environmental education

Environmental Education & Outreach

Environmental education has always been at the center of my teaching philosophy and has guided my career and my own education. I believe that all students shoud have the opportunity to learn fully immersed in the natural world in a safe, positive learning environment. I went into science education because I wanted to instill in the next generation of scientists and environmental leaders a sense of stewardship and a connection to the natural world.  Over the course of my career as an educator, I have witnessed positive transformations in so many students resulting from from this connection with nature, the passion they have developed for conservation and environmental protection, and the confidence gained through designing and executing their own scientific experiments and restoration projects. This connection can be truly transformative, especially in this age of rapid global change. Environmental education empowers students to contribute to solving the big problems of biodiversity loss, climate adaptation, and environmental justice, whether through science, policy, sustainability, or restoration. 

As an environmental educator, I  facilitated a wide range of student-led experiential learning projects and citizen/community science projects including:

• Nature trail and outdoor classroom design and build

• National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat

• National Wildlife Federation Certified Pollinator Habitat in partnership with Dropseed Native Plant Nursery

• North American Butterfly Association Certified Monarch Garden and Certified Butterfly Garden

• Bird-watching Program

• Vegetable and Fruit Gardens

• Stream studies, water quality testing, macroinvertebrate sampling

• Air quality/pollution monitoring

• Tree canopy and urban heat island effect studies, environmental justice studies

• Meadow, riparian, and forest habitat restoration projects

• Biodiversity surveys, botanical surveys

• Invasive species removal projects

• Student-led projects (bird blind design and build, bird house builds, recycling program, classroom grow station)

• Engineering and design of 3D printing projects

• Clean energy engineering projects

• Native plant landscape design projects, rain gardens

• LEED-certified sustainable affordable housing design projects

Community Science Program Participation: 

• Audubon Society’s Bird Census Program - collect and report biodiversity data of bird species

• Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count - collect and report migratory bird data

• Cornell FeederWatch Program - collect and report biodiversity data of bird species

• Monarch Watch Tagging Program - tag Monarch butterflies and collect data on their migration

• GO3 Project - global air quality monitoring

• AQTreks - global air quality monitoring

• EarthEcho Water Challenge -  global water quality monitoring

• Student-led community science projects