Educator Spotlight: Juliann Chavez

Juliann Chavez, the sustainability coordinator for the City of Concord recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Juliann educates the public about stormwater pollution and prevention, waste management including recycling and composting, and about the importance of native plants and habitat management. 

Juliann says her favorite part of the program was meeting other educators. “The best part was meeting lots of other educators throughout the state that I am now collaborating with on various programs. That has been invaluable for me in my position.”

She says the part of the certification process that stands out for her were the instructional workshops. “I really learned a lot of new ways to engage the public and how to improve my programs.”

For her community partnership project, she created a new pollinator garden at one of the city’s parks. “I partnered with our parks and recreation department and our NC Wildlife Federation local chapter, the Concord Wildlife Alliance. We saw a need for a teaching pollinator garden within the City of Concord. In the city, we have a unique partnership with Concord Wildlife Alliance. I worked with this organization to promote and create this pollinator garden. I also worked with the local Cooperative Extension office to create the ideal list of native plants to attract pollinators. The garden is a great space for residents to come and see pollinators in action.”

When asked if the certification program led to changes in her approach to teaching, she says it helped her see the connection between her programming and increasing environmental literacy and awareness among her audiences. “It opened my eyes to new ways of developing curriculum and showed me that there is more that I can offer.” She also plans to make her programs more interactive while also teaching outdoors more often.