Nature to Geaux

by Hilary Creamer

WHEN I HEAR COMPLAINTS of kids staying indoors to play video games all day, I think they must not be talking about Louisiana kids. The kids in my neighborhood love to stop me while I’m walking my dogs to tell me about the turtles they’ve caught or the snakes they’ve almost caught. Even the indoorsy, girly girl that I was could’ve been found climbing our magnolia tree, gathering locust shells, or engaging in the occasional mud fight.

Children’s curiosity about animals and the natural world around them seems to flow effortlessly. And so it was for Tanee Janusz, who has been an environmental educator for over 25 years. She says, “My mom tired of my bringing home bugs, snakes, and all kinds of critters, so she found an outlet for me in which I thrived. I became a volunteer at the Louisiana Nature Center and basically grew up there.” With a B.S. in Earth & Environmental Sciences, Tanee has flourished in roles at the Audubon Nature Institute and the INFINITY Science Center. Currently, she is working towards an M.S. in Conservation Education and is a board member of the Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Louisiana Master Naturalists.

Appreciative of the impactful mentorship she received at an early age, Tanee wanted to enhance environmental education opportunities for the next generation. In 2016, Nature To Geaux was hatched to connect kids (and kids at heart) with nature and science through fun, hands-on programming. Based in Slidell, Nature To Geaux brings the animals and science experiments to public pop-ups, private groups such as birthday parties and Scout meetings, and assisted living communities in nine parishes and four Mississippi counties.

You can find Tanee and a select few of her animals (she has over 30 different native and nonnative species) at local parks on the northshore when Nature To Geaux holds one of its themed public popups like Wetland Detective or Animal Mythbusters. At the recent Walk on the Wildside pop-up at Bogue Falaya Park in Covington, the audience was delighted by a menagerie consisting of a pygmy hedgehog, blue-tongue skink, Madagascar hissing cockroach, red-tailed boa, spiny-tail lizard and cane toad. Not only does the audience learn about the biology and behavioral traits of the animals, but they can pet and hold them, too. With limited seats, the groups are kept small enough that everyone receives individualized attention. Tanee says, “The personal connections bring about change: influence the next coastal conservationists, encourage a child to go into a STEM field, or just facilitate a peace with the animals with which we share our outdoor spaces.” Stephanie Imel, who attended the event with her son Jack, age 8, said, “I’m always searching for fun, educational things that are local and affordable–especially when school is out. This is our second time attending one of the pop-ups and meeting different animals each time keeps it interesting!”