It is truly an honor for GFWC Ossoli Circle to partner with Tremont as my President’s Project and to provide the teaching kits. We are a women’s service organization grounded in education, community engagement, and empowering women and children to succeed. Supporting our communities—wherever there is need—remains at the heart of what we do.
Our connection to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is longstanding and meaningful. Ossoli member Anne Davis, often called the “mother” of the Smokies, played a vital role in the park’s creation. Today, that legacy continues through members like Janie Bittner, who catalogs native plants for the Park Service, and Robin Goddard, who serves as a docent and ambassador at the Walker Sisters’ homestead.
As a former biology teacher, this project is especially meaningful to me. It brings together my passion for education and my belief in the power of connecting students to the natural world.

So many times tearchers go to workshops and professional development days to learn new ideas, great ways to engage students and leave with a renewed spirit;  Only to return to their classroom excited but without the materials needed to implement what they had learned.  After working with the Tremont staff, we developed a list non-consumable supplies and tools needed to implement the new curriculum for an outdoor classroom.  With teamwork we designed the kit to present to teachers following a training for teachers from Blount and Knox County Schools.  See the pictures below from the kit distribution at the end of the workshop day.  The following  challenge was given to the teachers.  

“While you are receiving valuable resources, we are also placing great confidence in you. Because these materials are non-consumable, they are designed to be used again and again.

Together, you have the potential to impact at least 900 students in Knox and Blount  County this year—and many more in the years ahead. That kind of reach creates a lasting ripple effect for students, families, and the broader community.