KAEE Member Feature: Pony Meyer

This month we’re pleased to feature a member who has a passion for blending EE with natural and cultural history. Pony Meyer (they/them) develops and provides dynamic EE programming at the historic Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY. Pony is such gem of an educator and we’re so glad we got to chat with them a bit about what they love about EE and how this network can support the great work happening at Shaker Village.

Guest interview featuring KAEE member Pony Meyer, Program Specialist at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill

KAEE: What is your current role in the field of EE?

Pony: I am a Program Specialist at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. As a program specialist, I research, write, and deliver a variety of historical, recreational, and educational programs which includes a lot of the informal environmental education programs that we have at Shaker Village. I particularly enjoy facilitating our night hikes, owl prowl, creek walk (macroinvertebrate sampling), and nature journaling programs.

In January, I collaborated with the Preserve Managers on a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star Urban Waters grant that would help us do some habitat restoration on our historic ponds and expand environmental education programming in those areas. Fingers crossed we get that!

KAEE: What projects or programs are you working on that particularly inspire you?

Pony: There are a few projects I've been working on lately that I am really excited about.

I love trees! I am currently working on a two-year tree project that involves creating a tree map of the trees in the village as well as online natural history and cultural-historical content related to these trees. The map is almost done! I am also working on a basic tree ID program to help guests learn the basics of identifying some of Kentucky's native trees. We hope to have this map and program running by this summer/fall.

We recently started a Riverboat Lab project, which is a water quality testing program for eighth grade science students in Mercer County. My supervisors secured the grant for this to help offset costs of transportation for students. I developed the curriculum for the program and ran the pilot last November 2021. We run this on the Shaker Village Riverboat/Kentucky River, and it was great to witness the students having so much fun while learning about their watershed. We secured funding to continue running this program in 2022 and I am excited to continue working on it. [Funding sources: Bluegrass Greensource and LG&E/KU (Kentucky Utilities)]

KAEE: What goals do you have for your organization or programs within the EE field?

Pony: Continue working as a team to continue growing our EE programming. As an educator, I am always learning and looking for ways to improve my teaching and knowledge of local natural history. I'd also like to continue making valuable connections with other environmental educators and naturalist-type colleagues in Kentucky for information sharing and collaborations.

KAEE: What is an area you feel you could use support in from this network of fellow educators?

​Pony: So far, it's been amazing. I have always received great support from KAEE staff. Melinda Wilder often gives me feedback on programming, and I am very grateful for that.

When I’m working on a program, I always consult other people. For example, when I started creating the tree map, I consulted a state forester I met through a KAEE program. As I have been thinking about creating a junior naturalist program, I called a colleague at Bernheim who I met through KAEE as well. There's always something to learn from people in this network and it's great!

KAEE: What is something you feel could be beneficial to share with this network?

Pony: I don't think this answers your question, but we should have a camping trip!

KAEE: Share a fun fact or random tidbit about yourself with the group!

Pony: I love to dance. I'm also a semi-retired drag king.

Ways to Give

There are so many ways you can give to KAEE and help us make an impact! From one-time donations to volunteer work to planned giving, gifts of any kind help us achieve our mission to increase environmental knowledge and community engagement in Kentucky through the power of environmental education.

BECOME A RECURRING DONOR

When you donate monthly to KAEE, you're providing essential support and helping us create long-lasting and meaningful change for the field of environmental education.

JOIN OUR LEGACY SOCIETY

Become a member of the KAEE Legacy Society and leave a lasting heritage for future generations.

EXPLORE PLANNED GIVING OPTIONS

You can make lasting impact on our environment through planned giving. Planned giving is a way for you to provide donations to a charity in a manner that is tax preferred to you and your estate. What sets planned giving apart from a regular charitable contribution is that the actual contribution occurs in the future. By planning in advance how you will support us, we can, in turn, plan ahead for the future. A bequest is any gift of an asset made through a will. A common strategy is simply naming the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education as a beneficiary of either a specific dollar amount or a fraction of the residual portion of your estate. The benefit to you is that the full dollar amount donated qualifies as a charitable donation, which can be used to offset the taxes on your estate.

SUPPORT WHILE YOU SHOP

The easiest way to donate (so easy you don't even have to think about it!) to KAEE is by naming us as your nonprofit of choice in the Kroger Rewards and Amazon Smile programs. Enrolling in Kroger Rewards takes only a minute or two. Visit KrogerCommunityRewards.com, sign in to your online account (or create an account), find and select your organization*, and click “Enroll.” You’ll start earning rewards for your organization right away on qualifying purchases made using your Kroger Plus Card, at NO cost to you! *KAEE's Kroger Rewards Member Number is GN188. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates! Support KAEE by visiting smile.amazon.com/ch/61-1208924, then clicking the "Start Shopping" button. Then, Each time you want to purchase an item from Amazon, simply visit smile.amazon.com, and Amazon will automatically donate to KAEE as your chosen charity!

MAKE A ONE-TIME DONATION

We are grateful for any donation in any amount, any time! This support helps fuel our work and increases EE's impact in Kentucky's classrooms, outdoors centers, underserved areas, and more. By choosing to support KAEE, you help us achieve our mission to accelerate environmental literacy and civic engagement in Kentucky through the power of environmental education. Your support allows us to train educators, increase community involvement, and, most importantly, ensure environmental education is taught in all Kentucky classrooms.

HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE

​To explore the many ways to give, visit kaee.org/support.

Key Takeaways from the First Half of our Listening Tour

We’re a little more than halfway through our listening tour, and we’re feeling energized, hopeful, and excited about the ideas and strategies we’ve gotten from our community. Here, we’ll share some big-picture ideas from the first four sessions.

SESSION 1: SUPPORTING NONFORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATORS AND ORGANIZATIONS

This meeting was designed for environmental education providers to share how KAEE can better serve them and to talk about ways to create a stronger, more inclusive field. Attendees included individual environmental educators and staff members from organizations providing environmental education or similar work outside of the classroom such as nature centers, parks, centers for EE, STEM, food literacy, Extension, and more. The big ideas that came up during the discussion centered around ​ Recruitment and retention in the field of EE Areas to address included:

• Wages and benefits are not comparable to other fields.

• Lack of recognition of Environmental Educator as a professional job.

• Need for competitive mentorship/internships programs and networking opportunities to attract professionals to the field.

• Lack of resources and support to increase employee recruitment and retention.

Equity, Diversity, Accessibility in the field of EE Areas to address included:

• Need for increased access to the outdoors and EE in urban areas.

• Lack of accessibility to EE and the outdoors to people with disabilities.

• Need for increased diversity in EE jobs.

• Environmental education is often happening in silos.

​Relevancy of the field of Environmental Education Areas to address included:

• Lack of understanding of how EE can help citizens make impactful decisions.

• Lack of appeal to different audiences and groups.

• No concrete definition of exactly what EE is.

• Need for bringing in new audiences and having a wider base.

• Need to overcome the issue of turning people off with politicized EE terminology.

EE as a cross-curricular discipline

Areas to address included:

• EE is seen as just science. How do we reframe / branch out?

• Need to expand EE opportunities on school grounds.

• Need to connect EE to climate education and sustainability.

• Lack of bridge between formal and nonformal educators.

​If you would like to help us prioritize these areas to address as we draft our new Strategic Plan, you can complete our Session 1 survey here.

SESSION 2: REIMAGINING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

This meeting was designed to rethink what environmental education looks like in the classroom, from kindergarten through higher education. We were joined by classroom teachers, school administrators, higher education professionals, and nonformal educators to discuss how we can craft a stronger future for EE in schools. Some of the challenges of integrating EE into K-12 schools that came up during the discussion were:

• Lack of intensive, long term programs and continuity (as opposed to one-and-done activities).

• ​Lack of time due to other subjects that must be covered.

• Lack of support for integrating science (let alone EE) into elementary school curriculum due to heavy focus on reading and math.

• Lack of (or limited) funding for EE in schools.

• Small group of people are doing the work; don't have school-wide support.

• Need to show teachers how EE is connected and can be connected to so many subjects.Issues of politics about what is being taught or should be taught about the environment in schools.

• Outdoor classrooms and school gardens don't feel like a shared responsibility. Teachers need support especially in the summer.

Some of the challenges of integrating EE into higher education that came up during the discussion were:

• High school and college students are not prepared for green jobs and are not aware of the options they have or what the job/training requirements are.

• Colleges and universities need to better network and connect to allow for idea sharing and transfer agreements.

• EE is not incorporated into science and methods courses that preservice educators are required to take.

• Need a comprehensive list of environmentally related degrees at KY colleges for students and counselors/advisors to reference. ​​

​​If you would like to help us prioritize these areas to address as we draft our new Strategic Plan, you can complete our Session 2 survey here.

SESSION 3: THE INTERSECTION OF CONSERVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION This meeting was designed for individuals and organizations working in conservation, sustainability, or environmental education, who came together to discuss how we can work better together to achieve our overlapping educational priorities across sectors and industries. The big ideas that came up during the discussion centered around Making Lasting Connections: Conservation, Sustainability, and EE Areas to address included:​

• Need for regularly scheduled meetings to network, connect, and build collaborations between practitioners in the fields of conservation, sustainability, and EE.

• ​Need to empower audiences with the necessary and appropriate vocabulary to discuss environmental issues and better understand the respective roles of conservation, EE, and sustainability.​

• ​Oftentimes, the environmental programs set in place are severely underfunded​ or are difficult to prioritize when basic needs aren't even being met​. ​

• People have stopped seeing themselves as part of the ecosystem. We need to bridge the gap between humans and habitat.

• ​Conservation, Sustainability, and Agriculture become segmented into different fields, even though they overlap.

• Many professionals are doing EE but do not self-identify as environmental educators. Need for collaboration and communication between sectors.

Increasing Access to the Field of EE / Green Jobs Areas to address included:

• Need to intersect education and industry to tie real world and textbook together through work-based learning, virtual learning, ​field trips or other experiential programming​.​

• ​Need for more internships to facilitate connections to the field and make the workforce more equitable.

• ​Need to connect with industry and corporate partners at the local level.

• ​Students lack the awareness of green career options. There is a need for career pathways for students who aren't going to college and job trainings for green jobs.

​​If you would like to help us prioritize these areas to address as we draft our new Strategic Plan, you can complete our Session 3 survey here.

SESSION 4: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION'S ROLE IN HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND COMMUNITY

There are numerous documented health and wellness benefits to being outdoors and being part of a strong community. This meeting was designed to explore how we can build stronger connections between environmental education, health, wellness, and community.

Some of the challenges that need to be addressed in this area that were discussed during this session included

• Need for stronger collaborations between EE and health/wellness​, built environment, and private companies.​

• There is a l​ack of access to accessible and safe outdoor space​.​

• ​Children (and adults) are spending less than 1% of their time outdoors. Need to help make outdoor space safe and inviting / encouraging more people to get outside.

• Lack of resources and support to increase employee recruitment and retention.

• ​EE is not seen as overlapping with things like art and mindfulness to promote mental health benefits of time in nature.

• ​​Need to revolutionize the way we teach in a way that allows kids to be kids - active, moving, out of seats, outdoors, and integrates EE and the environment across all disciplines.

If you would like to help us prioritize these areas to address as we draft our new Strategic Plan, you can complete our Session 4 survey here.

JOIN US FOR SESSIONS 5 AND 6

We’re handing you the mic to share with us your ideas about how we can best support environmental educators in and outside of Kentucky's classrooms. Your feedback and ideas will help shape our new Strategic Plan. Come share your voice as we begin this important work. To thank you for joining us, for each session you attend you'll be entered into a drawing for a free KAEE membership or one of two $50 KAEE gift cards (which can be used for eeCredentials, webinar attendance, membership, or conference registration). In addition, all attendees will be entered into a second drawing (held after the final session of our listening tour) for a free conference registration to this year’s 46th Annual KAEE Conference. Learn more and RSVP here.