Educator Spotlight: Heather Bariso

Heather Bariso, coastal educator for the Bald Head Island Conservancy recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Heather co-manages the education department with the director of education and helps with program and exhibit design. She provides a wide diversity of programs. “I facilitate programs and tours such as fishing and kayaking experiences, hands-on reptile encounters, and I lead nighttime turtle walks to show the public nesting sea turtles! I am also the caretaker for our ambassador animals. In my free time, I enjoy running, reading and looking at my fish tanks.”

Heather says her favorite part of the certification program was the opportunity to learn and explore. “My certification has taken me to many different education facilities and nature trails around the state. As someone who comes from out of state, it was such a joy to experience all the different natural wonders NC has to offer! My favorite place I was able to visit was the PocosinLakes National Wildlife Refuge where we got to see thousands of tundra swans! On the same journey, we got to visit the Red Wolf Center, and I saw a wolf for the first time! I really enjoyed getting to meet all the wonderful educators who are also working to obtain their certifications. I have made many new friends along the way, and I am so thankful for the connections I was able to make across the state. We were able to bounce ideas off one another based on how we each run our facilities and left each workshop with new programs and skills.”

When asked about an experience in the program that stood out for her, Heather says it was the week-long Environmental Education Workshop at the Eastern 4-H Center in Columbia. “I had just started full-time at my job and was so nervous, yet excited, to get my foot in the door of environmental education. This conference was a fully immersive experience and all my fellow participants were so friendly and wanted to make it a safe space for everyone to learn. Even after the learning ended, our cohort would hike, bird, and explore the surrounding area together which created a very fun learning environment. Seeing firsthand how different everyone's journey and experience has been, really taught me that there is no set way to be an environmental educator and took a lot of the pressure away!

Heather says the experience was even more meaningful because her supervisor, Jennifer Wiggen, the director of education and engagement was also in the process of obtaining her certification encouraged her to join. “We were able to enjoy lots of nature adventures together and fully explore Columbia while visiting every single outdoor park, waterway, and trail it had to offer!”

For her community partnership project, Heather hosted an Earth Day Festival on Bald Head Island. “I partnered with local community organizations and state entities to promote native pollinators and resources that people could implement in their gardens. This included Bald Head Island organizations and visiting organizations like Bee City USA, Sandbar Oyster Company, the Museum of Coastal Carolina, and many more! The event affected the community positively because it allowed everyone to come together and learn in a celebration of pollinators with free resources and activities! We are already discussing how to expand the event for next year to allow for an even bigger celebration.”

Heather says the program also led to changes in her approach to teaching. “When I first started my certification, I was brand-new to environmental education and only had a few internships under my belt. This certification has given me the tools and resources that allowed me to gain confidence in my own teaching. Throughout the classes and workshops, I was given tools to better engage my audience and use language that encapsulates various audiences.”

When asked how the program changed the way she thinks about environmental issues, Heather says it made her more aware of some of the challenges and barriers to environmental education. “One of the challenges that stood out the most to me was accessibility. We try to make our programs as accessible as possible, but the Island itself is not that accessible of a place, especially for those with mobility limitations. Because of the resources I had access to through the course, I decided to modify our birding program so anyone can do it. I even gave a presentation about accessible birding that highlighted the program Birdability, the Cornell Lab’s Merlin birding App, and programs that people can use to bird at home! The certification program really helps offer ways to tackle these issues one step at a time which can then lead into larger scale change.”