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.”