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 

Educator Spotlight: Leigh Ann Emery

Leigh Ann Emery, an Interpretive Park Guide for Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. In this role, she assists with daily educational programming and roving the mountain to engage with guests. Leigh Ann says she has been in her position for four years and has taken on new responsibilities. “As I’ve progressed in my position, I also assist with planning special events, mentoring new staff members and developing content for long-term exhibits and interpretive signage. When guests ask me about my job while I’m stationed on Linville Peak, I often tell them I have “the best office in the world,” says Leigh Ann.

When asked about her favorite part of the certification program, Leigh Ann says it was the flexibility. “It felt a lot like a choose your own adventure! Planning out site visits and selecting workshops that sounded interesting was so enjoyable – it gave me plenty of things to look forward to on the calendar! Every time I went to another facility around the state for a site visit, I came back to work full of inspiration for building up our own exhibits and programs.”

Leigh Ann says the experience in the program that stood out for her was attending the 75^th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “I spent four days exploring the park on guided excursions looking at nature of all kinds. I attended programs focused on lichen, mosses, salamanders, geology, fungi, and so much more! It was so incredible to meet such a wonderful group of passionate people with a mix of backgrounds - educators, biologists, lifelong learners, etc. One of my favorite parts was getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the specimens stored at the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center. Seeing plant specimens that were pressed in the late 1800s was awe-inspiring!”

For her community partnership project, Leigh Ann facilitated nature journaling outings for Avery County High School’s Environmental Club. “I met with the students every other week at a location within Avery County, including the school campus, local hiking trails, and Grandfather Mountain. During meetings I guided the students on the basics of nature journaling and the specifics of each meeting’s prompt. Once students began working on their prompts, I joined them with my own journal and facilitated conversations about nature, journaling, and other topics. While nature journaling is the primary activity for this project, my hope is that this will become a long-term outreach program to not only better connect the students to nature, but also to offer a professional connection for students to lean on as they begin preparing for college and their own career paths.”

Leigh Ann says she started working on her certification at the beginning of her journey as a nonformal educator and that the program had an impact on her teaching. “The more steps I took towards completing my certification, the more my teaching style was shaped by all the workshops and professional development opportunities. I would not be the educator I am today without the certification program. I am so grateful for all the incredible resources I have gained through this process and for all the incredible educators I have met along the way.”

When asked if the program changed her views about environmental issues, Leigh Ann says it made her realize the importance of environmental educators. “We help make the connections needed in order to inspire care and stewardship of the environment. I look forward to continuing to help current and future generations build those closer connections to the environment around them.”

Educator Spotlight: Cody Orman

Cody Orman, Education Coordinator and Assistant Lake Manager at Salem Lake Park in Winston-Salem recently completed his NC Environmental Education Certification.

Cody says when he started at the lake, they didn’t offer any environmental education programs. “I am proud to say we now offer around 15 programs a year and have had 600 participants just in 2025.” When Cody isn’t working he enjoys spending time with his wife and three dogs, playing soccer and going to the gym.

Cody says his favorite part of the program was meeting other educators. “While attending the class I found talking with people that were in similar roles and exchanging knowledge was very beneficial. In the last few years, I have learned so much about environmental education from the instructors and the other educators participating in in the classes.”

When asked what experience in the program stood out for him, Cody says it was the community partnership project. Cody enhanced an area of the park by partnering with a group called FORBA, Forsyth Off Road Bicycle Association to create a mountain biking trail and a tree identification trail for kids. “This has affected the community tremendously. An area of the park that was unused space was turned into a nice place to learn to ride a mountain bike or take a short walk and learn about native trees.

Cody says the program changed his approach to teaching. “The certification program gave me the skill of knowing what to teach to students at a certain age. Particularly, knowing what level age groups would be at. Another area I improved in was classroom management and lesson planning.”

In terms of environmental issues Cody said it changed the way he viewed environmental education. “I learned how important environmental education is and how it will help the next generation by giving them the tools to face problems in our world.”