What it's like to be a River Educator
Meet Cathy Eiss, a River Educator with Mississippi Park Connection and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Cathy (top left) pictured with other River Educators at Mill Ruins Park under the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
What are some things you do as a River Educator?
As a River Educator I have worked with many small groups of kids at a number of different locations on the river. This position takes me to St. Anthony Falls, Hidden Falls, the Bdote river confluence, and Crosby Farm Park. I take kids on nature scavenger hunts, help them practice the use of a compass, and get kids to test the water quality of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. I also do fun professional development with my fellow River Educators and other teachers. At this state of my life I never guessed I would kayak on the Mississippi River with a group of teachers and get to see a Great Blue Heron rookery up close! During the past year I was also able to work on our Living River Online learning platform and participate in the development of our Online Classroom Visits, a popular virtual park program that has been accessed more than 4,000 times so far.
How did you become interested in being a River Educator?
For many years my team took our 4th graders on the National Park Service’s Big River Journey field trip, learning about the Mississippi River. When I received their email about the River Educator opportunity, it sounded like a great fit for me since I had already made plans to retire that year.
River Educators at Fort Snelling State Park (Cathy not pictured).
Any experiences that helped prepare you for the River Educator position?
My teaching experience was the most important preparation for this position. Teaching kids about the Mississippi River and it’s beauty, importance, and history is fun for me. I already liked the outdoors and anything having to do with nature, which is certainly helpful.
What’s your teaching background?
I retired from classroom teaching after about 27 years at the elementary level. During the last 10-12 years of my career, I became very interested in science, outdoor learning and STEM. My interest in STEM led me to become part of NEXUS (Access and Equity in STEM Education), a leadership training program at the Science Museum of Minnesota, for three years. This life changing experience led me to increase outdoor learning opportunities for our students after becoming the STEM Lead in my building. The icing on the cake of my career was visiting the amazing Amazon River for two weeks with other educators from around the country in 2016.
What’s your philosophy for teaching the outdoor world to kids?
As a kid, my friends and I were always outside exploring the ponds and natural places around us. We were curious and spent many days discovering interesting things. The sad part was that my elementary school, which was surrounded by blacktop, was located less than 50 yards from those natural spaces, and no teacher ever took us there to explore this wonderful area during my time as a K-6 student.
As a teacher, I wanted to change that experience for others. Taking our students outside for learning and hikes was eye-opening. My favorite day was our twice-yearly hike around a lake by our school. One of my students lived across the street from this lake and had never been to it. When he saw the waterfall that flowed out of the lake, he stopped and stared at it in amazement. As a 10-year-old, he never saw a waterfall and never knew there was one so close to his home. There is so much that is amazing in our outdoor world. We need to share it with our kids now so that they can learn to appreciate it and work to help protect it!
An education volunteer helps students use a compass at Hidden Falls Regional Park.
What is bringing you joy as a River Educator?
The ability to continue to work with children! I think I would really miss that experience if I wasn’t able to do this in retirement. The second thing is all the new learning I have done. Who knew that fresh water mussels were such amazing creatures?! Who knew that the cottonwood tree was so perfectly adapted and important to the Mississippi floodplain ecosystem. I didn’t know there was once a huge oil spill on the Mississippi River. I am so happy I have this opportunity to continue learning while doing work I love!
What makes a good River Educator?
An effective River Educator is a person that wants to be with children and help them learn about our river and the outdoors. A River Educator should be able to work as part of a team, be flexible, and love to be outdoors.
How can someone become a River Educator?
You can read more about the River Educator position and apply for the position on the Mississippi Park Connection’s education page. You can also contact David Kappelhoff, Education Coordinator for MPC, for more information at dkappelhoff@parkconnection.org.