After a very short-lived banking career, I stumbled upon an amazing opportunity that was practically in my backyard! Barely five minutes from my front door lies the Great Valley Nature Center. For the summer, GVNC opened its doors to me to become an environmental educator. With ten plus acres of beautiful scenery to explore, I had a feeling I'd love this place. Before I knew it, I felt right at home. The adventures this place had in store for me would lead to a fantastic season.
Coming into the season late, I had to play catch-up. My training was three days of shadowing instead of three weeks of staff training, and the next thing I knew, I was teaching my first lesson. It was a great feeling knowing I was finally getting to use my college degree! Throughout the summer I had a chance to teach lessons about animal habitats, wetland ecology, endangered animals and so much more. Every day was a mix of lessons, crafts and games devoted to the specific topic. These nature programs were a great way to teach new ideas and get the kids excited about the environment.
Teaching lessons wasn't the only thing I got to do this summer. If I didn't have a nature program, I had an adventure program that week. These kids were older and went out of camp everyday. I got to have the adventures with them because some of the places we went I had never been to either. One day we visited the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Allentown. This zoo was excellent; it's on the smaller side, but had a great variety of animals. The kids loved it too, especially the merry-go-round. Figures! 
We also explored places like Crystal Cave near Kutztown, went whitewater rafting down the Lehigh river (that brought back memories from MoWo), canoeing at Blue Marsh Lake in Reading and soaked up some rays at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey. Hiking was a must at some point, so we also headed up to the north lookout at Hawk Mountain. Other adventures included trips to Dutch Spring in Bethlehem and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. 
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square was my last trip out of camp this summer. The kids did better with this one than I would have guessed, but still, flowers don't hold the attention span of preteens very well. My camera and I, on the other hand, had a blast! I snapped about 200 photos that day - I never could say no to a beautiful flower...or butterfly!
Oh! I didn't even get to mention my favorite part about the job...
Stay tuned for Part 2!
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