Project Info
Project Description
Aloha. My name is Emma Shelly and I am so grateful to be back on the island and teaching keiki all about the great outdoors. Having grown up on Oahu, I went to Arizona State University for a BS in Conservation Biology then continued on to the University of Connecticut for my Masters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology before returning home. Along the way I fell in love with ornithology (that’s the science of birds), experienced some crazy heat and cold and realized that my true passion lies in environmental education. If I can include art, science and bird facts along the way, all the better.
As a third grader I experienced a field trip to the Hawai‘i Nature Center and that memory has stuck with me all of the years since. I am real life proof that the lessons we teach keiki can have life-changing impacts and that they can instill a sense of stewardship that will grow with our students. I am also a believer that we cannot advocate for what we do not know or love, and giving kids a chance to become familiar with nature, to appreciate it, is the first step on the road to an environmentally aware generation.
When I’m not teaching, I enjoy sketching, taking my dog to the beach, birdwatching, reading and assembling and painting miniature figures.
