AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — From the beaches of Gulf Shores to the pitcher plants of Bay Minette, there are many wonderful natural elements to enjoy in Baldwin County. For 30 years, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System has led residents in environmental exploration and appreciation through the Master Environmental Education (MEE) program.

Since 1995, Extension educators and trained volunteers have delivered more than 3,500 environmental lessons to local schools and other community groups, reaching more than 109,000 young people. The lessons address some of the most critical environmental issues facing Baldwin County. Before her retirement in 2010, Emily Kling served as an Extension 4-H agent and specialist for more than 30 years. As an agent in Baldwin County, she started the MEE program, fueled by her passion and desire to teach every child about the environment around them.

Cathy Banning, an administrative support associate in the Baldwin County Extension office, started her career with Extension in the early days of MEE.

“When Emily left in 1997 to become a specialist, two months after I started working, she said, Cathy, I am giving this to you, and I want it to continue,” Banning said.

Continue it, she did. While educators and volunteers have come and gone, Banning remains a vital part of the program’s success today. She is instrumental in coordinating the program’s efforts, serving as a liaison between the groups requesting lessons and the educators and volunteers who teach them.

“This is an important program, and it’s been so successful,” Banning said. “I am proud of the longevity of the program and what it has meant to kids throughout the past 30 years.”

Something Magical

There are eight MEE lesson topics, with each one targeted to a specific age range. Lessons include topics like recycling, energy, wildlife habitats, plant species and the water cycle. In the 2023-2024 school year, the program delivered lessons to more than 6,500 students in 25 schools.

Renee Morrison is a teacher at Bay Minette Elementary School. She requests MEE lessons for her fourth and sixth grade students every year. She said her students always find ways to connect the lessons to their own lives.

“Every time we have presenters come to our classroom, something magical happens,” Morrison said. “My students get totally wrapped up in the lessons. Sometimes they relate it to things happening in the real world. Other times they connect it to stories they’ve read. It’s awesome to see them making these connections.”

Building and maintaining relationships with schools and teachers has been a major part of the program’s success. Charlotte Roberts, a Baldwin County 4-H agent assistant, said it is wonderful to have relationships with teachers and students year after year.

“Teachers look forward to us coming and the kids always know who we are,” Roberts said. “The teachers make sure to build these lessons in as a part of their classrooms. So, it is wonderful and rewarding to see this be a part of the kids’ routines every school year.”

For Morrison, the best part of the program is getting to see her students’ reactions.

“They love the cool demonstrations and hands-on activities,” Morrison said. “It’s like watching them turn into little horticulturalists, engineers and explorers right before my eyes.”

Passion is Powerful

2024-2025 MEE Volunteers

The program would be impossible without its volunteers, who teach most of the classes. In the program’s 30 years, volunteers have dedicated more than 6,800 hours to MEE. Using materials developed by Extension educators, volunteers logged more than 400 hours of service in the last school year alone.

Ashley Campbell is a natural resource planner with the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Department. She discovered MEE while looking to create a school-age program of her own and soon joined the ranks as a volunteer.

“I volunteered for MEE and decided to support it instead of building a new program,” Campbell said. “It appeared to be a perfect fit for stormwater and environmental education outreach to schools.”

A great value of the program is using volunteers to teach the lessons. People like Campbell work in different industries throughout the community and bring their experiences, perspectives and passions to the lessons they choose to teach. She said these passions are powerful and impact both teachers and students.

“The program means a great deal to our community; it’s our future,” Campbell said. “It introduces environmental topics and concerns to these students, who will be our future residents, contractors, business owners and civic leaders.”

Lasting Impacts

Roberts received the 2025 Baldwin County Environmental Stewardship Award, one of many awards MEE has received through the years.

Millions of people visit Alabama’s coast every year, simply to take in the wonderful natural resources it offers. First, as a 4-H agent and now as the Baldwin County Extension director, Sarah Butterworth has been involved in MEE for many years. She said by living in such a water-rich area, the students are in some way connected to the water resources around them.

“It is amazing to be able to teach them the value of these resources and actually how cool they are,” Butterworth said. “I think that’s why the teachers like it, because it does connect real life to some of the things the students enjoy and are learning about in school.”

There have been a lot of changes to the program over the years. However, one thing has remained constant: the passion to teach children about the world around them. Beau Brodbeck, the Extension assistant director for field operations in southwest Alabama, said MEE is a great example of how Extension can have amplifying effects.

“This is not just a generic environmental program,” Brodbeck said. “It is grounded in some of the needs specific to Baldwin County and grew here to meet a local demand and need. We understand that these topics affect the river in your backyard and the bay that everyone is familiar with. When you make these topics local and personal, it takes on a whole new meaning.”

More Information

To check availability and to request a lesson, visit the program’s web page at www.aces.edu/go/BaldwinCountyMEE. The program is always looking for passionate volunteers. For information on volunteer opportunities with MEE, contact or visit the Baldwin County Extension office.