April Claus returned to her alma mater, Slippery Rock University, to share knowledge of western Pennsylvania’s ecosystems with children at the Macoskey Center for Research and Sustainability.
“Every time I walk into this building, I get emotional,” Claus said, who earned her master’s in park and resource management at SRU in 2022. “For me to come back and see all the kids having fun with some of the stuff I helped make, it’s amazing.”
Claus was on campus June 23 for the start of the Macoskey Center’s second week of summer camp titled “Fur, Feathers, & Scales.” She brought a host of cold-blooded vertebrates to teach children about herpetology, the branch of zoology focused on amphibians and reptiles. While learning some herpetology basics, children were given the opportunity to help handle and interact with the creatures.
“Most kids don’t know what lives here, or even spend a lot of time outside,” Claus said. “So it became part of my mission to get them plugged into what’s around them, which helps them become healthier and happier.”
Claus founded an organization called the Interactive Environmental Program in 2000, which aims to educate the public on western Pennsylvania’s ecosystems. Although her business provides educational programs to all age groups, it has a focus on engaging children through audible, tactile and other interactive measures to learn about western Pennsylvania’s ecosystems.
“Kids who are often perceived as troublemakers in the classroom are often the best students to teach for me,” she said. “By using the right tools and just getting them outside and interacting with the natural world, it can completely change how they behave. We know based on research that kids do better, both mentally and physically, when they are in nature.”
While earning her first master’s degree, in biology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Claus got the idea of teaching interactive classes following her leadership in the Pennsylvania Herpetological Atlas Project. Claus helped educate citizen scientists over the seven-year study to assess the status of native reptile and amphibian populations across the state.
Claus later enrolled in SRU’s master’s in park and resource management in 2020, following her work as the director of parks, conservation and education for Sewickley Heights for 15 years.
“I just loved my degree here because every class I learned something different and was able to parlay it into what I do today,” she said.
Claus’ assistantship included hands-on field work, notably at SRU’s Macoskey Center, where she helped construct fences, locust posts, a chicken coop and a hoop house, among many other projects still standing.
“I was meeting people from all over the United States in state and municipal parks and having these different experiences gave me a real, diverse perspective in terms of connecting people with the outdoors,” she said.
SRU’s master’s in park and resource management is a 30-hour credit program with fully online flexibility. SRU’s online master’s programs were ranked among the top in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and Research.com.
“I always thought online classes wouldn’t be the same,” Claus said. “But I learned a lot, and I would attribute that to professors Becky Thomas and Sean Davis and how creative they were in facilitating interactions between students with the online programming.”
Throughout her years as an educator, Claus has been honored with the Outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators and the 40 under 40 award from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Allegheny College in Meadville in the Environmental Science and Sustainability Department.
Claus’ educational program is now 25 years strong, with no signs of stopping soon.
“I think it became an empowering thing for young girls to see me working in science and seeing me do something that’s sometimes considered more masculine or dangerous in some ways,” she said. “I just love being outside and interacting with wildlife, helping people understand the importance and value of the natural world.”
Learn more about the Macoskey Center on the SRU website. Learn more about SRU’s master’s in park and resource management on the program webpage.
