People

I'm a native Northeast Ohioan who's been teaching and facilitating Environmental and Outdoor Education for over 10 years. I've moved back to Ohio after a decade out West perfecting my skills and honing my craft to bring environmental justice to the Mahoning Valley

Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, Arija spent most of her time outside exploring the forest behind her home with her brothers and friends. She collected rocks to compare under a microscope, spent her winters hiking and on the slopes of Mount Sima with her mother, and investigated her surroundings on family camping trips. In the outdoors, Arija learned self-confidence, self-development, developed risk-management skills, and most of all, joy.

Arija moved to Ontario at the age of 15 and began working at Mount Pakenham as a snowboard instructor. She discovered a passion for pedagogy and working with children in the outdoors at a young age. She worked at Camp Misquah for 3 years, an Ottawa based non-profit summer camp that provides a special residential camping experience for adults and children with special needs. After graduating from the University of Ottawa, Arija continued her career as an outdoor instructor for the Outdoor Adventure Program at Algonquin College, at Mount Pakenham, and her summers were spent on the river as a raft guide. She moved to Fernie, BC to pursue her Level 3 with CASI and become an Evaluator. In 2018, Arija moved back to Ontario to be close to family, friends and the Ottawa River. She was inspired to further her education working with children and graduated from Algonquin College with honours in Early Childhood Education. Arija moved to Beachburg in 2019, having created a connection with the community, the river and her natural surroundings. Arija has gained certifications in Wilderness First Aid, Occupational First Aid, and Swift Water Rescue. She is a certified Forest School Practitioner from the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. Arija hopes to continue her learning in the outdoor education, child development and psychology. 

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With a passion for the outdoors, a background in outdoor education and dedication for Early Childhood Education, Arija wants to create space and time for ALL children and families to experience the wonder of the outdoors. She wants to encourage children to choose play in the outdoors over screen-time, discover their potential, share her excitement for the outdoors, and get out and play. Arija believes children are keepers of knowledge and share insight deeply that there is no better place for holistic development than in the outdoors.

I am an agent of change I am passionate about investing in people and the well-being of humanity, my real strength is my ability to find solution to problems.

I love teaching and being outside, I'm an avid gardener and wood worker, and I am strongly committed to the depth and power in diversity, because we all gain insight, creativity, and leadership when other have voiced their ideals.

The NYU Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education, established in 2000 at New York University, focuses its efforts on environmental literacy through courses, workshops, trainings, and field experiences. Recently, the Collaborative has developed service-learning programs for K-12 students and professional development opportunities for teachers. The online course developed through T3 will focus on K-12 teachers and non-formal educators who want to create and engage in service-learning projects. The course will introduce them to the concepts of service-learning and will expose them to examples and lessons learned from other teachers who have successfully pursued these types of projects. The online platform will serve as a support system and hopefully as an inspiration as everyone shares their projects. This program will help to promote environmental literacy and engage teachers and their students in meaningful learning while also providing a service to their communities.

Mary Leou is Clinical Professor of Teaching and Learning at the Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development at New York University and directs the graduate program in Environmental Conservation Education. She is also director of the Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education, which serves New York City teachers with environmental education opportunities and resources. Mary has over 25 years of experience as an urban environmental educator in New York City, developing numerous outdoor education programs for NYC schoolchildren and classroom teachers. Prior to joining NYU, Mary was Director of Education of City Parks Foundation, where she developed programming, nature centers, and worked on one of NYC’s largest urban forest restoration projects funded by the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund. She received her undergraduate degree from Columbia University, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also served as chair and vice chair of the Environmental Education Advisory Council and is the recipient of numerous awards for her work in environmental education. Mary’s area of interest and scholarship has focused on experiential education and place-based learning.