Support Environmental Education in Florida! LEEF

"If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.
- The Sense of Wonder, Rachel Carson

I was fortunate to grow up with two parents who loved nature and took my sister and I to the woods every summer. In NY's Adirondack Mountains, I learned to find freshwater clams with my feet, catch frogs, and see my first vegetable garden. When I think of happy childhood memories, those summer trips to Bullhead Pond are at the top: hiking with my dad to find a fabled waterfall hidden beyond a flooded forest with skeleton trees; the time my father, uncle, and I pulled our leaky paddle boat over to drain it, but then I peed on a snake, so we had to scamper back in the boat and paddle as fast as we could, sure the snake was going to follow; or standing in the shallows with my dad as he taught me to fish.  Those memories are powerful ones for me and the experiences shaped me into who I would become.

As an environmental educator, I have the great fortune and responsibility to be one of those adults for the thousands of children I guide into Florida's natural areas. Since 2013, I've worked as an science educator/nature guide in the Headwaters of the Florida Everglades at Archbold Biological Station. It is hard to express the satisfaction of being the person to help a child - who at first is nervous about going "into nature" - open up to that sense of wonder Carson was talking about. To see the world through their eyes is one of my favorite parts of the job. A child who is new to nature, but guided into the right sense of mind, can experience awe in the simple presence of a grasshopper.

I love when, during a field trip, children say to me, "I wasn't sure I would like this, but it is amazing. This is better than Disney!" For children who attend the ecology camp I run each summer, my position as a role model for them is humbling. I have heard from parents, "My child says you are his best friend," and even the sobering, "He was abused, so I no longer let men into our home. You are the only adult male in his life."

An environmental educator is more than someone who teaches children facts about science. We are helping children to develop their identity and sense of place.

I don't know what kind of environmental educator I would be if not for joining the League of Environmental Educators in Florida (LEEF) soon after starting this career. I don't have college training in science or education, so LEEF has been my guide. For every child I've inspired as a role model or have helped plant a seed of wonder, I have LEEF to thank. LEEF, and my dad for hiking with me to that fabled waterfall all those years ago.

Please join me in donating to LEEF's end of year campaign. Our funding will help educators from across all of Florida. The training and support we receive from LEEF has the potential to change the lives of millions of children.

image source: Archbold Biological Station