Hi my name is Sara Crawford and I am an Environmental Education Specialist with Willamette Resource and Educational Network (WREN). When I first came across the job I was excited to be teaching in nature and in schools.
Then came COVID-19 and the shutdown of most of the programs. For the first few months of the program I was creating online videos for the local libraries and helping the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with plant surveying. This big change in the program opened up other possible projects and allowed me to choose what type of projects I wanted to work on.
Through this position I led a nature walk where I talked about native bees and identifed them in the field. I helped with the Willamette River Festival on their geocache and created a self guided tour in the local wetlands. Both these projects connected me to the wetlands and local agencies.
There have been lots of changes to the program from what I initially signed up for. As frustrating as it is to not be teaching in a classroom I have been able to explore some of my own personal interests and create content for WREN. It’s been great to work with partners from the BLM, Willamette Riverkeeper, the WREN board, and Long Tom Watershed. I now have video skills that I didn’t have before and have learned a lot about virtual lessons.
Here are links to WREN’s Youtube, and a video that I am featured in.
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