Meredith Katz

What do you do?
I am an elementary school educator. I have been teaching 5th grade in Kannapolis City Schools since 2002. I love getting my students outside and giving them unique experiences.

What was your favorite part of earning your certification? 
My favorite part of earning my certification was practicing and sharing what I have learned with my family, friends, colleagues and students.

What certification experience stands out for you? 
The experience from my certification that stands out most for me is being a part of the initial EGRET Fellows. Although I do not live in the Tar-Pamlico watershed I found the activities and experiences fun, valuable, and applicable.

What was your community partnership project and how did it affect the community? 
I created and facilitated an after school recycling/environmental group at my school. The Recycle Crew is a group of students that stay after school weekly to collect the schools recyclables. These students serve as representatives in their classroom to help communicate environmental friendly practices during the school year.

Stephenie Berggrun

What do you do?
I am a nonformal educator for a natural history museum. My primary duties include bringing programs and resources off-site to schools, libraries and community events. I teach life, earth and physical science topics as well as some precolonization American history.

What was your favorite part of earning your certification?
Having the opportunity to interact with like-minded individuals. When I started the program I was not in the field so this was especially important to me.

What certification experience stands out for you? 
Taking risks and stepping outside my comfort zone during the guided tours.

What was your community partnership project and how did it affect the community? 
I assisted a local child development center in developing an Outdoor Learning Environment for their preschool students. The space is utilized during the summer by day campers age 5 to 11. Not only did this space provide a positive outdoor experience for these children, but the families and other CDCs became interested in the concept after seeing the finished space.

Avery Chipka

What do you do? 
I spend my days exploring the wonders that the natural world provides to us. Through my work as an outdoor guide and outdoor educator I am blessed with the ability to introduce the magic of nature to many who would not otherwise be able to experience it.

What was your favorite part of earning your certification?  Through my participation in the NC EE program, I was introduced to a number of educational programs and locations through out the state of North Carolina that I may have otherwise missed out on.

What certification experience stands out for you? 
Its hard for me to pick out one individual experience that stood out to me during the certification process because there have been some many wonderful moments. If I had to select just one, it would have to be the NC Catch Course I did at Tanglewood Park with Tanya Poole, from NC Wildlife Resources Commission. My Wife, Casey Chipka took this course with me and it was her first time catching a freshwater catfish. That evening we went home and taught my daughter the process of cleaning and skinning catfish. Then had a wonderful family meal. Great family memories made possible through the certification program.

What was your community partnership project and how did it affect the community?
For my community partnership project I worked with the Shakori District of the Boy Scouts of America. Utilizing the experience I gained through a number of the courses that I took during my certification process we added an environment education program to the five day Cub Scout Day Camp. We incorporated training from Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly!, Project WILD, Project Learning Tree and had special presentations from Midgard Serpent & Reptile Rescue and the department of Fish and Wildlife. More than 100 youth between the ages of 5 - 10 where provided with up close and personal experiences with wildlife and a new love for the natural world around them.

Lacey Huffling

What do you do?
While pursuing my EE certification, I was a high school science teacher and then transitioned to full-time doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I graduated this summer, and I am starting a new position as an Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning at Georgia Southern University. As an educator, I incorporate EE into each class I teach. As a researcher, I am interested in how students begin to see themselves as "environmental" people.

What was your favorite part of earning your certification?
My favorite part of the certification process was the Community Partnership Project. I enjoyed being able to find a community need and then identify strategies that helped move the community towards a solution.

What certification experience stands out for you?
The certification experience that stands out for me is Criteria II: Outdoor Experiences. Not being originally from North Carolina, this requirement enabled me to experience habitats outside of those that were familiar to me. It also helped me relate information to my students, and it led to me being able to take my university students on field experiences.

What was your community partnership project and how did it affect the community?
For my community partnership project, I developed and led an EE professional development workshop for pre-service secondary teachers from universities in the Piedmont area and local classroom teachers. My project addressed the need for EE professional development for pre-service secondary teachers, particularly incorporating citizen science lessons into the classroom. I partnered with Elon University, NC A&T, the National Park Service, and the Ornithology Lab at Cornell University. The participants learned how to select a citizen science project, how to set up the selected project, how to incorporate the project into the required curriculum, and how to infuse technology into the process. The local community was affected because high school students will have the opportunity to contribute to authentic scientific research, and local teachers have been further trained to infuse EE into the curriculum.

Carlisle Rankin

What do you do? 
I work for an outdoor education company called Muddy Sneakers. We work with fifth grade students in the surrounding public schools and teach science out in nature several times per year.

What was your favorite part of earning your certification? 
The naturalist workshops in Criteria II that were heavier in science content were the most exciting and useful. I feel one major missing link in teacher professional development currently is that there is very little "educating the educators." Methods courses serve their purpose, but teachers need more of a sound knowledge of the content they're teaching.

What certification experience stands out for you? 
The Criteria II workshops, especially the ones offered at Holmes Educational State Forest, were very meaningful and memorable for me.

What was your community partnership project and how did it affect the community?
I installed a native plant garden on the campus of Montreat College in Montreat, NC. The goal/purpose of the garden was to educate students and the general public on the importance of native plants for the area and to help them begin to learn plant identification in both the native and non-native subjects.

Mickey Shortt

What do you do? 
I serve as the Chief Naturalist with the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. I am responsible for directing our staff to provide educational programming for upwards of 10,000 students annually as well as thousands of our other park visitors. I am most passionate about inspiring visitors to care for our natural heritage. I am currently enrolled as a graduate student for resource interpretation at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. I am an avid birdwatcher and father of four young children. I enjoy backpacking, canoeing and sharing Grandfather Mountain with our many visitors!

What was your favorite part of earning your certification?
Attending the Growing Up Wild workshop with my wife and learning how to intentionally teach our preschoolers about the natural world.

What certification experience stands out for you? 
The outdoor experiences were the greatest contributor to growth for me. I appreciated the opportunity to explore the state and learn from other educators in other natural areas in North Carolina!

What was your community partnership project and how did it affect the community? 
I setup a project that paired research projects on Grandfather Mountain with various community groups in Avery and Watauga counties. I had staff create a research project and then had them work with student community members to assist in their research. This is providing great experience for the students, useful data for science and inspiring another generation of naturalists.