Educator Spotlight: Corinne Rizzo

Corinne Rizzo recently completed the Department of Environmental Quality’s N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program. Corinne is a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association of Interpreters and works as an environmental educator with a focus on homeschool audiences.

Corinne says the favorite part of earning her certification was getting to see all the different host sites for our classes and meeting people from all over the state who are working toward the same goal. She does note an experience in the program that really stood out. “The experience that stands out for me is the opportunity to work closely with Tanya Poole, Emily Walker and Michelle Pearce at the Methods of Teaching Environmental Education in Chimney Rock. Being able to learn from them and then immediately turn around and receive feedback on facilitating the MOTEE workshop was very fulfilling. We are even working together again in May to co-facilitate the MOTEE program for the Central Carolina Master Naturalist Program.”

For her community partnership project, Corrinne created NatureCache, a geocaching program that focuses on nature at a local nature preserve. “The preserve was lacking a program where technology is incorporated into an experiential learning environment. The center now has a geocache rich trail, under one mile, where participants can use earth science related clues in conjunction with GPS devices to find caches and cache cards.” In addition to activities for the public, the program has modifications for school groups which includes connections to North Carolina’s curriculum standards and activities for field trips,” says Corinne.

Corrinne says the certification changed the way she thinks about environmental issues. “I think the thing that resonates with me more than anything about the program is the idea of not taking the role of advocate, but instead as the informer. Taking this role encourages conversation. Understanding that by presenting information and facilitating an outdoor experience goes beyond advocacy and is more impactful than any other approach to understanding/resolving environmental issues.”