Sharing the Love of Nature

Every weekend at Tremont is packed full of learning and community. Our team of Lead Naturalists—Ailani, Kayla, and Emily—recently journeyed to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont to partake in Skills for Sharing Nature on February 14-16, 2025. Emily Jackson, lifelong learner and botanist, shares their experience below.

The first night upon our arrival (Friday), we focused on connecting with our classmates and learning about their relationships with the natural world through our favorite memories in nature. Almost everyone recalled having the freedom to explore nature in their childhood, highlighting the importance of kids being out in nature. The conversation then led to all the people we can have an influence on… i.e. our audience. We all could see that even though we work in different areas and serve different groups of people, our reach of environmental education can be very large.

Before wrapping up and returning to our bunks, we learned about the Flow Learning Chart:

Stage One: Awaken Enthusiasm

This stage engages immediate group bonding with play and enthusiasm.

Stage Two: Focus Attention

This stage channels the energy harnessed in Stage One into attention, concentration, and a deepened awareness.

Stage Three: Offer Direct Experiences

This stage fosters deeper understanding through harmony, personal revelations, and artistic interpretation.

Stage Four: Share Inspiration

This stage strengthens personal experience with enriched learning and positive peer reinforcement.

One of the many salamanders spotted at Tremont after dark!

At each stage of the Flow Learning Chart, there are different qualities and experiences to focus on in order to optimize the learning process when in nature. It was very encouraging to all of us Naturalists when we made the connection that all of our current games and activities fall into each category. Now, we’re excited to have this tool to refine the order in which we facilitate them.

Our second day, Saturday, we learned specific techniques and activities for teaching, as well as beginning prep for our final presentation. “Field Marks” was a group activity where we selected a topic we were all interested in and created a short presentation. My group made a short key for the oak leaves of Tremont’s campus.

After the day’s lessons ended, we went rogue searching for amphibians and found over 20 salamanders and a few frogs, as well. It was very special to witness Tremont at night. 

Sundays are always a bittersweet time at Tremont. After spending around 48 hours with a small group of people, new friends are sad to say goodbye but also very grateful for the bond shared. Our Sunday consisted of hours of fun presentations (especially Kayla and Ailani’s groups), followed by a very long, chatty lunch before heading back to Chattanooga. 

I know I speak for Kayla and Ailani both when I say our time at Tremont is always very educational, but even more, it is uplifting and encouraging to us about the work we are doing. Attendees of the Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification Program are all people who feel very deeply connected with nature and know the importance of sharing it. We all have the right to be in nature and experience that connection. It is more important than ever that we are facilitating those connections.

Our Lead Naturalists also recently attended Winter Woody Plant Identification earlier this month on February 1st. Here’s what Ailani had to say: "Attending professional development opportunities is an incredible way for us to sharpen our skills as Naturalists. We gained fresh ideas for engaging our guests, students, teachers, and community members in meaningful ways. We connected with other passionate professionals who care deeply about our local environment and ecosystems, sharing insights and brainstorming ways to bring new techniques and lessons back to our campus. It was also a joy to be surrounded by fellow 'nature nerds' (I say that lovingly!) and to learn from those with deep expertise. The experience was both humbling and inspiring, and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned."

From nature play to eco-knowledge, we’re thrilled to share the natural world with our community!