Above image: Kevin Harris holding his award for the 2026 Outstanding Non-formal Environmental Educator.
Each year AEEA recognizes individuals who have made an impact in environmental and outdoor education. These individuals facilitate participant leadership and involvement, support hands-on learning, promote critical and creative thinking in students, partner with other organizations and individuals, address problems of local environmental importance, and develop and implement innovative programs or projects. Below is the story of one of 2026’s Outstanding Environmental Educators.
Kevin Harris, 2026 Outstanding Non-formal Environmental Educator
County Extension Agent and Staff Chair, Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service
Rooted in Service
Kevin Harris has spent over 17 years in the Cooperative Extension Service. While he has held different roles, 10 years as a 4-H agent, two years as an agriculture agent, and five years as an urban stormwater agent, his work has always touched on environmental education, conservation, outreach, and agriculture. Before settling in Arkansas, he also spent seven years as a 4-H Youth Development Educator with The Ohio State University Cooperative Extension Service. Kevin credits his undergraduate college advisor and his first supervisor at the Extension Service for inspiring him to pursue this career path. Both were role models and mentors who led by example, and his experience as a County Extension Agent Intern during undergraduate school reinforced that direction.
“The best part about my job is I get the opportunity to represent the University of Arkansas each day in the county I call home. I have the pleasure of using non biased research to help change the lives of people from all walks of life.”
Kevin Harris and community members around a raised garden bed.
Growing up on a farm in Georgia, daily chores kept Kevin outside. He learned a great deal about the environment through those farm experiences, a foundation that has carried through into a career built around getting people outdoors and connected to the land and water around them.
A Memorable Moment in the Field
In 2022, Kevin was planting a water oak tree with a group of elementary students. As the students dug the hole, they discovered earthworms in the soil, which sparked a wave of questions and deepened their outdoor environmental experience. Kevin says he thinks of that moment every time he passes the school and sees the water oak still surviving with the earthworms underneath.
The tree planting reflects a broader community effort. Kevin has established Arbor Day tree-planting demonstration programs at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Southeast Arkansas College, serving both youth and adults, and he serves on tree advisory committees that plan the county’s annual Arbor Day demonstrations. In 2025, he partnered with Pine Bluff High School environmental teacher Crystal Barnes on an Arbor Day program focusing on the role of trees in stormwater management. Students researched tree species, presented their findings, and learned hands-on tree planting and maintenance. This was the first time Ms. Barnes or her students had participated in an Arbor Day program.
Kevin Harris (far left) and community members around a newly planted tree.
Creating a Welcoming Outdoor Experience
Kevin’s approach to a welcoming learning experience starts with program planning. He researches both the participants and the outdoor environment ahead of time so that lesson plans can account for mobility concerns, differences in motor skills and mental processing, and auditory and visual disabilities. The goal, he says, is to make sure every participant has a hand in the learning process.
This attention to the audience shows up in who Kevin serves. He developed a workshop on stormwater management specifically for grandparents raising grandchildren, a nontraditional and underserved audience in his county. His programming reaches youth and adults, and it is designed to build critical thinking skills alongside career planning awareness.
Above image: Kevin Harris (in back with baseball cap) and students who participated in the Great Arkansas Cleanup.
Widening His Outreach
A large part of Kevin’s current work is sponsored through the Southeast Arkansas Stormwater Education Program, serving the City of Pine Bluff, the City of White Hall, and Jefferson County. Each year the number of site visits and educational program attendees increases. In addition to organizing community cleanup events, Kevin reaches audiences through multiple projects that incorporate art and environmental learning. Partnering with Ms. Shalisha Thomas, an art teacher at Pine Bluff High School, he leads “Imagine a Day Without Water” programs. Students learn about the importance of water before creating artwork around this theme that is showcased at a school event. He has also organized an art contest to promote environmental learning for elementary and high school students, and leads storm drain mural projects with high school students.
He is an active member of the Arkansas Environmental Education Association and the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals, and currently serves as President of the Rotary Club of West Pine Bluff.
Serving His Community
Kevin was recently recognized for his 5 years of service as an urban stormwater educator with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. He continues to learn and grow through professional training so he can enhance the stormwater education program in Jefferson County.
“I truly get excited about the work I get to do in my role in the Extension Service. I know that I have a great opportunity to make a positive impact with people and communities everyday.”
