Meet our new River Educator, Erin Tone!

1. Tell us about your background in education.

I have always had a passion for the natural world and knew that I wanted to share this love and help others find a connection to nature as well. After graduating with a degree in Biology and Environmental Studies, I decided to pursue a masters in science teaching. After graduating, I started a job as a Grade-7 Life Science teacher. I really enjoyed working with this age group; they were critical thinkers and could understand complex science concepts, but also approached the world with a fresh perspective, and a curiosity and excitement that was contagious. I loved the curriculum and was always energized by the days I was able to take my learners outside and experience nature with them. Last year, I decided to leave the classroom to pursue a career in outdoor education and now love spending my days teaching outside as a River Educator and a Naturalist.

2. What has been your experience with outdoor education? 

Teaching outdoor education is so rewarding! I absolutely love watching and helping curiosity and excitement grow as learners experience or see things for the first time. It is a big honor to be able to teach kids and help them form a connection to our natural world. Around the world, we are facing many environmental challenges, and working with kids through outdoor education makes me excited to see how their leadership, creativity and passion will help the future of our planet.

3. What do you think the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area offers teachers as a place of learning for their students?

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is such a neat place that features a landscape of great historical and cultural significance. It showcases this great river which made a huge impact on the development of people, cities, and a Minnesota way of life. The park area is also a beautiful place filled with amazing aquatic and terrestrial life, and is a great place to get outside and explore! 

Working River is a newer program that has been a lot of fun and is a good example of what can be offered to students through the park’s programming! Through a variety of stations, kids explore and learn about the history of St. Anthony Falls, the flour milling process, and get a chance to look through binoculars to learn about the many living and nonliving things that make the area along that stretch of the river unique!

4. As a River Educator, what makes this job unique for you as a teacher yourself?

I am a newer River Educator and I am so excited to be a part of this awesome team of outdoor educators! As a former classroom teacher, I know how much time and heart goes into lesson planning. As a teacher, I often found myself wishing I had the time to create more learning experiences that would allow students to fully explore all of the topics we were covering. 

As a River Educator, I love being able to really dive into the topics we are teaching and it is so fun to facilitate these exciting outdoor learning experiences for students that can enrich and build on the amazing work that their teachers are doing in the classroom. Each group comes with unique backgrounds, knowledge, and curiosities and it is really rewarding to provide a space for them to get outside and learn about the river!

5. Any recommended resources teachers, parents, or even the general public should know about in terms of this park or getting kids connected more with nature?

I think that nature is the very best resource there is! There are so many things that we can learn and notice from time spent outside – I still learn something new (or many things!) every time I am immersed in nature. From collecting pond water samples to watching baby birds in the backyard with binoculars, and from exploring nearby parks to practicing species identification, there is so much learning that can happen through time spent outside! Working with kids in outdoor education forces me (in the best way possible!) to think through the lens of a kid – to be curious and wonder about the phenomena of the natural world. 

I am also continuously amazed by the many great books, movies, podcasts, and apps available for learning about the outdoors. Two of my favorite apps are Seek! by iNaturalist and the Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell Lab. Both of these apps help to identify species that you can see and hear and are a great way to help you start noticing the amazing life we have in Minnesota!