Emily Davidson, a former teacher and IT professional who volunteers as an environmental educator, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification.
Emily was a classroom teacher before changing careers last
year to work in IT. She continues to volunteer as an environmental educator.
Emily says her favorite part of the certification program
was the instructional workshops and being able to take advantage of all the
environmental education facilities in North Carolina.
When asked about an experience in the program that stood out
for her, Emily says it was the hands-on experiences. “Anything that was
hands-on and in the field that I could bring back to my students. I took them
on a field trip at Holmes Educational State Forest and they had an amazing
time.”
Emily says the tree planting event was the culmination of
several units she structured around the Project Learning Tree Southeastern
Forests and Climate Change curriculum, and an educational field trip she
led to Holmes State Educational Forest, Pisgah National Forest, and the Blue
Ridge Parkway where students could experience and investigate managed forests
in their area. “This was the capstone to our year-long class on climate change
and forestry in North Carolina. This was an exciting and encouraging project
for my students and it gave them a sense that they could do something tangible
about climate change and urbanization in our community.”
Emily says the program changed her approach to teaching. “I
learned to be much more patient with those who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with
the outdoors, and I learned a lot about other people’s perspectives and concerns
about the environment.”
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