An introduction to this podcast series and its host, Tania Marien.
An introduction to this podcast series and its host, Tania Marien.
Also see Talaterra.com.
Episode 1: Project History
January 23, 2019
Tania Marien 0:04
Hi, this is Tania Marien.
Thank you for joining me for this first episode of the Talaterra podcast. I want to take a few moments to introduce myself and my project. I am an independent educator who has worked in informal learning environments for 17 years. This podcast is an extension of my current project, which is an investigation into the contributions that freelance educators make to lifelong learning in communities. For this project, I focus on freelance educators working in natural resource fields and environmental education. I focused on this particular group because I am one of these educators. And I know that there are more people like me working in communities, because I've crossed paths with them over the years, and I've seen firsthand the creative and thoughtful ways that these teachers connect the public with nature.
I started this project because I feel the work of these educators goes unnoticed. My objective is to understand how these educators work and the contributions that they make to their communities. I want to be able to describe and articulate the work they do to a larger audience. I've noticed in the fields of environmental education and interpretation, that there's a lot of focus on the work of organizations, and not a lot of focus on the work of independent educators.
I'm here today because I had a hunch, a hunch that just wouldn't leave me alone. And this hunch said, "There's a story here, a story that needs to be told."
Well, I listened to that nagging hunch for four years before I finally did something about it. Last year, I reached out to freelance educators and I had to opportunity to speak with them in person at conferences and online and also had the opportunity to learn from them through my online survey. And I can tell you that that hunch that started at all is correct. There is a story here. And a good story too. I am so excited that this project is where it is today, one year after having started it. I see this project as an opportunity to contribute to the future of work and environmental education.
I look forward to continuing this journey with you through this podcast. We meet our first guest next week. Thank you so much for being here.