The objective of this study is to use my knowledge of sustainability to teach the youth in my community. By partnering with Nearby Nature, I worked with various age groups (ages 3-13) children as a nature educator at a day camp in Alton Baker Park exploring topics of sustainability and care for the environment. This study aided me in learning how to apply technical teaching skills and advocacy through community work. This exploration will benefit me in the future as I pursue a career centered around design activism and community-oriented design.

I completed 80 hours of work with Nearby Nature over the course of two weeks. Each week I was placed with a different cohort which consisted of an instructor, an intern (my role), and ten children. My role was to relieve pressure from the instructor, spend quality time with the children, ensure safety, and aid in co-teaching alongside the instructor. I also underwent a mandatory training to prepare for the job. At the training, many things were discussed, but mainly information about Coronavirus and the racial injustices that were both topics on everyone’s minds. We discussed the best strategies to handle speaking and informing children about both topics if they were to come up. Also, how to safely and respectfully care for the children during such a stressful time.