Educator Spotlight: Cassandra Johnson

Cassandra Johnson, a Schools in Parks Specialist at Pilot Mountain State Park completed her NC Environmental Education Certification. Cassandra says her position allows her to help keep the park a wild and wonderful place while pursuing her passion for outdoor education.

Originally from Virgina, Cassandra has spent a decade in North Carolina and now shares her enthusiasm for the state’s geology, weather, birds and storytelling with park visitors. “As one of the eight Schools in Parks Specialists in the state my job can include natural resource work like trail maintenance, treating invasives, and prescribed burns as well a lot of work creating education opportunities. I get to create new programs like my favorite, Rock Scavenger Hunt, and help lead programs for thousands of people all year. My role also allows me to work one-on-one with a group of teachers each year as the Schools in Parks Program includes a year-long teacher training opportunity for a handful of lucky teachers. When I'm off the clock you can find me rollerblading, flying kites, cooking vegan treats, and at a hockey game (Go Canes)!”

Cassandra says her favorite part of the program was the networking and traveling to new places in North Carolina. “I really loved the opportunity to get to see different parts of the state, get inspired by other educators and truly have fun learning outdoors with others! So often, I'm the one teaching so it was incredibly helpful to get to step back and be the student and learn from so many wonderful and knowledge people.”

When asked about a certification experience that stands out to her, Cassandra says she had two favorite experiences. “I loved being able to be outdoors and working hands-on with other outdoor educators and seeing myself start off with no experience and walk away feeling like I really gained a new skill. I attended an advanced interpretive training workshop  on butterflies and struggled to keep up - juggling field guides as the pros called off species without a second look. This past month I attended my second workshop and was amazed at how much more confidence and skill I had picked up with identifying our local butterflies. I also loved just setting the goal to do nothing but get out and explore especially outside your own backyard!”

For her community partnership project, Cassandra worked with several local organizations to host an event called RaptorFest at Pilot Mountain State Park. This event is all about counting migrating raptor species as they pass by, learning why these birds are important and the conservation efforts in place to protect them and just building excitement around getting to see and experience the migration! We had three partners: Owls Roost Wildlife Education, Charles H. Stone Memorial Library, Forsyth Audubon and together we developed family friendly games and activities, counted birds for the official database, created opportunities for participants to meet live ambassador birds, and encouraged people of all ages excited to look for these migrating hawks. Our efforts to get people interested in the annual migration has definitely been a success. With this event we've had people excited to walk away now knowing the migration passes right over them. Many people experienced bird watching for the first time in their life and learned tell different species of hawk apart while being within a foot of a live hawk! The first year we ran the program 300 participants attended, and we can't wait to see it further grow!”

When asked if the program changed her approach to teaching, Cassandra says it encouraged her to create more time for enjoying a space when she is leading a program. “I teach in state parks surrounded by amazing views and exciting plants and animals. Slowing down and allowing for more exploration during programs gives me time to process throughout the day and to create one-on-one connections, something I have brought back to my teaching style thanks to getting to see it modeled by others during workshops.”

Cassandra also says the program changed the way she views environmental issues. “The certification process made me feel more hopeful about several environmental issues that I traditionally glossed over when teaching because it felt like I had nothing positive to say on the subject. Participating in citizen science efforts, getting more in-depth perspectives and experiencing conservation-minded workshops and opportunities made me overall more hopeful, informed and excited to educate others.”