Learning to Learn (and Teach) Online - Environmental Volunteers

Virtual School Program on Plants and their Parts for 1st grade

A little bit about me

Hello! My name is Morayo and I am the Education Intern this year! I’m a Junior at Santa Clara University studying Political Science and Environmental Studies. I was born and raised in Seattle, WA and often find myself missing the rain (shocking, I know!). I love hiking and spending time outside. I love taking daily walks around the neighborhood to explore the Santa Clara community and break up my online class schedule. I’m really interested in environmental justice and finding ethical and equitable policy solutions to environmental problems!

An unexpected beginning

This school year looked a little different than we all were expecting. When I started my internship with Environmental Volunteers, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was adjusting to online school myself and was hopeful that my own online learning experience would help me as a teacher and a helper. Through teaching lessons such as “Water, Water Everywhere” and “Plants and Their Parts” I was able to use tools I learned through my own experience with online learning to adjust to the virtual elementary school environment. Virtual participation is a little different than in-class participation, and I found it helpful to wait a few minutes after posing a question or asking for feedback during lessons. This gave students time to ponder the content we were exploring and form responses.

Virtual School Program on Salt Marsh Plants for 3rd grade

Projects, projects, projects!

My time with Environmental Volunteers made my virtual world all the more enjoyable! EV projects and lessons provided me with a break from my Zoom calls and digital assignments. I was able to tap into my creativity while designing media content such as Instagram graphics and Marine Habitat cards.

One of my favorite projects was designing social media content for Black History Month in February. Not only was I able to highlight important people and programs committed to environmental and racial justice, but I learned more about Black history and activism here in the Bay Area. One of the most interesting things I learned was about the Buffalo Soldiers who were African American park rangers tasked with protecting some of California’s national parks!

New experiences and new friendships

From talking to other Environmental Volunteers to my weekly meetings with Christine, I enjoyed a much-needed break from back-to-back Zoom classes. I look forward to the day I will meet you all in person. I’m interested in pursuing a career in environmental law and think learning to present information in a clear and digestible way in lessons will help me in my future. Working with different members of the EV team also helped me learn to multi-task and gain experience with different aspects of program development. I enjoy my time with Environmental Volunteers and am grateful for the opportunity to learn (and teach) online!

By EV Intern, Morayo Kamson

Photos by Morayo Kamson