Environmental Educator
Teaching the public about how their actions affect the planet is what makes Christopher O'Sullivan thrilled to be an environmental educator at the Trailside Museum and Zoo at Bear Mountain State Park in New York. Issues such as global warming, pollution, and even littering are at the forefront of O'Sullivan's mind. As an environmental educator he can show students and their families how every action they take has an impact on their surroundings. “We teach school and camp groups,” he says. “Some of our visitors live in the country, and others are city folk. It doesn't matter. What does matter is seeing them go from not being overly excited to wanting to take action to help the planet.”
At the Trailside Museum and Zoo, which is a part of the New York State Parks and Palisades Interstate Park Commission, all of the animals in the zoo had been injured and would not survive if released back into the wild. “They are a great learning tool,” says O'Sullivan. “We have an osprey that got caught in a fishing net. It can't fly. The kids and adults enjoy seeing the animals up close. That hooks them, and then we can educate them about the animals and about the environment; it's all connected.”
O'Sullivan always wanted to make a difference, but he took a roundabout path to his career. He got his degree in psychology at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He suggests majoring in environmental sciences. His psychology degree serves him well. “We deal with people on a daily basis,” he says. “It's true that I work in this amazing state park. It's not too heavily populated, and you can find quiet areas here. But we do get a lot of visitors. So, it is important to know how to deal with the public, and you really must like interacting with children and adults because that is a major part of the job.”
He does get hands-on time with the animals when he is teaching, but the zookeepers have more interaction with them. “I do a lot of paperwork and coordinate our volunteers,” he says. “Our volunteers are essential.”
Working at a park, zoo, or environmental center — any place that is open to the public all year — means working weekends. “We put in a lot of time, but it's not overwhelming,” says O'Sullivan, “and besides, the park is a wonderful place to be.”
This is O'Sullivan's second job. Before this, he worked as an assistant educator at Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center in Wappingers Falls, New York. “You have to work your way up,” he says. At the Trailside Museum and Zoo, he has a supervisor and no assistants, except for the volunteers. “This is a nonprofit state-run entity, so we don't employ a lot of people.”
What is the difference between an environmental educator and an interpretive naturalist?
The answer depends on who you ask. Some people in the field believe that interpretation is the art of enhancing the learning experience and that an educational program is strictly a learning experience. Most educators, especially those who work with children, like to think of their work as a combination of presenter/ actor and educator.
“To work for a state or federal agency, you have to become a civil servant, which means taking an exam,” he explains. “It's a few hours and covers a lot of questions on how to deal with people, so my psychology degree served me well. The salaries are fair, not great. If you are looking to get rich, this is not the field to go into. You do this so you can make a difference, and I see things improving as attitudes change. More and more people are interested in working to help the planet.”
Starting salaries range from $25,000 to $35,000; it all depends on the location. Executive-level salaries can rise to more than $60,000 annually.
