Root Greener Minds with Erin

I’d like to venture most of you only have a vague idea of what I do for a living, if you have any idea at all. If, by chance, you perfectly understand what I do, you probably wonder why the heck I do it. If we go way back, you probably decided to stop wondering about me a long time ago; because what was the point, really? Well, I would like to take this opportunity to share with the world what I do and why I do it. And at the end of it all, I am going to tell you how you can join the fight. Read on.

What do I do? It’s called environmental education. And I have logical, emotional, and faith reasons for doing it. Logically, scientists and citizens around the world agree that the biggest problems facing our world are environmental problems such as climate change, food security, and habitat destruction. Emotionally, I care about people and spending time outdoors has a myriad of benefits to our mental and physical health. As for faith, ask me another time, because that’s a conversation I prefer to have in person. Environmental education is my way to engage with a world that is hurting.

 Environmental education is a lifelong process of experiences that give you the ability to make informed decisions about your environment and the skills to act responsibly towards it. It is not about adhering to a list of do’s and don’ts; it's an understanding of how we fit into this complex ecosystem we call home. As the Environmental Educator in Gaston County’s Department of Natural Resources, I have the privilege of coming alongside people for a small portion of their journey towards this understanding.

What that looks like for me on a daily basis is working with students and teachers here in the county. I believe environmental education should be woven into the basics of every science classroom. In fact, I believe all education is connected as one subject informs abilities in another. I work to bring hands-on, applied activities into the classroom that help teachers reach their education goals and reveal real-world connections to students. I work to bring students outside of the classroom to connect them to the best learning environment we have available to us: the natural world.

Now, here’s the part where you can join me in making this happen on a bigger scale. As a part of my job, I have the privilege of serving on the Board for the Environmental Educators of North Carolina as Piedmont Section Chair. We are a non-profit dedicated to environmental education in our state through professional development, networking, and partnership. 

This year, we are participating in a fundraising campaign to raise $12,000 from November 20th to January 1st. These funds will go towards providing professional development and networking opportunities for educators, as well as supporting partnership for environmental education organizations on a statewide scale. I have set my personal fundraising goal to $3,000. If I reach my goal, I have agreed to do something I have never before been tempted to do: a polar plunge. I promise you, the only thing that would make me remotely willing to jump into a large body of freezing water in the middle of winter is raising $3,000 towards a cause I believe in. So, if you want to help advance environmental education in North Carolina, or if you just want to see me turn into a giant baby as soon as my big toe hits the surf, click the “donate” button at the top right of this page to join me in fostering more responsible, greener mindsets in our children of today.