eeCorps Members: Where Are They Now? Featuring Molly Worm

KACEE Staff
16 hours ago
4 min read

Where can a year of eeCorps service take you? In our blog series “Where Are They Now?”, we reconnect with former eeCorps members to explore how their service year shaped their career paths. Each story highlights the unique paths members have taken after completing their term — whether they continued in environmental education (EE) or carried their experience into a new field, one thing remains consistent: their eeCorps year played a role in where they are today.

Back in college, before becoming an eeCorps member, I served with AmeriCorps at Tuttle Creek State Park. This service experience was primarily maintaining the various camp grounds and ensuring visitors had a positive experience. I thought that all AmeriCorps experiences were the same and focused on park upkeep/conservation, but I was mistaken. Applying for the eeCorps position has opened my eyes to the range of opportunities available to those working in the natural resources career field.

Applying for the eeCorps position has opened my eyes to the range of opportunities available to those working in the natural resources career field.

My first exposure to my host site — Great Plains Nature Center (GPNC) — was months after I graduated. I was struggling with navigating the job applications as a recent college graduate, and so I wanted to go back to what I knew. I volunteered at GPNC and assisted with weekly activities such as Naturally Crafty (nature themed craft time) and Critter Tales (storytime). I was enjoying myself as I watched parents, guardians, other volunteers, and staff members helping to curate an interest for nature in the younger generations. It was through experiences like these that I wanted to pursue something with interpretation/education.

I was enjoying myself as I watched parents, guardians, other volunteers, and staff members helping to curate an interest for nature in the younger generations. It was through experiences like these that I wanted to pursue something with interpretation/education.

While I enjoyed my volunteer work, I took a few temporary seasonal positions with the National Park Service as an Interpretive Ranger. I was giving environmental and historical education programs to visitors of all ages and backgrounds. It was during these summers that I really curated a passion and love for sharing knowledge and teaching others. So, when I saw this position with the eeCorps, I was excited at the chance to expand my knowledge base and learn new environmental education skills.

However, joining the eeCorps was a bit daunting at first because I had zero experience with ambassador animals. The Great Plains Nature Center has about 21 species of ambassador animals which are native to the state of Kansas. Initially, I was so nervous to unintentionally harm them during a program or transport; but, with the help of the GPNC Lead Naturalists, I was able to gain confidence in the work I was doing and how to care for the ambassadors.

Learning about ambassador handling and care wasn’t the only challenge I faced during my service term. The Director of Educational Programs asked me to formulate a six-week summer program (titled Junior Naturalist) to teach kids within the community about nature through nature based activities or outdoor skill usage. It was a really overwhelming task in the beginning because the guidelines were so open-ended.

However, upon further thought, I decided to use my experience from the school year to guide me. Many students at the schools I visited had a hard time connecting the things that are seen in the media or at the zoo to the things found in their backyard or local park. That is how I decided on focusing the program around our native ecosystem — the tallgrass prairie!

I created the program to start broad and gradually narrow down to specific aspects of the prairie throughout the following weeks. The Great Plains Nature Center had never done a program like this before, so I was really excited to try my hand at something new.

The first class of 3rd-5th graders showed such an interest in the program that they wanted to continue it into the school year. While the program wasn’t perfect, I was so beyond proud of myself for the work I put in. I hope that they continue the program into the future, and that my successors or other Naturalists will take the lead to continue the program and encourage/spark curiosity of the natural world to kids within the community.

While it is a bittersweet moment to end my term, I couldn’t have asked for a better host site. The Great Plains Nature Center staff were incredible people to work alongside. Despite not knowing where my career will take me, I will always look back on my eeCorps experience with gratitude. These experiences and skills I gained are invaluable and will continue to help me progress my career in environmental education.