"Every time I walked into the old-growth forest at the OAC, I always encountered something different. The forest never looked the same between each visit." -Chanté Lively
This year Chanté Lively, joined our team as the Environmental Educator, she supported several of our annual spring/summer events and played a major role in this summer's O-Academy camps.
One super cool fact about Chanté is during high school she participated in Earth Tomorrow, an environmental justice and leadership development program implemented by National Wildlife Federation. During her time in Earth Tomorrow, Chanté visited the Outdoor Activity Center and worked closely with our co-founder and board chair, Na'Taki Osborne-Jelks. Chanté coming to work with us this year was a full circle revelation of the benefits of our work!
Learn more about Chanté below.
What are your interests in the environmental field?
Ever since I was young, I have been interested in topics such as ecology, sustainability, invasive species, environmental justice, and climate change. However, my biggest passion is the intersection of those topics with community outreach and communication, as all the research produced in the environmental field is not helpful if the regular public does not/ cannot understand it.
What were some of your responsibility and task accomplished while working at WAWA?
One of my major responsibilities while working at WAWA was to facilitate STEM-based programming that sought to connect youth (aged 5-12) and adults to the natural world. A few of these programs were O-Academy, Great American Campout, and EnviroExplorers. Another one of my tasks was the creation of themed-curriculum development for future programs.
What was your favorite experience(s) while working with WAWA?
Every time I walked into the old-growth forest at the OAC, I always encountered something different. The forest never looked the same between each visit. One of my favorite experiences was being able to camp overnight during the Great American Campout, enjoy the fun programming, and see the OAC in another different view.
What do you hope for the organization beyond your time with us?
I cannot wait to see the organization grow in space, staff, and fun programming for the community. I know and hope that WAWA will continue to gain recognition for its fabulous work.
Where are you headed to next?
I am going on to do a Marine Education Fellowship with the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. I will be learning how to teach marine science and coastal ecology, as well as growing the skills I learned with WAWA.
We wish Chanté the best in her new endeavors!
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