Current Position: Environmental Education Coordinator at Dinosaur State Park, Rocky Hill, CT.
How long have you been with Connecticut State Parks and in what capacity?
I have worked for 4 years in my current position and 14 years with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. My previous position with the agency was as Recycling Education Coordinator.
How did you become involved in working as an Environmental Education Coordinator?
I have worked for over 20 years in Environmental Education, both at public and private, not-for-profit agencies. Since I was a small child, I have always been fascinated by dinosaurs. Working for a Dinosaur Park as Environmental Education Coordinator seemed a wonderful way to use skills that I have gained over my years working in Environmental Education with my interest in dinosaurs.
Describe a typical day at your job.
(If there is no such thing as a typical day, then please tell us about your primary responsibilities and duties.)
There is no typical day, although the tasks do vary a lot by season. Some of my primary duties include: hiring and training staff, designing and presenting education programs for people of all ages, creating and running workshops for teachers, writing and managing grants, planning special events, planning for park improvements and securing funding, speaking with the media, meeting with various groups that are involved with the park such as our Scientific Advisory Board and our Friends of the park group and serving as the Park’s representative to the media.
How many hours a week do you work in this position?
At least 40 hours a week.
What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
Doing education programs for children and adults of all ages, planning and running teacher workshops and running special events. It is wonderful to see how enthusiastic many children are about dinosaurs. For many, learning about dinosaurs sparks their first interest in science. I also enjoy teacher workshops because I know that once we have trained a teacher, we will reach many students for many years to come. We have special events during all school vacations but our biggest event celebrates the discovery of the footprints. The event takes place in late August and is called Dinosaur State Park Day. Last year, we had over 2,600 people attend. It is very gratifying to see the many hours of planning finally translated into a fun day of discovery for families.
What do you find to be the greatest challenges of your job?
Staffing is always a great challenge as we only have five full-time staff members. The museum is open year round, six days a week and the grounds (hiking trails, picnic area) are open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. The park does employ part-time seasonal staff, especially in the summer months. However, they are only allowed to work six months at a time, so we are always training new staff.
What kind of training/schooling is required in your position?
Background in the sciences of biology, paleontology, botany and geology are important for this position. It is also essential to have expertise in public speaking, program design, grant writing and public relations. You have to be skilled at working with a variety of age groups. It is also important to have some experience working with volunteers both on an individual and institutional level. Volunteers are crucial to museum operation here at the park. We have a very active Friends group that runs our bookshop and provides funding for many projects. In addition, you need to be willing to learn about facility management, hazardous waste issues, purchasing and a variety of other issues that are important to ensure the smooth operation of a small museum.
Is there any kind of training or general experience that you wish you had before taking your job?
I would have liked to have had some field experience in paleontology and more experience in exhibit design.
What are a few of the projects that you've been working on recently that have been the most interesting?
One project that was very exciting was the production of a new park video. The park had not had it’s own video before I arrived and we were often asked by guests if we did. Along with other staff and our Advisory Board, I supervised the production of our video. Although we worked on the project for 2 years, the end result was well worth the effort. The video has been well-received by the public and is sold in our bookshop, so it is also a way for way for us to raise funds.
Another exciting project has been establishing a teacher workshop program. Over the last few years, we have done over a dozen workshops for teachers of grades 3-12 on topics including Landforms, Teaching About Evolution and Reading the Rocks. These were a lot of fun to plan and we received a lot of very positive feedback from teachers. It also allows us to expand the reach of the museum to the classroom. We could not do this with our own staff. We hope to expand this program in the future.
If someone were interested in working as an Environmental Education Coordinator at a state park, what advice could you give them?
Expect to work very hard and to continue to update your knowledge and skills throughout the time you are working at the Park. Be flexible and make the most of the resources that you have.
Please share any further thoughts you may have about working in the state park system:
It has been a rewarding experience that I have enjoyed very much. The park has visitors from all over the world, so it is exciting to know that people halfway around the globe will tell their friends about our facility. It has also been enjoyable to work with not only other park staff but with the museum community in Connecticut and surrounding states. We have been involved with some projects with other nature centers and museums and I have found this to be one of the more pleasant aspects of the job
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