Educator Spotlight: Elizabeth Vickery-Lewis

Elizabeth Vickery-Lewis, the high school and virtual programs coordinator at the North Carolina Zoo School recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. She works primarily with high school students delivering hands-on and in-nature programming. Elizabeth loves spending time outdoors, traveling and she is currently working on a Master of Arts in teaching in the biological sciences.

Elizabeth says her favorite part of the certification program was being able to learn new things and to be outdoors. “Living in a world where there so often needs to be a "why" or even just an end goal feeling of advancement, this provided the space for me to prioritize what I already love to do and truly helped expand me as an educator.”

When asked about the certification experience that stood out for her, Elizabeth said it was the air quality workshop at Purchase Knob. “It’s a beautiful area with such applicable ways to teach otherwise hard to grasp concepts. I left feeling reinvigorated, equipped with strategies to teach air quality concepts effectively, and the sense of community was heightened with the overnight experiences. I have kept in contact with multiple participants despite it being a small class.”

For her community partnership project, Elizabeth facilitated a project based learning experience with middle and high school groups. “As part of my role as School and Library Programs Coordinator, and later High School and Virtual Programs Coordinator, I continued to hear the need for true project based learning facilitated by the North Carolina Zoo. Multiple teachers pointed out that in a world where students can access information extremely readily, even an interactive activity if fact based, is no longer enough to foster the love of learning and deep understanding of scientific processes – students need to actively engage in problem solving. Throughout this process I was able to advocate for a permanent summer teen conservation program, and I am now able to offer project based learning experiences to all my program applicants.”

Elizabeth said the program changed her approach to teaching. “The program promotes direct, hands-on experiences, and we were constantly learning. Often in the education field you can feel like you somehow know how to change anything into a lesson, but the program really shifts your methods overall. Just the Methods of Teaching Environmental Education training alone changed how I framed my goals and objectives in my lessons to ensure I was staying true to quality environmental education instead of merely environmental information.”

She says the program has also changed the way she views environmental issues. “It has broadened my understanding and has forced me to see new perspectives. In this political climate it can also be hard to bring up environmental issues and topics surrounding them without being incredibly uncomfortable and worrying that your peers may be in a completely different place than you. We were able to discuss our viewpoints and while everyone was relatively on the same page about concerns, it became a safe place to discuss other views or even just how to informally "teach" in our personal encounters with others even if we don't directly share our own views.”

 

Educator Spotlight: Sara Davarbakhsh

Sara Davarbakhsh, environmental education program coordinator for Wake County Solid Waste Management Division, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. In her coordinator role, Sara organizes outreach activities focused on reducing waste for different audiences.

Sara says her favorite part of earning her environmental education certification was learning from instructors. “I enjoyed being able to learn directly from subject matter experts about the diverse ecosystems and wildlife that live in NC, including how to track and identify different species of flora and fauna.”

When asked about the certification experience that stood out to her, Sara says it was a workshop offered through Environmental Educators of North Carolina on universal design. “There were so many amazing experiences, one that really stood out for me and is already shaping how I develop educational programs, was Accessible by Nature: Designing EE to Support All Learners.”

For her community partnership project, Sara started a compost bin and equipment donation program for educational purposes. “I worked with many community partners, including schools, churches, non-profits, assisted living facilities, food bank gardens, community gardens, parks, museums, and municipalities in an effort to expand community composting, reduce waste sent to landfill, and provide an educational opportunity for community partners to learn the best practice of composting firsthand. Since 2021, the program has donated over 240 compost bins to over 100 community partners and the program is growing. Each composter has the potential to divert 500 lbs. of organic waste from disposal each year. This amounts to 120,000 lbs. per year of organic waste turned into an environmentally beneficial product instead of pollution in a landfill.”

Sara says the program directly engages members of the community. “It provides them with free access to compost equipment, technical assistance, and education on composting. Recipients learn hands on from staff, including the benefits of composting as well as how to compost and they share their learnings with their members. The health, environmental, and socio-economic rewards of composting are soon learned over time, as composting gets underway. Composting is a great way to teach environmental stewardship, through natural resource conservation and educate people about where their food comes from and the importance of healthy soils. It can help address food insecurity, prevent soil erosion and nutrient loss, and is recognized as a carbon sink when compost is applied to soil.”

Sara says the program changed the way she approaches teaching. “I have already made improvements to how I teach and deliver programs, incorporating new approaches I learned from the certification program through workshops such as the Accessible by Nature: Designing EE to Support All Learners. It provided me with the knowledge and resources I needed to develop learning opportunities that remove barriers to learning to create a learning environment that anyone and everyone can successfully learn in regardless of their different learning style/needs.”

Sara says the program did change the way she thinks about environmental issues. “I came into the certification program with a post-graduate degree in environmental science. The change I experienced the most after participating in the certification program was in developing teaching skills, and the confidence to teach environmental issues to others. I had no formal experience as an educator. After finishing my certification, I am much more confident at teaching environmental issues to others. I know how to engage my students better. I know how to serve their individual learning needs better. Overall, I am better at my job, as an environmental education program coordinator.”

 

Educator Spotlight: Jessica Blackburn

Jessica Blackburn, an educator with the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. In this role, Jessica provides environmental education and  outdoor programming for the youth in Jackson and Macon Counties. “The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust is a non-profit conservation organization that conserves land, educates people, and maintains public access to its properties so most of my programming is held on the properties we conserve. I am a full-time graduate student in biology at Western Carolina University where I am also a teaching assistant for biology labs. Some of my hobbies include hiking, baking, and reading.”

Jessica says her favorite part of the program was travelling around this state. “Although I grew up here, earning my certification allowed me to travel to places in North Carolina that I had never visited.” She says the experience in the program that really stood out for her was going to Cherokee and learning more about the NC Wildlife Resources Commission’s Project WILD workshop and about the Cherokee culture at the New Kituwah Academy. “I loved how we learned about some traditional Cherokee greetings through active participation. Furthermore, learning from people of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians made the experience genuine.”

For her community partnership, she organized and taught a mushroom inoculation workshop. “For this program I wanted to emphasize the power that growing your own food has and how simple it can be. On one of the land trust properties, Edward Baker Preserve, community members gathered, and I taught participants how to drill holes in the logs, inoculate with edible mushroom spawn and store at home for future harvesting. Community members were so excited and so engaged. They let me know they would be demonstrating this new skill to other community members.”

Jessica says the program changed her approach to teaching. “This program allowed me to grow as a public speaker and get more creative with my lessons. Prior to this, I was not the biggest fan of talking in front of people or instructing people on how to learn. Now I have the confidence and organization to teach anyone.

Educator Spotlight: Leeah Sutton

Leeah Sutton, a nonformal educator in Guilford County, has completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. She recently completed a seasonal environmental education position at Haw River State Park and is now open to opportunities to apply environmental education across the Piedmont, Triad and surrounding communities.

In her work with North Carolina State Parks and as an outdoor adventure education instructor, Leeah leads NC curriculum-aligned programs, facilitates outdoor skill-building experiences, and supports learners across a range of age groups. Outside of work, she enjoys whitewater kayaking, volleyball, and listening to audiobooks.

Leeah shared that her favorite part of the program was the community partnership project. “I appreciated the opportunity to make a tangible community impact by developing and delivering programming on an invasive species recently established in North Carolina and that is actively spreading.” For her project, Leeah created age-appropriate spotted lanternfly education materials for Haw River State Park in partnership with North Carolina Cooperative Extension - Rockingham County Center.

Leeah reflected that the certification program influenced her approach to teaching and program design. “I learned to prioritize curiosity, connection, and hands-on participation in environmental education before asking learners to take conservation action. The program also expanded my access to educational resources and allowed me to learn from observing other educators in practice. Overall, this process has reinforced the importance of meaningful outdoor experiences as a foundation for environmental stewardship. ” She noted that workshops focused on teaching methods and adaptable materials for different age groups were particularly valuable in strengthening her planning and facilitation skills."