By Natalia Bayona, former MyRWA Education Manager
Demonstrating the filtration properties of a rain garden. Credit: Paula Jordan
Seeing excited smiles. Watching new memories form. Helping youth share new experiences in their favorite outdoor spaces. Connecting with families. These moments marked the highlights of my time at MyRWA, and have inspired me to dedicate my career to youth engagement. It’s been an absolute gift and privilege to work alongside some of the most talented environmentalists and social justice heroes I’ve met during my time at MyRWA over the past three and a half years. The education program evolved in unprecedented ways during this time through the support from a tremendous network of colleagues, volunteers, and teachers. I created a Community Educator program that made it possible for volunteers to work with us to develop and lead programs at their neighborhood schools while allowing for more large-scale field trips and classroom visits. We expanded our curriculum to include units on native planting and green infrastructure design, allowing students the opportunity to get involved in local engineering projects. Our interactive unit on infiltration trenches, challenging students to use mapping software and design and test models of trenches in the classroom, was even deemed as an exemplary program by our grantors at MassDEP!
Although I will miss these connections greatly, I have confidence our new Education Manager Alice will continue moving this work forward in new and imaginative ways! I look forward to continuing on my journey as an environmental educator in North Carolina, cherishing the time I’ll be able to spend with family and friends.
Showing park visitors wildlife specimens and materials to learn about the Mystic River watershed. Credit: Mayor DeMaria’s Office
Teaching 3rd & 4th grade students from the ACERA School in Winchester how to sample water quality from the Aberjona River at Davidson Park. Credit: Danny Fain
Showing students macro-invertibrates sampled from the Mystic Lakes. Credit: Daria Clark Santollani
