Maryville College tapped as advisory group member for Tennessee Environmental Education Association
Sept. 10, 2025
As an institution that prides itself on being “of and for the region,” Maryville College now stands to help shape policy that will teach young people to appreciate and care for its natural resources.
MC has been selected as one of 10 Tennessee organizations to serve as inaugural members of the Tennessee Environmental Education Association (TEEA) Advisory Group, according to Dr. Cynthia Gardner, professor of education and chair of the MC Division of Education. The group’s purpose is to “advise Tennessee educators on integrating environmental education into their curriculum, document best practices, and work toward developing a TEEA-accredited certificate program and degree programs at Tennessee institutes of higher education.”
Gardner will serve as the College’s lead representative, responsible for attending the group’s monthly meetings, as well as attending and presenting at this year’s TEEA conference — the theme of which is “Steams to Systems: Connecting Communities, Classrooms and Conservation,” scheduled for Sept. 25-28 in Chattanooga. Gardner will present a session for educators working with middle school students related to global warming and the worldwide effects of climate change.
In addition, she’ll work with Dr. Jay Clark ’96, director of environmental and sustainability initiatives at Maryville College, on other goals related to the Advisory Group, such as developing best practices in environmental education, planning and facilitating environmental education workshops for educators, and increasing collaboration between divisions related to environmental education projects.
“The selection process for the 10 advisory group positions was highly competitive,” said Ansley Eichhorn, president of TEEA. “We received applications from a diverse array of organizations across Tennessee — ranging from universities and public schools to private schools, nonprofits, watershed conservation groups, zoos and aquariums, wildlife centers and other leaders advancing environmental education in their communities. This made the process very competitive and speaks to the growing momentum for environmental education in Tennessee.
“Maryville College distinguished itself not only through its longstanding tradition of environmental stewardship and leadership, but also because TEEA, Dr. Cynthia Gardner and I have been in conversation as far back as 2019 about how to more fully integrate environmental education into Tennessee’s collegiate landscape. Maryville College’s appointment to the advisory group feels like the continuation of that important dialogue.”
This initiative, Eichhorn added, is supported by funding from an Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 grant, and MC received a $2,500 sub-award to support its participation in the Advisory Group and to help it achieve goals related to that involvement. For Gardner, a member of TEEA who took advantage of the opportunity to apply for Advisory Group membership, the ability to help craft environmental education standards is something of a personal passion project.
“I was involved in conversations related to a state-wide environmental education certificate and implementing environmental education into the MC teacher education program when I started at MC, so this has been an interest of mine for quite a while,” she said.
Given that the College offers majors in both Environmental Studies and Environmental Science, bringing the College along as an institutional member of the Advisory Group only makes sense, she added.
“Environmental education is a broad term that is focused on using the power of education to create a more sustainable future,” she said, adding that while the work of developing and documenting best practices in environmental education is just beginning, some of the group’s preliminary areas of focus include “ecosystems and climate interactions in Tennessee.”
And given the College’s proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — the most biologically diverse park in the U.S. National Park system — as well as its frequent use by faculty and staff as a learning laboratory, the opportunity to help shape environmental education initiatives is an ideal use of College resources, Clark said.
“TEEA’s initiative to increase environmental education across Tennessee parallels Maryville College’s desire to provide environmental education opportunities, such as K-12 programming and lifelong learning, to the communities of our region,” he said. “And, given we will soon be breaking ground on the Alexander Institute for Conservation Leadership and the Sciences (a recent change from its original moniker, the Alexander Institute for Environmental Education and the Sciences), the timing of this opportunity for Maryville College could not be better!”
“We are proud to see Tennessee stepping forward to shape what environmental education can look like in the years ahead,” Eichhorn added. “Personally, I am excited to help elevate best practices in environmental education across the state, better equip those who wish to teach and practice it, and bring greater attention to its essential role in the broader field of education.”