Meet Our Environmental Educators
Cheryl Abbey
Environmental Educator
Cheryl spent 40 years in sales and marketing in the education field. After retiring to spend time with her eight grandchildren a chance meeting brought her to Fair Hill Nature Center as an educator. Cheryl says “I love working with the children and helping them learn and appreciate nature and the environment in this beautiful setting.
Jennifer Altvater
Environmental Educator
As a certified elementary and special education teacher, Jennifer has over 16 years of teaching experience. Being an environmental educator allows her to combine her enthusiasm for teaching and connecting with students with her love of the outdoors. Here at Fair Hill Nature Center, she pursues her passion for making learning joyful by fostering students’ natural curiosity about the world around them. She is grateful to have the privilege of building community through hands-on, fun, and memorable learning experiences that cultivate an enduring connection with nature and the environment.
Melinda Bertling
Environmental Educator
Melinda’s favorite place to be is outside and in the woods mountain biking, hiking and camping. Her love of nature began at a young age thanks to the influence of a park ranger and many mountain vacations with her family. She hopes she can have a similar effect on others by teaching about what she loves. Melinda previously worked for the City of Newark’s Parks and Recreation department and has over 10+ years of experience giving tours at Milburn Orchards. During the evening, you can find her driving a zamboni!
SCOTT MARTIN
Environmental Educator
Scott worked for 10 years at a children’s psychiatric hospital; arranging and running daily activities and trips including the center’s pool, garden, gym, holiday plans, and weekend forays out of the center. He returned to school to obtain a master’s degree in special education, became a family man, raised two wonderful kids with his wife and taught elementary special education for 20 years. After retiring he spent several years working for the park service in Maryland. Upon meeting Laura Hannan; he was offered the opportunity to combine some of my favorite things in life. Scott became an educator for the nature center. Scott gets to be in the great outdoors at the park, teaching and learning about nature and conservation with elementary age students, being a counselor in the summer camp program, and working on maintenance projects related to the center.
PAT TANNOCK
Environmental Educator
Pat is a retired elementary school teacher from New Jersey, where she served as Science Curriculum Coordinator for Kindergarten through fifth grade. She is an outdoor enthusiast enjoying hiking, biking, skiing, and kayaking. Pat loves Fair Hill and enjoys delivering programs to the students. She feels that it’s important to give them a love of nature and a sense of how through their efforts they can preserve it.
CHRIS BROWN
Environmental Educator
Prior to joining the staff, Chris spent most of his career performing environmental investigations and overseeing cleanup efforts for contaminated sites, providing first-hand experience with the impacts that people have on the environment. Through his professional and personal life he has woven in education, working with children and youth. As a long-time Cecil County resident he and his family have enjoyed Fair Hill and surroundings many times. Chris is excited to help students and visitors experience and explore the natural world and learn what they can do to help protect our natural resources. In his spare time, Chris plays the bass guitar.
STACIE FORMAN
Environmental Educator
Stacie recently retired after 31 years of teaching high school biological sciences. She is a National Board Certified Teacher who is passionate about teaching and encouraging everyone to respect the environment. In addition to being an environmental educator at Fair Hill Nature Center, Stacie is an adjunct professor at a local college and supports home-school students teaching environmental science. When her kids were little, she brought them to play in the creek and fish in the pond at Fair Hill Nature Center. Now her kids are in college studying forensics and marine life. She always said that when she retired, this would be her dream job. Now she's living the dream inspiring kids to take care of the world around them.
BRIDGETT HARRIS
Environmental Educator
A strong sense of wonder makes Bridgett Harris (Mrs B) a life-long student of the Natural Sciences.
Curiosity and creativity have been driving forces throughout her career in research and development. She loves sharing cool science facts with her daughters, extended family, friends…and basically anyone who will listen…or look through the microscope with her. In her role as an Environmental Educator, her goals are to make learning fun, to encourage curiosity, and to spark a sense of AWE the students can take with them long after visiting the Nature Center.
