but also enhanced her career. “It was helpful to reconnect with formal learning in the classroom environment and to build year-long relationships with students. It’s important for non-formal education partners to understand the work our fellow educators are doing in schools so that we continue to be strong, supportive partners in all our collaborations.”

Funders for this project included private donors and the Kiwanis Club of Tryon. Jones and the school also credit Polk County Schools Superintendent Aaron Greene and Ronette Dill, Grants & Community Partnerships Coordinator, for their support.

The NC Environmental Education Certification is offered through the Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs to encourage professional development in environmental education and acknowledge educators committed to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.eenorthcarolina.org.

Governor Roy Cooper has designated 2023 as the Year of the Trail in North Carolina. Learn more about this effort and the Great Trails State Coalition at www.greattrailsnc.com.

Educator Spotlight: Miranda Elkins

Miranda Elkins left with partners for her three-acre pollinator garden

Miranda Elkins, the Lincoln County Assistant Ranger with the NC Forest Service recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Miranda works with private landowners to help manage their forests, and she visits schools for special events, supports fire prevention programs and wildfire response in the county and across the state. 

Miranda says her favorite part of earning her certification was the hands-on workshops because participants were able to take parr in the activities to make sure they would translate to the setting she would be working in. 

For her community partnership project, Miranda worked with a Beekeepers Association to establish a three-acre pollinator garden to help educate the public about the importance of our pollinators and why it is it is helpful to provide needed habitat for local pollinators. 

Miranda says the program helped change her approach to teaching. “I learned how to let my audience lead the program and adapt it to their needs. I also learned new ways to get the audience more involved in the learning process and let them build their own conclusions and decisions.”

She also says the program changed the way she thinks about environmental issues. “I now realize that a singular issue can be viewed or interpreted so differently by different groups of people based on where they are from, their own personal experiences and feelings.”

Educator Spotlight: Kim Lehnes

Kim Lehnes, a high school teacher recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Kim teaches biology and AP biology and credits the certification program with helping her start an “encore” or post-retirement career. “I’m that teacher who is always muddy and carrying a net and a bucket. I’m the one in the creek with her classes, trying new ways to engage my students and to learn to respect nature and all its gifts.” Kim loves to explore outdoors, travel, read historical fiction and she is a Disney fanatic. She also enjoys cooking, baking and experimenting with recipes.

Kim says the site visits were one of her favorite parts of the certification program. “I enjoyed observing the diversity our state has to offer. Networking and meeting people of differing career paths that care about the natural world was a positive experience for me.”

Kim says the outdoor workshops really stood out to her, especially the ones that focused on water. She particularly enjoyed coastal events such as CATCH (Caring for Aquatic through Conservation Habits) a program of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Sound Exploration and Sea Turtle Exploration offered by the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. “All the Project WILD activities (a program of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission) were awesome, and I incorporated many of the activities into my classroom activities.”

When asked if the program changed her approach to teaching, Kim says it gave her the opportunity to expand her knowledge and to share her excitement and knowledge with her students and her community. “It allowed me to move my instruction outdoors. My students engaged in real time data collection and interpretation.”

Kim says completing the program helped her realize the importance of sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge about the environment with her community. “The program really did not change my thinking on environmental issues but gave me tools to share environmental issues with others. I appreciate the resources and contacts I made with the supportive staff of the environmental education program, the staff at NCMNS (NC Museum of Natural Sciences) the available online resources, and NC Wildlife Resources Commission and their staff. It is a true gift to have all these resources available to the public. I learned that the opportunities to share are always available even in simple activities and stories.”