Educator Spotlight: Katherine Frederick

Katherine Frederick, a small business owner in Johnston County, recently completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Katherine is an entrepreneur who is passionate about building community, storytelling and connecting people with the outdoors.

Katherine runs a small business consulting company that assists customers with recruiting, administrative tasks and website design and a photography business, where her work focuses heavily on wildlife, travel and outdoor adventure photography. “I lead a family-style trail and nature journal community that offers community hikes for families, women’s international adventure trips, outdoor photography workshops, and environmental education programs for youth. Beyond my own businesses, I serve as an ambassador for a large women’s community in North Carolina and volunteer as a trail guide with Triangle Land Conservancy. At the heart of everything I do is a desire to inspire curiosity, conservation, adventure and meaningful human connection through nature and shared experiences.”

Katherine says one of her favorite parts of earning her certification was connecting with so many like-minded people who share a passion for environmental education, conservation and getting others outdoors. “The program also gave my family and me the opportunity to explore new places, discover different outdoor themes and spend meaningful time together in nature. In many ways, the process helped me reconnect with an important part of my past and professional journey. Before becoming a full-time entrepreneur, I worked for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as an Environmental Specialist and Source Water Protection Specialist, where I assisted communities and stakeholders with wellhead and watershed management plans to help protect drinking water sources. Stepping back into the environmental education world has felt like coming full circle and has reignited my passion for stewardship, conservation and community education.”

The certification experience that stands out most for Katherine was the Southern Appalachian Birds program at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. Although my original naturalist skills class was postponed, the pre-course reading introduced me to nature journaling, which quickly became a new passion. I have completed the coursework for my Nature Journal Educator Certification and am now awaiting my practicum. Nature journaling also helped me overcome limiting beliefs about my artistic abilities and sparked a new love for drawing and creative observation. I’m excited to continue this journey and eventually pursue my Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification as well.”

Katherine collaborated with Triangle Land Conservancy on her community partnership project. Triangle Land Conservancy hosts a public event, Wild Ideas, each year that brings in 300 community members and experts to share ideas and explore solutions to local environmental challenges. Katherine introduced nature journaling to attendees, and she says it encouraged deeper connections with the outdoors through observation and creativity. “The experience was incredibly rewarding and showed how accessible and engaging nature journaling can be for people of all ages and experience levels. As a direct result of the event, I was inspired to launch our own Nature Journal Club to continue building community around outdoor exploration and creativity. The project has already created additional opportunities, with several homeschool organizations I connected with during the event reaching out about hosting nature journaling programs for their groups.”

Katherine says that participating in the certification program changed her approach to teaching. “Participating in the program significantly shaped the way I approach teaching and engaging others outdoors. What began as a desire to learn more about my adopted home state of North Carolina evolved into a deeper passion for helping youth develop their own naturalist skills and connection to nature. After my oldest child started attending public school, I realized that much of my own love for the outdoors and science had been fostered outside of a traditional classroom setting by my parents, who were science teachers and scientists by profession. It made me recognize that not every child has access to those same experiences or mentors encouraging curiosity, exploration and environmental stewardship. Because of this, my approach has become much more focused on creating accessible, hands-on experiences that inspire wonder, observation and confidence in the outdoors for children and families alike. As a result, I’ve added an element of education into all our community hikes as well as offering specific environmental education programs.”

She says the program also changed the way she views environmental issues. “Participating in the certification program expanded my perspective on environmental issues by highlighting how deeply conservation is connected to education and personal experience in nature. While my background focused on environmental protection and watershed management, this program shifted my thinking toward the importance of building early, meaningful connections to the outdoors. I now see environmental education as a key driver of long-term stewardship because people protect what they understand and feel connected to. It also reinforced the need to make environmental learning accessible, hands-on and engaging for all ages and communities.”