2022–2024 Cohort

A big welcome to our new PEEC participants!

Our Students

Heidi Champion

Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission

About Heidi

Favorite Hobby: Hiking and getting out on the water.​

What does environmental education mean to me? Environmental education is engaging children through connections with their local resources and providing the knowledge and tools they need to appreciate and protect the natural world around them.

Bebe Cifaldi

WonderFun Learning

About Bebe

What does environmental education mean to me? Environmental education is the key to learning about and teaching those around us the wonder and beauty of our world. When someone understands the natural world we live in then they will take care of it and that’s what we’re here for.

Holly DeVault

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

About Holly

Favorite Hobby: Crocheting and gardening with native plants.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means fostering a meaningful connection to our planet.

Wiltress Felder

Lugoff-Elgin High School

About Wiltress

Favorite Hobby: I love cooking and trying new recipes, taking walks with my two dogs (Behr and Pnut).

What does environmental education mean to me? It means a way to ensure a future for our earth through educating students about the earth. It means providing a better future for those to come through education. It means hands on education to excite and get students excited about taking care of the earth locally and nationally though adulthood.

James Floyd

Beaufort County Public Schools

About James

Favorite Hobby: Hiking and exploring national park system.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means gaining a better understanding of how nature’s systems work, and the importance of their roles in human, animal, and vegetation existence. This understanding provides a foundation for becoming stewards for our local and global environment.

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Beth Foley

South Carolina Forestry Commission

About Beth

Favorite Hobby: I enjoy backpacking, rafting, and crafting.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means exposing others to the natural world and giving them the knowledge and skills they need to become better stewards of our land.

Sara Freytag

Belle W. Baruch Foundation (Hobcaw Barony)

About Sara

Favorite Hobby: Playing the piano, cuddling with my Kitty.​

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means teaching others to explore, appreciate, and understand the world around.

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Chaneen Haler

Greenville County Soil & Water Conservation District

About Chaneen

Favorite Hobby: I enjoy hiking and woodworking.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me environmental education means fostering positive relationships between people and the natural world.

Samantha Hart

Roper Mountain Science Center

About Samantha

Favorite Hobby: Hiking and kayaking.​

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means helping people to understand and appreciate how amazing the world around them is and hopefully even changing their perspectives for the better. One of the things that brings me true joy is when I can ease people’s fear of snakes and allow them to gain a new appreciation for how cool and beneficial they really are! I can’t wait to learn more best practices and meet awesome people in the PEEC program!

Valerie Hoyt-Parrish

Cutler Jewish Day School

About Valerie

Favorite Hobby: Hiking with my family and gardening.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world which empowers people to conserve, protect and restore the world around us.

Valerie Johnson

Horry County Schools

About Valerie

Favorite Hobby: Explore the natural world (ie. I love to walk in the woods, ID fungi, bird watch, snorkel, fish, and be outside), Garden.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means preparing learners how to be informed decision makers who routinely make sustainable choices.

William Smith

South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities

About William

Favorite Hobby: I love to go outside and just walk, especially with my wife, kids and doggo. I also love to swim and read both fiction and non-fiction and poetry. I am at home when I am learning and teaching though.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means that we use ALL of the learning that we understand (science, technology, history, mathematics…) to help protect the future for ALL of those that come after us.

Tanya Towne

Joe Adair Outdoor Education Center

About Tanya

Favorite Hobby: Camping, kayaking and working in my yard.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means educating students and adults about the environment, the importance of protecting, preserving and conserving our world for future generations.

Sarah Whitmire

Conestee Nature Preserve

About Sarah

Favorite Hobby: Camping, kayaking, and cooking when I’m not busy shuttling my two kids around.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means JOY!! It’s the joy expressed in my students’ faces when they discover something new. The joy in their realization that nature isn’t scary or dangerous and that it is, in fact, fun! It brings me joy to share my love of nature with my community and to know that I am part of a network working to save special places and the wild things that live there for future generations.

Kathy Wilson

S.C. Department of Natural Resources

About Kathy

Favorite Hobby: Kayaking and snowboarding.

What does environmental education mean to me? To me, environmental education means being able to help people connect with nature by immersing themselves outside and experiencing its beauty first hand.

Administration

Morgan Treon

S.C. Sea Grant Consortium

About Morgan

Favorite Hobby: From hiking to kayaking I love to be outside exploring and learning about the natural world.

What does environmental education mean to me? As an environmental educator, my goal is to foster an empathy and understanding of the natural world by providing a safe space for students to engage and learn with nature.