Iredell County Volunteer and Docent Whit Strunk Completes His NC Environmental Education Certification

Whit Strunk recently completed the NC Environmental Education Program. Whit is a volunteer and docent for multiple organizations including Catawba Lands Conservancy, Carolina Thread Trail, Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Department, Friends of Lake Norman State Park and Catawba Riverkeeper. When he is not volunteering, he enjoys nature study, meteorology, kayaking, canoeing, boating, hiking, camping and surf fishing.

Whit says his favorite part of the program was the wealth of knowledge shared by instructors, colleagues and peers. “The creative ways educators are using to present scientific information was invaluable. My two favorite programs were the Leopold Education Project and Certified Interpretive Guide Training.”

When asked if the certification program changed his approach to teaching, Whit says prior to pursuing certification his only teaching experience was with adults. “During the Spring and Summer of 2019, I served as a volunteer educator at Allison Woods Outdoor Learning Center. Most of the participants in the programs I taught were 5th and 6th graders. This presented an enriching challenge in preparing and delivering to learners of an age different from what I was used to. I do believe that teaching young people has made me a better adult educator because I am using new and creative methodologies I learned during certification coursework.”

For his Community Partnership Project, Whit led a team of Allison Woods Outdoor Learning Center staff and volunteers in building a greenhouse and a raised bed garden. Both were then used by the Aqua Sprouts 4-H Club in Iredell County. The produce grown was donated to a local food bank located in Harmony, NC. “The Aqua Sprouts 4H Club was formed to teach its members about the scientific theory and practical application of aquaponics and hydroponics. Teaching was conducted in a traditional classroom with an indoor laboratory. The club wanted to expand its program offerings to include traditional gardening techniques.  When the leader made me aware of the club’s plan for expanding their program I offered to take the lead on planning, designing and constructing a greenhouse and raised bed garden.”

When asked if the way he thinks about environmental issues changed after participating in the certification program, Whit says he more clearly recognizes the importance of presenting well researched and credible scientific information. “While I believe I always presented credible scientific information, teaching in our current political environment makes it even more important. Today I advocate less in my role as an educator, and inform more using the best scientific information available.”

Small Business Owner Honor Muralt Recently Completed the NC Environmental Education Certification

Honor Muralt, an educational business owner, recently completed the NC Environmental Education Certification. Honor recently started a business called Educational Adventures and hopes the certification will enhance her programming. Honor designs curriculum aligned with the state's education standards for public and private schools. Her 15 years of experience as an art literacy teacher and her experience as a vocalist means that her lesson includes art and music as ways to teach educational concepts, hands-on science activities, art and create interactive presentations. When she isn’t creating fun educational experiences, Honor enjoys going on hikes in nature.

Honor says her favorite part of earning her certification was connecting with people and nature. “I loved exploring the coastal, piedmont and mountain regions of North Carolina, and I learned a lot about the different organisms that live here. I enjoyed all the workshops that taught about specific animal species like bears, amphibians, raptors and mammals. I gained a lot of knowledge to share with students.

She says the certification experiences that stood out the most were the experiences with live animals. “I enjoyed Turtle Exploration Workshop at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area where I was able to see live sea, terrestrial and aquatic turtles. At Advance Wild Raptors I was able to see a Barred Owl, Mississippi Kite and Great Horned Owl. The Wild Amphibians workshop provided me with the opportunity to see NC native frogs and salamanders up-close. I love these experiences, and I am looking forward to registering for more in the future.”

For her community partnership project Honor worked with students at a local elementary school to clean up overgrown trails, the outdoor classroom space, and docks overlooking a pond. “My goal was to provide teachers with an opportunity to teach NC state standards out in nature, instead of the classroom. The project increased awareness and use of this space by teachers and students. Unfortunately, the closing of schools due to COVID-19 has halted the use at this point. My hope is that the outdoor space will continue to become more popular with teachers, and they will use this amazing opportunity to continue to connect students to nature.”

Honor says participating in the certification program changed her approach to teaching. “Participating in the EE Certification process helped me to recognize the importance of adding more inquiry and collaboration time for students, so I have adjusted my lessons to allow time for appropriate grade level discussions to occur. The Five E's Instructional Model taught at the Methods of Teaching Environmental Education workshop taught me great strategies to direct my teaching time. I have become a lot better at assessing student’s knowledge by asking more questions.”

The program also increased Honor’s awareness of environmental issues. “I learned about the affect light pollution has on sea turtle hatchlings, sound pollution has on animals, soil contamination that invades our water supply, and littering that endangers the health of birds. I have learned a great deal of information attending the environmental education workshops, and I share this information with my children, family members, friends, teachers, and students.”

Dana Thomason with the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island Completes Her Environmental Education Certification

Dana Thomason, the Lead Special Activities Instructor and Summer Camp Coordinator at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification.

Among her many responsibilities at the aquarium, Dana develops and leads curriculum-based public environmental educational programming, both indoor and outdoor, facilitates special educational events and conducts program evaluation. When not working, she enjoys beachcombing for unique sea glass and Mollusca sea treasures, taking hikes through the maritime forests, uploading photographs of nature to iNaturalist, reading books and traveling to new places.

When asked about her favorite part of earning her certification, Dana says she benefitted in some way from all the components of the program.  “Instructional workshops aided me in gaining further knowledge on certain environmental topics/issues, build positive relations with fellow environmental educators, and have access to hands-on activities with keeping booklets provided at the workshop. Outdoor experiential learning allowed me to emerge myself into nature and use a practical application to identifying certain shorebird species, leaf-mining insects, and nature play learning to the test. Teaching reinforced the fact that my unique educational interpretation style and skills reach participants at a level that helps them find a connection to nature and want to act to protect it. Perhaps my favorite part was traveling to other NC regions and attending conferences/seminars that served as a platform to foster collaborative efforts in EE interpretation/skills for educators.”

Dana says that she gained a wealth of knowledge on the many environmental topics during the program and seeing the passion of workshops facilitators like CC King and Becky Skiba with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission for informal teaching made an impression on her. “Embarking on the EE Certificate Program led to many memorable experiences and the ones that have stayed with me are the instructional workshops led by enthusiastic facilitators such as CC King and Becky Skiba. Many interpretation techniques I witnessed from the two educators, are now added to my programs and activities.”

For her community partnership program which is required for certification, Dana created "Earth Fair OBX VII", a free event held annually in the Outer Banks and organized by a member of CEEN-Coastal Environmental Educators Network of North Carolina. Members of the Outer Banks community were invited to attend this free event where local organizations hosted a table showcasing what they do to educate, promote sustainability, and protect the environment. “Earth Fair OBX VII event shined light on environmental awareness, individual and community action, and the sheer joy of celebrating the valuable resources our planet gives us. Adults and children were able to enjoy interactive and informative tables, a live band that created a friendly, fun-loving vibe and the chance to enter in a few locally donated raffle items that support future Earth Fair OBX events! The community gained knowledge on the many local organizations that value, appreciate and protect our coastal habitats and ways to support, volunteer or participate.”

Dana says the program changed the way she teaches. “Participating in the EE Certification program led to the fine-tuning of my interpretation skills and expanding my knowledge on topics my Marine Biology degree did not cover in my college career. Before embarking on this program, I was fortunate to have had three years of informal educational teaching experience, but never truly had the opportunity to get trained on environmental hands-on workshops. The program helped me to recognize that by understanding my target audience, I could then work to build a positive connection for them and the natural world. As an active listener, I taught my programs and activities with my audience's needs and questions at the forefront.”

Dana says that her mindset on environmental issues did not change because of the certification program but that it did change her interpretation techniques and hands-on activities to help the audience understand, connect and care about environmental issues. “If not presented correctly, many environmental issues can be seen as "doom and gloom" where an individual's actions may not be portrayed as making a positive impact. Or the general misunderstanding of scientific data can negatively curve the audience's outlook on these issues. It is the interpreter's role to help build a foundation of awareness, knowledge, relevancy and potential action to help change the tide of some of these issues.”