Marcos Stoltzfus
Director of Environmental Education Outreach
Education
- B.A., Goshen College, 2006
- M.A., Hamline University, 2015
Contact
- marcosas@goshen.edu
- (260) 799-5869
- Merry Lea
EnEd 580: Practicum in Teaching Environmental Education (Masters of Arts in Environmental Education-MAEE)
Graduate students join the Merry Lea Environmental Education Outreach team in the delivery of a variety of high quality environmental education programs to PreK-12 students and the public. MAEE students work to develop pedagogical skills, the habits of mind of an environmental educator, and broaden their depth of experience with diverse audiences.
EnEd 575: International Experience In Environmental Education (Masters of Arts in Environmental Education-MAEE)
A three-week, immersion style cross-cultural experience for students in the MAEE program. MAEE students learn new natural history knowledge, develop programming, and lead environmental education experiences in novel ecosystem and cultural contexts. Past courses have taken place in the Sky Islands region of SE Arizona and Hopi Reservation, as well as on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
SUST 340: Field Experience in Environmental Education
An intensive undergraduate course that explores the field of place-based environmental education through involvement, practice, and experimentation in Merry Lea’s ecological communities and environmental education programs. At the end of the course, participants have developed their own place-based education program for a setting of their choice.
My professional interests lie within organizational theory & structure, and leadership within these settings. With a background in Science Museums, nature centers, and informal science education settings, I am particularly interested in the intersection between the nonprofit sector and informal education.
In addition to instructing in the Master of Arts in Environmental Education program, I also oversee Environmental Education Outreach at Merry Lea, which includes PreK-12 and public programs.
Each year, more than 4,000 local PreK-12 students participate in field trips at Merry Lea. Students participate in a range of activities, from dipping for macro invertebrates in wetland ecosystems, hiking along a glacial esker, or feeding livestock at our sustainable farm. Our team of educators work alongside graduate students to provide high-quality educational experiences to these visiting school children.
Merry Lea also offers a wide selection of programs to the public throughout all times of year. Some of our programs, like Enchanted Forest, have been offered on an ongoing basis for years. Other programs change annually, and may include food preservation, family pond explorations, literary hikes and others.
A recent area of investigation has been the implementation of a Nature-Based Early Childhood Education at Merry Lea and in our Region. Merry Lea’s program repertoire includes two pioneering initiatives: Nature Preschool and Kinderforest. In 2017 we piloted a the region’s first Kinderforest program, providing repeated, all-day experiences in a natural setting, using a child-directed, inquiry-based approach to learning. We designed and implemented this program in multiple school districts, and then went on to start the area’s first Nature Preschool in partnership with area organizations. Each of these models provide repeated, experiences in a natural setting, providing a child-directed, inquiry-based approach to learning. We embrace the opportunity for students to face appropriate risk, and see students as co-discoverers of knowledge. Because of this success, Merry Lea has become a resource to agencies and educators seeking to embrace a Nature-Based approach in their own setting.
- Various organizations: Lutheran Foundation, The Vine Early Learning Center, SOURCE Elkhart, Manchester University Ed Dept., Indiana Coalition of Preschool Co-ops. Nature-Based Early Childhood Education, or: How carefully facilitated experiences in Nature can benefit children. 2019-2021
- World of Wonder International Nature-Based Early Learning Conference. Title: 10 trips to the Forest: Piloting a first-time Forest Kindergarten partnership. Aug 2018
- Field trip session for Environmental Education Association of Indiana: Kinderforest at Merry Lea.Sept 2018