Monica H. Moss Watkins

About Monica H. Moss Watkins

My career goal is to share my passion for teaching and learning about the environment to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from nature. I have pursued this passion through education and experience in ecological research, teaching, and outreach. I am experienced managing personnel, facilities, gardens, and grounds. I wrote and began implementation of a strategic plan, won grants for facilities and programs, managed an organization budget, and worked with a support board. As a science educator, I have worked with all ages, from preschool through senior citizens, teaching traditional lectures and labs and guiding environmental education field trips. My current research interests center around hands-on research based field ecology \"citizen science\" and how to adapt nature preschool experiences for a broader audience. My scientific training is in plant and fungal ecology at the community and ecosystem level. I have done field work in a variety of southeastern ecosystems- wetland, marsh, stream, longleaf pine forest, mixed pine, and southern Appalachian hardwood- and the Alaskan tundra. I am interested in interrelationships of aboveground and belowground biodiversity and ecosystem function and the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbance on these relationships.

Experience

1. Co-owner

   Watkins Forge

   May 2013 — Present · US

   Watkins Forge, LLC is a craftsman-owned family business selling custom hand-forged gifts, tools, hardware, and design items. I focus on HR, management, accounting, administration, marketing, product development, and general operations.

Education

• University of Alabama

  BS, Biology, Geography, Env. Studies, summa cum laude

• The University of Southern Mississippi

  PhD student, Science Education: Biology

• The University of Georgia

  MS, Forest Ecology, 4.0

• Hattiesburg High School

  High School diploma, Salutatorian