Environmental Educator - What Does That Mean?

This is a guest post by Lindsey Bijas. Lindsey is a CTNC (Conservation Trust for North Carolina) AmeriCorps member serving at the Piedmont Triad Regional Council as an environmental educator and outreach coordinator. Lindsey's post was originally featured in the Stormwater SMART  blog.

"Environmental education is, at its heart, an integrative undertaking. Instructors teach across disciplines, linking the methods and content of natural and social sciences, arts, mathematics, and humanities to help learners fully understand and address complex environmental issues." (Source: North American Association for Environmental Education's Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators) 

When someone asks me what I do, I have to choose my words carefully. How can I explain what I do within 2 minutes or less without losing their attention and completely confusing them? My usual response is, "I'm an AmeriCorps member serving at the Piedmont Triad Regional Council as an environmental educator and outreach coordinator for their Stormwater SMART program *and cue deep breath* which is made possible through a partnership by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and the NC Commission on Volunteerism." After I've just spewed out everything I could think to best explain my position, I usually look at their face and see an expression of "I have no idea what you just said, but I'm going to smile and nod anyway!" You know what? That's fine, because environmental education is truly a complex subject to try to explain, especially since it can be interpreted differently from one person to the next. So, I'm going to try to explain to you what being an environmental educator means to me.

That's me a year ago holding a leucistic red-talked hawk

Usually, someone has a pivotal moment in their life when they realize "this is it, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life." I can honestly tell you that didn't happen for me until about my second year of attending community college, but I've been obsessed with and immersing myself in nature for as long as I can remember. Whether it was seeing how high I could climb the large evergreen tree in my front yard, or bringing injured box turtles into my house; I loved everything there was to love about nature and have carried that passion with me throughout my life.  So, how did I get exposed to environmental education specifically? I'm glad you asked! 

Over 2 years ago, I packed up my bags and traveled over 900 miles away from my home in New Jersey to a college town in the mountains of North Carolina. It was here that I had finally found my niche. For the next two years, I majored in wildlife biology with a concentration in wildlife rehabilitation and got plenty of exposure to environmental educational programs. I provided programs mostly focusing on wildlife, conservation, and human impact on the wildlife found in North Carolina. Now, how did I go from talking about animals to stormwater and pollution? Very easily! You see, once you have an understanding that everything in the environment is connected (i.e. wildlife, humans, natural resources), you want others to be able to make that connection as well. Although my initial passion was with wildlife, I soon realized that educating people about the environment as a whole (especially water quality) was the bigger picture at hand.

That's me now educating boy scouts about pollution and runoff 

Even when providing programs on different topics, I still see the same results in my audiences. That little "a-ha" moment, or someone coming up to you and saying, "That was so interesting!" or even better, "You've inspired me to make a change, how can I help?" My absolute favorite reaction from an audience member, typically students, is when they come up to me and ask, "How did you get to where you are today?" Those right there, are just a few of the reasons why I'm passionate about environmental education. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have, but often times it's overlooked and taken for granted. Those small moments could some day lead to the differences we're looking to be made in our environment. To me, environmental education is being able to reach out to at least one person and make them realize that they can make a difference. Then, inspiring them to go out and be the change. Currently, I'm working towards my environmental education in North Carolina so that I can continue to do what I love, and do my part in impacting our environment.

Click here to learn more about environmental education in North Carolina!

Lindsey Bijas
AmeriCorps Member, Environmental Educator Stormwater SMART Outreach Coordinator
PTRC Regional Planning Department