Stories From Women Who Walk

Join Tania Marien Founder of Talaterra Who Is (Almost) Single-handedly Changing Environmental Education Futures. Part 1

Episode Summary

Tania Marien, founder of Talaterra (an organization which brings attention to the contributions that freelance environmental education (EE) professionals make to lifelong learning in communities), the host of the Talaterra podcast, and director of EE Forward (a professional development and partnership-building initiative for environmental education professionals working independently) joins us to talk about her dedication to connecting and bringing attention to the work of freelance environmental educators since 2002. Part 1.

Episode Notes

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk. You’ll recognize yourself in these true-life stories from women who are walking their lives while their lives walk them and the lasting difference their journeys have made. I’m your host, Diane Wyzga.

Today my guest is podcaster colleague and friend, Tania Marien, who’s joining us from Riverside, California. Tania is the founder of Talaterra, an organization which brings attention to the contributions that freelance environmental education (EE) professionals make to lifelong learning in communities. She is also the host of the Talaterra podcast and director of EE Forward, a professional development and partnership-building initiative for independent environmental education professionals. I’ve invited Tania to talk with us about her dedication to connecting and bringing attention to the work of freelance environmental educators since 2002, as well as the many twists and turns in the road that took her from High School Biology student who did not like plants to environmental educator working independently, a connecter, an Earth Story crafter, podcaster and more. Welcome to the podcast, Tania!

Minutes 38:08

00 to 2:10 Intro

2:10 to 6:16 Start From Where You Are

Right now we have many bike riders here on Whidney Island. I understand that you are a distance bike rider. Did I get that right? If we got a chance to ride together, what’s the first thing I’d notice about you?

Tania says she’s careful yet efficient
Riding in the city poses risks with traffic, potholes, intersections, cars, and broken glass to safely navigate
Apart from careful and efficient Tania enjoys being outdoors; she rides because it’s sense of vacation, a form of travel for her

And if we had some time to ride along together (worry free) what might I get to know about you?

Tania likes to see what’s growing in other people’s backyards; biking is a bit of a home tour and garden tour
Loves to see what folks are growing
Sometimes riding up a certain street will take a look at a blooming plumeria
Plumeria are easily rooted: just stick a stalk in dry soil; surprisingly they do well in heat
Maybe the future will look like plumeria plants

And when we parted ways what would I remember about you?

Tania is easy-going, friendly, supportive, mindful, takes responsibility who she rides with
Tania’s bike riding group culture is about care and support of each other
No Drop Groups - No one gets left behind
Which is almost hand-in-glove with Tania’s EE work

6:15 to 10:50 A Bit of Back Story

Before we get to your partnership building initiatives and the work you are doing today and visioning for tomorrow, I’d like to hear a bit more about how your love of all things Earth, how Talaterra came to be, and what you discovered about yourself along the way. As a note to our listeners, there will be a link here and in the Episode Notes below to a short video Tania created called Interpreting the Interpreters which recounts her journey. And it’s that Back Story I’m referring to. Before I ask you about The Hunch you had would you tell us what is an environmental educator (EE) working independently, and how would we recognize them?

Environmental educators (EE) working independently are men and women who see something that needs to be fixed or have an idea to change what needs to be changed
EE take it upon themselves to make the changes
Each journey is different: they might have been working in a traditional employed capacity but shifted to independent role when they noticed that they could do more and more good in communities that way
You see them at community events, learn about their workshops, see their work online, etc.
But the hurdle is they exist under the radar because not everyone calls themself an EE.
Not everyone says what they do is environmental education even though it is: they connect people to the outdoors, to nature, to an experience that creates an emotional/intellectual connection to outdoors
Many examples of EE: Game Designer, Scientific Illustrator, Scientific Communicator, Advocate, Poet, Wordsmith, Photographer, and more
Tania looks for those people who have taken it upon themselves to help people understand and connect to Nature
Tania can see them and recognizes them but communities at large cannot; so that’s why she does the advocacy work she does on their behalf

10:50 to 18:37 The Hunch Tania Had

So, is this about The Hunch that you had? Would you tell us more about that.

Tania’s Hunch unfolds
With Tania’s previous endeavor she had a bookstore, educational resource, taught classes and along the way met EE professionals (other people like her) but never interacted with them because the events were all-consuming
Saw EEs all the time: other people like me
Tania decided to follow a Hunch: there was a story about the EE who are working in communities everywhere, in many venues that are outside traditional environmental education settings such as zoos, nature centers, aquaria and the like
Tania knew that EE professionals are embedded in their communities with connections in all sorts of ways
Followed through on her hunch that EE is a story and the story needs to be told
Began talking to people and that’s how the Freelance Condition & Lifelong Learning in Communities Project (2018) began
Started it off with a survey to bring attention to this Hunch
43 EE’s responded to the survey about EEs working independently and where they showed up
Richest responses were in the story section: discovered that EEs are leading workshops in corporate settings, libraries, community centers, dinners, smaller events and venues
These responses reinforced for Tania that EEs are working THROUGH their communities
The two organizations that supported Tania’s research and helped disseminate her survey to follow up on her Hunch:
National Association for Interpretation
North American Association for Environmental Education (EE Pro)
Tania’s survey data is not yet in a formal white paper because that’s part of a bigger story; the origin story is still in progress and there may be more conversation to be had by end of year 2021
A key survey question: What do you want and need to move your project forward? Funding, time, space, administrative help, and the like to create new programs
COVID caused Tania to circle back to past podcast guests to inquire about what they needed now which told her that those who were able to launch themselves online, had programs already online were able to continue during the pandemic and grow clients

18:37 to 26:00 Podcast and Podcasting: Talaterra

Along that line you created a podcast to have more conversations with EEs working independently. This might be a good time to shift to a conversation about your podcast, how it came to be, the name, how you select your guests, some of your favorite conversations and why.

Tania chose podcasting because the blog didn’t feel right to this current endeavor; wanted listeners to hear real people tell their own story
Investigated podcasting and took a podcasting workshop in Akimbo
Launched the Podcast to have conversations January 2019
Reached out to people to have live conversations
It has been really wonderful experience
Talaterra: the name is a product of a very long time playing with a random word generator and one day ‘tala’ popped up and ‘terra’ was on short list
Did more research: ‘tala’ means to tell, to speak to use one’s words + terra (earth) = Talaterra is speak earth and aligns with what EEs do in their communities
Tania’s guests are a diverse and engaging collection
100th Episode will air New Year’s Eve 2021
All guest conversations leave an impression on her and her listeners
Tania’s guests have reinforced all the different ways you can do EE work
Wowed! By Tim Hanley (Mindful Mammouth - game designer) encouraging learning science though video games
Wowed! By the sensitivity, thoughtfulness, mindfulness of Deb Matlock whose work focuses on relationship with non-human world
Wowed! By Gretchen Halbert, scientific illustrator, and the work she does as teacher and communicator
These 3 are a good place to begin and showcase EE’s working independently and where they show up

26:00 to 28:29 EE Summit

With that in mind maybe this would be a good place to segue to your recent EE Summit. Of all things you could have created, why this? What was your intention putting together something as momentous as a Summit?

Tania wanted to bring EE to life and encourage collaboration
Theme was water
Reached out to EE professionals whose work relates to water in some way to show depth and breadth and knowledge of these professionals
Also desired to bring to life Talaterra’s values: real conversation, sustainability of career and income, bring attention to leaders first
Desired to create a space where EE professionals can meet each other and meet the public, teachers, municipalities, museums, etc. for cross-pollination, networking and seamless connections

28:29 to 35:30 Kiss the Ground

Line-up of presenters was extraordinary! Live-stream the documentary Kiss the Ground the film or bring to community. How did you have that brainstorm?

Theme was water and common conversation is often around water sheds; but there’s more to the theme
Wanted EE Summit to be inter-disciplinary event and not automatically go to usual places
Came to know about Kiss the Ground and investigated what they were all about
They are a wonderful responsive organization
Taught so much between the Kiss the Ground film and Don Smith also give a talk

I can ask you about the frustrations and challenges of launching an event like this but I’d rather hear, what are some of the rewards?

What Tania hoped: that EEs would meet and collaborate. It happened!
Intended and ended up as an interdisciplinary event’
Real conversation was had among the attendees
No Zoom silence
The inaugural event was encouraging!
Lots of generous conversation
Tania intends that there will be a sequel to bring more people together to again and demonstrate the inter-disciplinary nature of environmental education in communities
There is a lot going on in communities; you just need to know where to look
This concept of EEs is where Tania is shining her spotlight
This work is critical work at a critical time: to be doing this work with these people is the place you absolutely belong
Suggest that listeners get on Tania’s mailing list to go to EE Summit in 2022

35:30 to close The Shifting Sands, Palm Springs, CA November 30th to December 4th, 2021

Which brings us to something that is coming up and Tania will be speaking that National Association for Interpretation Conference, Palm Springs November 30th to December 4th, 2021. Tania’s theme is The Shifting Sands of Interpretation. Would you tell us more about this conference and what you will be presenting............

Here we are, at the end of the road but not the journey. Thank you for listening to Part 1 of this in-depth InnerView episode of Stories From Women Who Walk with your host Diane Wyzga and my guest Tania Marien, the founder of Talaterra, the host of the Talaterra podcast, and director of EE Forward. We hope you are enlightened and inspired by our conversation about Tania’s mission of professional development and partnership-building initiatives for environmental education professionals working independently through your communities. We’ll be back in a week with Part 2.

Meanwhile, you’re invited to check out some 425 episodes of this podcast Stories From Women Who Walk found on Simplecast, your favorite podcast platform, including Android, and my website, Quarter Moon Story Arts. This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! You will have wonderful company as we walk our lives together.

ABOUT Tania Marien

Tania Marien is an independent environmental education professional and founder of Talaterra, which brings attention to the contributions that freelance environmental education professionals make to lifelong learning in communities. She is also the host of the Talaterra podcast and director of EE Forward, a professional development and partnership-building initiative for independent environmental education professionals.

How to Follow and Stay in Touch With Tania Marien

Talaterra: https://talaterra.com

Subscribe to The Trail (newsletter: https://talaterra.com/about

Talaterra Podcast: https://talaterra.com/podcast

Video: Interpreting the Interpreters: The Story of a Podcast: https://talaterra.com/blog/2021/7/26/talaterras-story?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=60ff1c6cb36c5f39e2cfb470&ss_email_id=60ff26acf7da6f2a527ed32b&ss_campaign_name=Talaterra%E2%80%99s+story+subject+of+new+video&ss_campaign_sent_date=2021-07-26T21%3A19%3A03Z

Twitter: https://twitter.com/talaterra

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniamarien

September/October 2019 issue of Legacy, the magazine of the National Association for Interpretation: https://talaterra.com/blog/talaterra-legacy-magazine-2019

Kiss the Ground film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3-V1j-zMZw

Story Center Earth Stories: https://www.storycenter.org/public-workshops/earthstoriesonlinescreening

Production Team: Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Entering Erdenheim from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

Sound Editing: Dawin Carlisle & First Class Reels