Grass, Goats, and Uninvited Guests
Dr. Chantel Wilson facilitating Grass, Goats, and Uninvited Guests Workshop
Dr. Chantel Wilson lives where science and nature intersect, and she loves introducing youth to her world.
Wilson is an Extension specialist and 4-H STEAM educator with the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) at Virginia State University (VSU). In May, Wilson was selected as the Virginia winner for the Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Award by the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP) for an innovative, hands-on 4-H curriculum she developed, entitled “Grass, Goats, and Uninvited Guests.”
The curriculum, which teaches youth how to identify and treat parasites in sheep and goats, was successfully peer-reviewed and published by the VCE in April. It is currently awaiting submission to National 4-H Council’s national 4-H peer-review system. Wilson is working with the council to create educational kits for purchase at Shop 4-H.
She is also part of a team that developed the 2020 4-H STEM Challenge Mars Base Camp Kit, which is currently being distributed for 4-H programming nationwide, and will be featured during 4-H STEM Month in October.
Wilson earned her doctorate in crop and soil environmental sciences from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Hood College.