Educator Spotlight: Amy Jordan

Amy Jordan, a Schools in Parks Specialist for NC State Parks recently completed her Environmental Education Certification. Amy is based at Lake Norman State Park and works in the community to support park programming and outreach initiatives. She says the goal is to get people out to the parks to see first-hand why NC State Parks are so amazing. In her personal time, she enjoys exploring with her two dogs and husband on the weekends, planting flowers, hiking and baking sweet treats to share. She is always up for learning something new and is a proud co-parent of 15 baby chicks.

Amy says her favorite part of earning her certification was the opportunity for new experiences. “I most enjoyed the variety of experiences that let me explore and connect with so many resources across our beautiful state.”

She says the experience that stood out to her was a NC Museumof Natural Sciences’ Teacher Trek. “I was able to attend a "swamp treehouse adventure" Teacher Trek with the Museum of Natural Science where we explored the Cashie River in Eastern NC on a canoe and camped on a platform amidst the plants and animals of that amazing ecosystem. I connected with colleagues from across the state in a fascinating way! Being in the swamp allowed so many learning opportunities in the field and gave me ideas I could come back immediately and use.”

For her community partnership project, Amy brought new life back to the outside learning area at Woodland Heights Elementary School, a K-5 public school in Iredell County. “My project was "building gardens and inspiring minds" and it was a true partnership among parents, students, teachers and our community. We worked together to refresh and renew a school outside learning area and provided teacher professional development enhancing environmental education initiatives at the school. We also created a monthly eco club to create a school garden, explore environmental education and host monthly community presenters on water quality, gardening, plants and animals, nature journaling, and additional topics in environmental education.”

Amy engaged members of the community and partnered with the schools PTO, Lowes Home Improvement, Lake Norman State Park, Iredell Soil and Water Conservation District and the Master Gardener program through Iredell Cooperative Extension to make a big impact. “It empowered the classroom teachers by giving them some skills and background to try environmental education activities with their students and to have names and contacts of local partners that can support their teaching of the science standards.  Some private businesses like Lowes Home Improvement and individual presenters were able to share their passions and support and in-turn, built important relationships within our community.”

Amy says the certification program changed her approach to teaching. “Most importantly the environmental education certification program solidified my teacher "toolkit" by building field experiences, best practices and highly engaging strategies to support student learning, as well as my own!”

Her views on environmental issues also changed because of the program. “I believe I now consider more perspectives on environmental topics and look at the bigger picture. I knew many best practices in general education and teaching, but the certification program led me to see the connections between and bridges across curriculum areas. I also can now connect traditional formal education with informal environmental education leading to high student engagement and motivation.”

Amy says the certification program helped her change careers. “I really feel prepared, and I can honestly say I am as proud of gaining this certification as I was for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees earlier in my life. I am grateful for the experiences and opportunities it has provided!”

Educator Spotlight: Lindsey Blanchard

Lindsey Blanchard, a park technician with Historic Yates Mill County Park, recently completed the NC Environmental Education Certification.

In addition to her role at the park, Lindsey is also a science communicator and museum educator in Raleigh. “I educate the public in many ways about the natural world through my personal social media accounts where I share all things paleontology, and by leading guided tours of historic sites around Raleigh, working with park volunteers to help them serve their community, and encouraging young minds to find peace in the outdoors.”

Lindsey says the workshops were her favorite part of the certification process. “I loved all the workshops! I feel like my brain is overflowing, but in the best way possible. There is so much knowledge to be learned from others in this field, and it's so inspiring to practice skills with them and hear their stories. I think the workshops have really encouraged me to be a life-long learner, and I can't wait to continue taking them and finding new things to learn about.”

When asked about the certification experience that stood out for her, Lindsey says it was the NC Museum of Natural Sciences’ Educator Treks. “I participated in a few Educator Treks with the museum, and those were beyond incredible. Those experiences gave me an opportunity to learn from scientists who are doing the work we're educating about, and I feel so much more prepared to share about why it is important to learn about the environment. I was able to talk with a red wolf biologist, talk with National Park rangers, NC Forest Service rangers, public historians at NC Historic Sites, and so many more on these trips. These trips gave me the opportunity to learn skills that I can use in my own work in parks.”

For her community partnership project, Lindsey developed new fossil programming for students. “Since my main area of knowledge is in paleontology, I felt like this was a great opportunity to share my area of passion with others. To do this, I worked with local community groups including summer camps, students participating in the Science Olympiad, and homeschool groups to really fine-tune my program and jump start this education. These groups helped me by sharing their feedback, and I helped them by preparing them for their Science Olympiad and encouraging careers and education in STEM fields. I have since continued this programming at Historic Yates Mill County Park and have been able to share it with hundreds of students in just a few months.”

Lindsey says the certification program changed her approach to teaching others. “I have learned how to be a student in environmental education, and that really helped me to understand the best practices for teaching. By participating in workshops and trainings, I was able to put myself in the student's shoes and experience the wonder of the outdoors myself. There are so many ways that students can learn, and many of these workshops taught me about universal and accessible design. I hope to continue to build on those skills so that all types of learners can find joy in the outdoors.”

She also says the program changed they way she thinks about environmental issues. “By visiting so many sites and hearing from parks and museum workers, I really learned how important those sites are. I think it is so important to visit sites because it gives you a sense of understanding in the work within the environmental world that is happening. Sometimes the sites are viewed as non-essential or just for fun, but they are providing an important service by protecting our natural and cultural resources. There are endangered species being protected in parks, habitats being restored, and so much more. Participating in site visits really allowed me to learn how to educate the public more on these issues and share why parks are important.”