Why I Do What I Do

As all the best explanations deserve, let me begin with a story.

It was a beautiful June day, and splashes of dappled sunshine shone green in a forest clearing. I was crouched low to the ground, my hands covered with dirt, and I found myself looking into the huge brown eyes of a tiny five-year-old student. “I found a ladybug,” she whispered to me conspiratorially. I smiled at the colourful little beetle in her bug jar. We looked at the ladybug through the jar’s magnifying lid, we carefully counted its legs, and we guessed at what it might be doing on this lovely afternoon in the forest. The little girl smiled at me shyly before leaning in and asking, “Can I keep it?” I laughed and explained that it needed to return to its home; we found a quiet spot together and gently let the ladybug go before the little girl rejoined the rest of her class.

Within thirty seconds of this encounter, her teacher and two adult supervisors came rushing up to me, breathless. They couldn’t believe the young girl had spoken with me. They explained she was a selective mute – she had not spoken to her teacher or her classmates the entire school year! But somehow here, in Stanley Park’s green forest, hunting for bugs on my Nature Detectives program, this little girl had found her voice and her smile. She had connected with nature, and the experience had transformed her profoundly.

This is just one example of the innumerable, incredible connections I have seen children make with the natural world in the course of teaching environmental education programs across BC and Alberta. My challenge is to engage kids with science, inspire them with hope for our forests and oceans, and motivate them with creative, compelling programs - all while helping teachers to make everyday science lessons leap to life.

A former classroom teacher, I now work as the manager of education programs in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. Capitalizing on a series of fortunate career misadventures, I’ve spent the last 10 years brewing up the perfect storm of a skill set:

• teaching to all ages, from kindergarten to adult professional development;
• design, development and delivery of creative curriculum-based school programs;
• science writing, research and editing skills paired with a vivid imagination;
• naturalist and environmental science knowledge;
• graphic design, layout and illustration;
• community building, management, governance and team leadership.

My passion for my work has led me to a swirling confluence of technology, education and design. I have taught over 50,000 children environmental education programs across BC and Alberta, and created teacher resources for the Vancouver Aquarium and Stanley Park. I currently act on the executive of the Environmental Educator Provincial Specialist Association of British Columbia, am an active member of the Lower Mainland Museum Educators Association, and serve as a current director and past President of the West End Community Centre Association, providing community services to the densest residential population in Canada. I was honoured as the recipient of a prestigious Vancouver Park Board Volunteer of the Year Award for my contributions to community leadership in 2008. I can chair an annual general meeting, command a conference of teachers, or get down on my knees in the forest with a handful of five-year-olds.

I believe that my own everyday experience, and the ongoing opportunities I am given to speak to thousands of children, teachers and community members, charge me with a tremendous responsibility to learn everything I can from every person who will teach me. My work and volunteer lives give me the ongoing opportunity to affect education and change on a scale from classrooms to communities. My vision embraces a future where technology, education and design can be used to connect children to nature and to create diverse, sustainable communities in Vancouver with strong leadership at every level.