Educator Spotlight: Brittany Smith

Brittany Smith, a nonformal educator in Richmond County, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certificate. Brittany owns and operates Flora and Fauna Festivities, a nature-based education and entertainment company. “My company brings environmental and nature-based learning to life through hands-on workshops, trivia nights, and immersive experiences for all ages.  In our free time, my husband and I spend most of our days outside—whether we’re hiking, paddling, fishing, or just exploring new trails. I’ve built a business, and our life around a love for the outdoors.”

Brittany says that the NC Forest Service’s  week-long Investigating Your Environment Workshop in the mountains that she took in college got her “hooked” on environmental education and encouraged her to pursue her certification. Brittany says she enjoyed connecting with other educators. “My favorite part of earning my certification was getting to travel across our beautiful state and connect with so many incredible people who share the same passion for environmental education. There’s something powerful about being surrounded by like-minded individuals working toward common goals - it reminded me that this work matters and that we’re not doing it alone.”

When asked what certification experience stood out to her, Brittany says it was the Guidelines for Excellence series provided by Environmental Educators of NC. “While all the workshops, lectures, and hands-on adventures were memorable, the Guidelines for Excellence series stands out the most. I took the Early Childhood and Community Engagement trainings, and they were incredibly encouraging. It was eye-opening to see that there’s already a solid foundation of tested methods and best practices available to build new programs and strengthen existing ones. Starting from scratch can feel overwhelming, but these workshops gave me the tools and confidence to go back to the programs I was already running and make them even better.”

For her community partnership project, Brittany created a Gyotaku for Educators webinar designed to introduce teachers to the cultural art of Japanese fish printing as a tool for environmental education. “The webinar provided hands-on strategies, cross-curricular lesson plans, and a shared resource folder to help educators incorporate topics like adaptations, river basins, and place-based learning. By making the content available beyond the live session, the project continues to impact a broader community of educators looking for creative, engaging ways to connect students with the natural world.”

Brittany says participating in the certification program changed her approach to teaching. “Coming from a background teaching middle school as a licensed NC teacher, I was trained in a system that heavily prioritizes reading, writing, and testing. But throughout this program, I was inspired by so many educators who were calm, open-minded, and deeply committed to hands-on, inquiry-based learning. Environmental education values curiosity and real-world experience over rote memorization, and that perspective has transformed how I design and lead programs. I’ve seen firsthand how much more meaningful learning becomes when students can engage with the content directly—it's the difference between reading about fish printing and printing one with their own hands.”

Brittany says the certification program also changed the way she thinks about environmental issues. “I’ve always loved our planet—it’s the only one we have. But through the certification program, I’ve realized that real change starts with personal connection. Learning how to find my own connections to nature—and helping others discover theirs—has been life-altering in the best way. I also gained a deeper understanding how we can't 'save the planet' by preaching behavior changes, but by sharing knowledge and experiences that can lead to those changes naturally. When people feel connected and informed, they’re far more likely to take meaningful and intentional actions.”