Jamie Justice, Education Coordinator for the Museum of Coastal Carolina Completes her NC Environmental Education Certification

Jamie Justice, education coordinator for the Museum of Coastal Carolina recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Jamie is responsible for planning education programming at the museum that focuses on coastal environments. She teaches school groups about coastal habitats and species through interpretive nature walks along the beach and the marsh and by guiding students through the museum’s exhibits. 

Jamie enjoyed going to workshops and networking with other educators to share ideas and learning from other environmental education centers. “I enjoyed going to all of the instructional workshops and getting to participate from the point of view of the student while also learning tips for teaching the curriculum.”

For her community partnership project, Jamie worked with Brunswick Town Fort Anderson to design new trail signs and brochures about the different habitats that are at the site. “I developed a curriculum focused on water quality and macroinvertebrates for fourth and eighth graders that visit the site each year. This project helped the students gain a better understanding of the habitats and species at Brunswick Town in a fun, engaging way and also provided visitors with up to date information about the things they would see as they hiked through the site, while also informing them of some species to look out for that bite or sting.”

Jamie says the program changed the way she thinks about environmental issues. “I’ve changed my focus from the impact humans have on the environment to what we can do to protect the environment and to address the effects we have caused.”

She feels the certification program is well-rounded and covers all areas of environmental education instruction. “It helps keep educators up to date on current issues and provides methods and practice in instructing a diverse audience.”