Stories From the Forest: Corey and Environmental Education
As we move toward the end of 2023, we’re taking a look back at some of the stories that defined the year. This week, Corey Hagen, our Director of Operations and Outreach, reflects on what makes Reflection Riding so special and his 18 years of developing environmental education programs.
There aren’t many urban environments in the United States that have access to 300 acres of such diverse habitats, flora, and fauna within minutes of downtown—Reflection Riding is a microcosm of all that is ecologically unique to Chattanooga. This is what makes it such a wonderful, hands-on teaching campus. We can take students to a wetland and show them river cane and then take them up creek to look at upland cane all in the same day. When you include the historical significance of the campus, the Civil War history, and the history of the native people who lived here long before that, there is an endless amount of learning that can happen on our campus, and to me, that's what makes Reflection Riding so special.
One of the things I am most excited about this year is the apprenticeship program we have developed in partnership with The Howard School. Over the past five years, we have built this relationship, developed a proof of concept, and evolved the program. With lots of community support and a partnership with the United Way, this year is the first year we will be able to extend job offers to candidates to be a part of our apprenticeship program.
The program has been specially designed to provide a direct pipeline to careers in conservation and environmental protection. The Howard School is a great partner for this because they are geographically one of the closest high schools to Reflection Riding’s campus, and they have an environmental sciences study track in place. The apprenticeship builds directly on their curriculum and provides hands-on training. The goal is that when these students leave the program, they will be career-ready, and the City of Chattanooga is eager for trained professionals with experience in rewilding city properties.
Reflection Riding is a learning campus. Everything that we do, whether we're selling native plants, leading a tour in the animal habitat, or doing invasive plant removal, we are educating the public on what they can be doing to help carry this work on. That is why this apprenticeship is such a big win for Chattanooga. Not only are we raising up the next generation of conservationists, but we are also providing them with the technical skills they need to apply their knowledge to a career that can make a huge difference in our city, county, and beyond.
The more connected people are to nature, the more likely they are to make positive environmental decisions as they mature, and so our goal is to instill a love of nature that lasts a lifetime in every person we have a chance to interact with. We have children as young as three on our campus engaged in nature education. Our Forest Homeschool program for ages six through 13 teaches plant and bird identification skills, basic geology, and the impacts of invasive species. These learners participate in hands-on activities with the hope of instilling a deep connection with nature and a possible path toward becoming a junior naturalist within the framework of education that we're providing.
I have worked with Reflection Riding for 18 years, and I am so excited to see what is on the horizon for this special place. Every day I see people, young and old, learning something new, building community, and becoming connected with nature. This past year we reached 10,000 children through hands-on nature experiences and had over 100,000 visitors come to the campus. This scale of ecological education is only possible because of the generosity of our donors. I am truly grateful for your continued support. Thank you for helping us sustain access to nature for our entire community.
