Did you know that as a RIEEA member, you are eligible to apply for up to $200 in scholarship funds to attend professional development such as a conference, workshop, or training? Learn more about our professional development scholarships.
Meg Archer. Here is a summary of how this scholarship helped expand her connections and environmental education knowledge:
I am so grateful to have been given a scholarship from RIEEA to support my attending the NAAEE virtual conference this year. There were so many amazing sessions that I was drawn to, in particular those focused on climate interpretation. We are aiming to incorporate more climate education and action into our programming at the Roger Williams Park Zoo, but it can seem daunting and complex to connect with each individual learner and meet them where they are, especially considering how large our audience is.
In the Climate Education Across Worldviews session, I appreciated that the goal of the session was exploring how to get your foot in the door and how to begin conversations about climate change, since some of our team is new to facilitating these types of conversations, including myself. Some of the steps mentioned to having these conversations were reminiscent of practices in working with learners that we already utilize, such as sticking to the science and finding common ground. It was a good reminder that though these topics can seem overwhelming, there are ways to break topics down and meet people where they are, whether it is a learner or fellow educator.
One take away that I would like to incorporate more into my work and daily life is approaching conversations about climate change with an open mind and not with the intent to change anyone’s mind. Instead, it’s important to ask questions, build relationships, and aim to understand and educate myself about all sides of a topic.
This session, as well as countless others, were so interesting and beneficial. I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with the team I work with and I hope to share more with fellow RIEEA members. Thank you again to RIEEA and especially Jeanine for this opportunity!