Member Spotlight

 

In the last five years, Amanda McMickle has been the Director of Will Smith Zoo School at the San Antonio Zoo (the largest nature preschool in the country), launched NEST (Nature-based Education Support in Texas), gotten involved with nature-based learning in public schools, joined the Natural Start Alliance leadership team, and now she’s the Vice President of Education at the Cibolo Center for Conservation, where she also oversees a nature-based preschool. On top of all this, she is a mother of three AND she’s getting her PhD. By the end of the interview, we were convinced that she might have a time-turner a-la Hermoine in Harry Potter, because we can’t see how it’s possible to accomplish so much and still find time to sit with us and share why this work means so much to her. Please enjoy this interview with Amanda! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natural Start (Emily): Hi Amanda! Thanks so much for chatting with me and sharing more about your journey in nature-based early childhood education! Jumping right in to questions…You’ve worked in many different settings over your career, both nature-based and not. From public schools to zoo preschool to a nature center (and probably everything in between). When you reflect on your experience at each place, what stands out to you as unique and what do you see as the throughline that connects all of these settings? 

 

Amanda: I think you know, going from a zoo to a public school to a nature center, the biggest difference really is the nature that it has. So, zoos tend to be very manicured and very focused on how nice the space looks rather than more practical. Like, “No, we want it to be a mess!” They tend to go for the manicured look and they have animals from all over the world, so it’s about finding ways to connect kids to making those connections to their nature at home with animals around the world. And then you go to the public school, where typically, and even in this case, there's no nature, right? It's flat, it's dry. There's no trees. There’s no nature. So then the focus is, how can we bring in nature, while also making connections to the nature outside of their door? And then the nature center is the less manicured, more wild spaces. But again, thinking, how do we get kids to connect with the nature here, and then make that connection to outside their door? So that's kind of the throughline. 

 

Natural Start: Yeah, it’s important to recognize that while different organizations may have different motivations or variations in their approaches, the ultimate goal is really similar. You’ve been both an educator and an administrator (and I’ll bet both at times). Nature-based administrators face unique situations and challenges. What’s something you’ve learned that has had a big impact on your work? Any wisdom to share with other nature-based administrators? 

 

Amanda: I really went from the formal school setting in a public school as a teacher to the informal of a zoo, nature center, nonprofit world. And the big thing I learned is that we're all doing amazing things, but a lot of it feels like we’re working in silos. For example, I went from teaching where I felt like, “I wish I had some organizations who could help me out!” and “How do I get kids outside?” and, “How do I connect it to the standards?!” I'm doing this all alone and trying to figure it out. Then, I went to the nonprofit world, and the message there was, “We need to be reaching more teachers. How can we reach more teachers?” I’m like, “The teachers are wondering the same thing!” So, I’m thinking about how can we come together and work together on this collective mission of getting kids outside and connected to nature. I also learned by going out and talking to organizations that they want to help teachers and they want to support [teachers]. Everybody is working in silos, so how can we connect? That's been my like,

personal mission this whole time. 

 

Natural Start: Once you’ve figured that out, let us know! But truly, you’re such a force in Texas and you’re doing so much. In fact, you’re currently working toward your PhD in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship on top of everything else. What are you learning through that experience that has influenced your thinking? 

 

Amanda: I'm getting a PhD in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and we had an entrepreneur come talk to the class. I thought, I’ll try to relate this to my work, but he's an entrepreneur, a businessman, and I’m, you know, an educator! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make the connection. And he said something that really stuck with me. He said, “Your net worth equals your network.” It made me think. If my network equals my net worth and my net worth really is the mission of the organization. It's not monetary, but it's mission, you know, like a calling over career. Then, my net worth is connecting those people and growing this collective force of this work. 

 

Natural Start: You know, we always talk about the power of connection, but that’s a really interesting way of phrasing it. How do you apply this thinking to your work? 

 

Amanda: I'm such an introvert and going up and talking to people, or just walking up to them and talking, or cold calling or making emails – I get anxiety. But kind of the adrenaline rush of getting the response back, or for someone to say, “Absolutely! Let's talk.” That seems to offset that anxiety. My go to [excuse] was that I don’t have time. I'm running this, I’m doing that, and I don't have time. So what I started doing is on my to do list every day I’d write three people I want to connect to. It might be like, “Hey, I read your article, can we talk about it?” Or I might just be like, “Hey! How's it going? How are things in your world?” Just constantly fostering those relationships, to me, is feeding that collective mission or vision that we're working on, would be equal to my net worth. So that piece of guidance really impacted me on my journey for sure.

 

Natural Start: There seems to be a theme here about the importance of connection. You actually founded a group in Texas called NEST (Nature-based Education Support in Texas) for this purpose. Can you share more about NEST and your goals for that group?

 

Amanda: That was really inspired by attending the conference years ago. We kind of talked about the fact that we go to conferences, and we get so fired up, and then we go back to our state, and we're like, “Who do I talk to? Where are my people?” And so that's what really inspired this group. So we started meeting monthly. We took aspects of the conference. Like, we had a field trip at every [meeting]. We’d go to a different school every meeting and talk about what was on our mind, and then we would get inspired by walking around and seeing what was happening at the school. It's been great because it's been open to administrators. It’s been open to teachers that teach in a traditional preschool setting that have said, “I want to start implementing this in my own classroom.” Parents have been interested in NEST and following along. It's been really great. It's really kind of like a support group. [We talk about] what's on our minds, what are we seeing happening around the country, but also, how can that specifically be tailored to what's going on in Texas? We've just started a Google folder of resources. [We share] funding opportunities in Texas with grants and also just information about our schools. We just want to be so helpful to our families, always, so if I have a family at my school that says, “We're about to move to Houston, but we still love the nature-based!” I can say, “Well, let me see if I can find a school that might be in your area that you can look into.” So we're just trying to build those resources, build those relationships. Again, together we're stronger. And so that's kind of the the whole idea behind NEST. 

 

Natural Start: Fantastic! It’s been so exciting to see groups like NEST popping up around the country! They really can have a big impact, which you’ve demonstrated, so thank you for everything you are doing. Ok, last question! What fuels you, other than caffeine, to keep doing this work? 

 

Amanda: So when I started teaching, many years ago, I remember we had a technology class that we would take our kids to every day. We’d go to P.E. one day, Art one day, Music one day, and Technology one day. And then one year, they said, “We're doing away with technology class, because technology should really be integrated into every aspect of the child's day. So, we don't need a special class for that.” I talk to community members, school leaders, higher education and they're all recognizing the need for that relationship with the natural world and environmental education for our future. And so what excites me is that one day my kids are going to go to school, and they're going to say, “We no longer have an environmental education class,” or, “We no longer have gardening club after school.”  Because it is integrated into every part of the day. So that's really what keeps me going. Someday we're all going to be part of this, and we're going to look back and be like, “Remember when we just had a gardening club?!” Now it's everywhere. So that's really what excites me.