Melissa Dowland – Facilitator of Wonder: Celebrating a North Carolina Educator as She Begins a New Chapter

Melissa at one of her favorite places - the swamps along the Roanoke River in Eastern NC.

Melissa Dowland recently left her position as the Manager of Teacher Education for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Over her 20+ year career at the museum, Melissa shepherded hundreds of educators to some of the most incredible natural areas in North Carolina, the United States, and beyond. She is an institution.

Whether it’s watching a geyser erupt in Yellowstone National Park or examining the rich biodiversity in their own backyards, Melissa has created professional development experiences for educators that have enhanced and reshaped their teaching and, in many cases, their careers, and their lives.

Melissa's last Educator Trek at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge 

Educator Ginny Mason reflected on Melissa’s impact on her professionally as an educator and personally: How do I count the ways? What words do I pick to describe the impact you’ve had on my classroom, my teaching, my life? Thank you. What an inadequate phrase but it will suffice. Thank you for moments of awe. Thank you for moments of quiet, moments of laughter, moments of listening, moments of inspiration, moments of reflection. Thank you for reminding me that it's okay to be silly, to ask questions, to be well and truly overwhelmed by nature. Thank you for investing so much of yourself into me and other teachers. Thank you for being a facilitator of wonder. Thank you for showing me rocks and butterflies and wolves and mountains and swamps and snakes and bison and wildflowers.

Melissa and her colleague Megan Davis

Melissa has also had a profound impact on the landscape of school grounds across North Carolina by helping educators transform their campuses into habitats for wildlife and into outdoor classrooms for students to learn through hands-on experiences with nature.

There are few places in North Carolina that Melissa hasn’t interpreted for students or teachers, from taking the museum’s Junior Curators to the cypress swamps of the Roanoke River to leading educators through the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Melissa has written that her greatest privilege has been to immerse teachers in nature and to create the sense of wonder that comes from those authentic experiences.

A follow-up meeting for the 2024 Yellowstone in Winter Institute

Melissa is also well-known for leading the Educators of Excellence Institutes to Yellowstone National Park. Through these trips Melissa developed a deep love for the park that led her to leave her beloved North Carolina to fulfill a long-time dream of moving to a home on the doorstep of Yellowstone.

Although the environmental education community in North Carolina will miss her, it's a bit comforting to know that she is maintaining her connections to the state by working for the museum part-time as a co-leader for future Yellowstone Institutes, allowing her to continue inspiring educators through the wonders of the natural world.

Please share your stories about Melissa! You can post in the comments on our Facebook page or on our Instagram. 

Observing pollinators on Black Balsam Trail