Educator Spotlight: Bryce Tholen

Bryce Tholen, the environmental education coordinator and stewardship assistant for the NC Coastal Land Trust, recently completed his NC Environmental Education Certification.

Bryce especially enjoys getting students outdoors. “I connect with schools across multiple coastal counties to offer free in-class teaching programs as well exciting field trips to various preserves, gardens, and forests. I have many hobbies that include outdoor recreation, from surfing to hiking to fishing and hunting, so being able to share my love of the outdoors with students across North Carolina is truly special.”

Bryce says his favorite part of the certification program is the amount of information he learned. “Throughout earning my certification, I took courses on everything from the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion workshop and Methods of Teaching Environmental Education to butterfly identification. In hindsight I am amazed about the variety of information I learned throughout this process.”

The experience in the program that really stood out for Bryce was the bat and amphibian identification course he took at Carolina Beach State Park.  “The tools used to identify bats based on their echolocation was fascinating. And learning the sounds of all the local toads and frogs was great too.”

For his community Bryce coordinated both the environmental education activities and the volunteers for Wilmington’s “Fire in the Pines” festival in 2022. The festival educates the local community about why prescribed burns are important for the longleaf pine ecosystem and includes a small, prescribed fire demonstration. Bryce organized field trips with local Title I schools to Halyburton Park and they participated in an outdoor field trip hosted by local organizations including The Coastal Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, The City of Wilmington, The NC Forest Service, and The NC Longleaf Coalition. “The fire in the pines field trips were exclusively offered to these schools for free. We wanted to provide outdoor educational opportunities for students who do not generally have the resources to participate in such field trips.”

Bryce says the program changed his approach to teaching. “Beyond increasing my knowledge of many topics, the program has also taught me better teaching methods. The way I approach each student is different than before I started my EE certification.”

Educator Spotlight: Abbie Joines

Abbie Joines, a senior at NC State University in agricultural science and a substitute teacher for Alleghany County Public Schools, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Abbie also is a volunteer with the Alleghany 4-H program and the leader for a water education club called the Alleghany 4-H River Otters. In her personal time, she enjoys being outdoors hiking, kayaking or playing pickleball.

Abbie says her favorite part of earning her certification was connecting with educators in the environmental education field and learning about all the career opportunities in the field. “The knowledge and advice that I have gained from talking to other educators while completing this certification has been so valuable to my success within any environmental educator role that I have played. I have connected with other educators that share the same interests as me, and that values teaching about the environment as much as I do.”

The experience in the program that stood out to Abbie was the Sustainable Forestry Teachers Experience. “This experience allowed me to connect with other environmental educators from different backgrounds and learn new ideas about teaching forestry. I learned about the forestry industry in North Carolina and the Project Learning Tree curriculum. I enjoy incorporating the PLT curriculum into programs that I do with Alleghany 4-H participants.”

For her community partnership project that is required for certification, Abbie designed and installed educational signage on water quality topics at Alleghany Memorial Veterans Park. The signs give an overview of the stream at the park and include the components of the stream, the stream’s water quality, efforts to restore the stream, and macroinvertebrates and the biodiversity of the stream. “I partnered with Alleghany Parks and Recreation to utilize a community space for the signage to be displayed. I also partnered with Alleghany 4-H by creating a Stream Strides scavenger hunt.”

Abbie says the program changed her approach to teaching. “Before participating in the certification program, I had very little experience with environmental education and teaching. I started my certification during the summer before my senior year in high school while interning with the Alleghany Cooperative Extension staff. I feel that this certification helped me to learn about the importance of experiential learning and sparking a student's curiosity about what they are learning. Throughout this certification, I have learned about curriculum, standards, objectives, and evaluation.”

She says the program also changed the way she views environmental issues. “I think about environmental issues completely different than before I started this certification. Now I think about environmental issues with a systems approach, and I look at the complexity of issues. Instead of looking at a big picture environmental issue, I look at the different aspects of an issue, and what can be done on small and large scales to improve the issue.”

Educator Spotlight - Dena Sheets

Dena Sheets, an elementary teaching assistant at Piney Creek School in Alleghany County, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Dena has also served as an Envirothon Advisor to middle school students for the last two years. Prior to her teaching position, she worked for the Alleghany Soil and Water Conservation District as an education coordinator where she started the certification program. In her personal time, she likes to spend time with her husband, Dustin, and her daughters, Heidi and Amy on their farm riding ATVs, camping, hiking, and playing in the water, fishing, tubing, or kayaking. She is also an active member of Sparta First Baptist Church.

Dena says her favorite part of earning her certification was meeting people from all regions of the state. “It's nice to see familiar faces when attending trainings, or visiting state parks, but my favorite thing of all about earning my certification is being able to share what I have learned with the students. I hope and pray that I might cultivate interest and passion for the outdoors and for conservation in some of these students.”

When asked about an experience that stood out to her, she says it was the workshop she attended at Carolina Beach State Park. “We walked the trails, found Venus flytraps, and caught crabs in the marsh. Being from the mountains, I had never been on a hike like that. I also enjoyed the workshop at Fort Macon State Park and working in groups to develop imaginary beach developments. Some of us were members of the chamber of commerce. Some of us were members of environmental groups. Some of us were general contractors. It was fun and educational.”

For her community partnership project, Dena did a “From Seed to Plate” educational garden program. “I worked with NC Cooperative Extension and Piney Creek School to enrich lesson plans by providing supplies for teachers and students to be able to start vegetables and fruits inside from seeds, and then eventually we moved those plants outside to raised bed gardens. I believe this project will affect our community by teaching the students that vegetables and fruits don't simply come from stores. I also believe this project may bring awareness to students and adults that anyone can grow vegetables and fruits, not just farmers and large producers.”

Dena says the certification program changed her approach to teaching. “Through this certification process I have learned that, in my opinion, hands-on is the best approach. I believe learning hands-on helps the students retain what has been taught. I also believe it sparks more interest and gives the students a sense of success because they are doing things with their own hands, through their own hard work.”

She says the program also changed the way she views environmental issues. “My mind has been opened to issues I never considered "environmental issues" before. Participating in workshops such as JEDI and En-ROADS has taught me that our environment is affected by so many factors, not just the weather or physical factors. I have changed my way of thinking about how to teach environmental issues after becoming aware of the fact that some students do not have green spaces at their homes, or at their schools. Factors such as that never crossed my mind before starting this process.”