Educator Spotlight: Tiffany Brocco

Tiffany Brocco, a garden educator at the JC Raulston Arboretum, has completed her NC Environmental Education Certification.

Tiffany has been working at the arboretum for almost two years and says she was fortunate to be able to use work time to pursue her certification. “Currently, my role includes coordinating, planning and leading weekend education experiences from family and Girl Scout programs to all-ages drop-in programming.”

Tiffany says her favorite part of earning her certification was having the opportunity to travel to different parts of North Carolina to attend workshops. “I moved back to the Raleigh area for my current job and even getting to go to different parks and nature preserves for the first time, despite having lived in Raleigh throughout college, was such an eye-opener for me. It was fun to explore the different nature spaces while connecting with other educators and nature-enthusiasts.”

When asked about an experience that stood out to her, Tiffany says it was the recent “BEETLES - Science and Teaching for Field Instruction” workshop she attended with Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. “A fellow educator recommended BEETLES to me previously and when I saw this free workshop being hosted, I was so excited! I found the workshop valuable because it provided a space to connect with other educators to learn more about how they encourage observation and discussion in their educational settings.’

For her community partnership project, Tiffany partnered with ecoEXPLORE to host a Bioblitz at the JC Raulston Arboretum as part of the 2026 City Nature Challenge. “As part of the partnership, ecoEXPLORE provided resources to help promote their programming, which incentivizes kids to get out in nature through badges and prizes. The event was hosted as a drop-in style program and it helped to spread the word about ecoEXPLORE, as well as the City Nature Challenge. It provided folks who were visiting the arboretum with a sort of bonus experience to collect real scientific data while strolling the gardens.”

Tiffany says the program changed her approach to teaching. “I really appreciated all of the opportunities I had to connect with educators and learners of all kinds through workshops and outdoor experiences. By connecting with educators, I was able to think about things through a different perspective and pick up new techniques or ways of explaining things that I hadn't thought of before. By connecting with learners, I enjoyed getting to hear about the topics they were interested in or wanted to learn more about. This not only gave me ideas for programs that I could potentially plan but also reminded me of the many ways that people connect with nature.”

She says the program also changed the way she views environmental issues. "After participating in the certification program, I've thought more deeply about the "education not advocacy" lens. With all of the information available to us nowadays, it's becoming increasingly important to remind learners and ourselves to think critically about the information they consume and the source it comes from. This perspective has encouraged me to think more about how I teach others and the language that I use when doing so.”