Educator Spotlight: Mirren Hill

Mirren Hill, a nature educator at White Deer Park in Garner, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Mirren also works as an educator at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and the North Carolina Zoo. In her personal time, she enjoys to reading, hiking new trails and trying new restaurants.

Mirren says her favorite part of the program was the opportunity to travel to different areas of North Carolina and to visit different parks and education centers. “I grew up in the Triangle and there's so many places I still needed to explore! So, it was super fun for me to be able to try places that I'd been wanting to go to or even places I hadn't heard of before. For my certification, some of the places I really enjoyed were the NC Arboretum in Asheville, the Greensboro Science Center, Blue Jay County Park, Forest Ridge Park and Agape Center for Environmental Education. I also really enjoyed meeting people at the different workshops and programs I attended.”

When asked about an experience that stood out to her, Mirren says there were two – the Don’t Waste It! workshop at Blue Jay County Park and the Snakes 101 program at Annie Louise Wilkerson Nature Preserve. “I learned a lot of new information about landfills, waste and compost I found to be super interesting and engaging. I also have used activities I learned in that workshop for my community partnership project and for programs at work. I was pretty indifferent towards snakes before my career in environmental education but since handling snakes at my jobs and learning more about them in programs like the Snakes 101, I have grown a newfound appreciation and passion for them which has been a lot of fun for me.”

For her community partnership project, Mirren partnered with Hillandale Elementary School in Durham and created a "Every Day is Earth Day" program for their Science Day. “I presented the program to around 80 second graders and created a ‘10 Ways to be Kind to the Earth’ pamphlet for the students to take home. I think my project affected the community by showcasing our changing climate in a positive light by educating the students about fun, everyday things they can do in their daily lives to care for the environment.”

Mirren says the program changed her approach to teaching by encouraging her to incorporate a sense of curiosity and discovery. “In my work, I like to ask a lot of questions and create an environment where the younger generation can discover the natural beauty of our environment on their own with me there to guide them with a sense of wonder.”

Mirren says the program also changed how she views environmental issues. “I think my approach to environmental issues before participating in the certification program was more geared towards policy change, but now I think about environmental issues with an education lens. I think there is so much power and value in education and there can be so much positive change made when people learn about and appreciate the environment around them.”