"AP Environmental is not just a course to me. It is a manifestation of my professional calling to combine teaching in a broad scope with awareness of the structure/ function of the world we live in as well as the roles of humans in their ecosystems. We will explore a wide range of topics through class work, labs, field work, films, and analysis of local/state/world changes through data. It is important to link our course content work to Alabama with its amazing biotic and abiotic resources. This is a course that will have application to many parts of your life. 

I have many life experiences while living science in Central & South America to singing in Europe to connect you to real life examples. I love to share those stories. I have 1 undergrad and 3 graduate degrees in biological sciences and public policy. I love to provide a myriad of classroom and field experiences to help you learn to think systemically. APES content is not that difficult, but it is integrative and interdependent. You have to build that systemic mental construct that will connect all the information. To qualify with the end of year national exam, you will need to put in work that is thoughtful not just fulfill assignment requirements.  Be prepared to write, read, think, analyze data, and do a bit of math.  To “get through” the course content you will need to keep up, not procrastinate. We will have assessments modeled after the AP exam as well as skills based.  

I hope our journey will engage you to dig deeper into your life and academic journey through the world. Perhaps you will want to research a topic/issue and present that to a science competition. Perhaps you will find a passion to follow in life or work or both.  Perhaps you will want to join the HHS STEMpire’s many projects that put science into action. Perhaps you will just “see” the world you live in differently. I love to help students see new possibilities and dreams. Let’s make those dreams reality."