Amy Lefringhouse

Amy Lefringhouse serves as Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy Educator for communities in Adams, Brown, Pike, Hancock, and Schuyler counties. West-central Illinois offers so many natural gifts to ponder, enjoy, and explore. From the tiniest speck of soil to the stars shining above, Amy is passionate about revealing these natural wonders to local residents, young and old.  Her interests lie in youth environmental education and habitat management for landowners including ponds and aquatics, prairie restoration, and invasive species management. She also serves as a host for Everyday Environment, a digital series of blogs, podcasts, webinars, and videos that delivers science-based stories, conversations, and tools that connect people to the natural world and turn everyday curiosity into meaningful action.

As an Extension Educator, Amy offers several lifelong learning programs focused on natural resources. 

• Illinois Master Naturalist Program – Expert-led training and hands-on learning in local natural areas for volunteers interested in stewardship and environmental education.
• Landowner Workshops – Your Land | Your Legacy workshops provide practical guidance on habitat management, forestry, wildlife, and conservation practices.
• Youth Programming
  • Junior Master Naturalist
  • School field trips focused on local ecosystems and environmental concepts
  • Ripple Effects - in-school program aligned with learning standards and highlighting the local river ecosystem
  • Summer day camps exploring nature, science, outdoor skills and the intersection of nature and history
• Professional Educator Development – Workshops and training that support teachers in bringing outdoor learning into classrooms and schoolyards.
• Stewardship Programs
  • Rainscaping – Designing and maintaining landscapes that manage stormwater sustainably
  • Climate Stewards – Understanding climate science, climate communication, and community-based climate resilience
  • Watershed Stewards – Training in watershed health, water quality, and local conservation actions
• Topic presentations include pond management, freshwater mussel ecology, phenology, invasive plant identification, tree identification, forest assessment, native plants in the home landscape, natural resource careers, astronomy and light pollution, wildlife corridors, prescribed fire, land ethics, invasive species and climate change, nature-based wellness, and Illinois' natural divisions.

As a community partner, Amy serves area college students teaching natural resources, wildlife, and sustainable and renewable energy courses for John Wood Community College at the new Agricultural Sciences Complex.  The more than 400-acre site also houses the University of Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center.

Early in her career, Amy worked for several natural resource agencies in the Midwest including helping to develop educational materials at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and performing fish and aquatic vegetation studies on the Illinois River for the Illinois Natural History Survey. She also assisted with research for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on oak savannah prairies at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge as well as waterfowl research at Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge in Winona, MN. Most recently, Amy was Executive Director at Gardner Camp, a youth outdoor education facility. Amy worked with Illinois Master Naturalist volunteers to educate thousands of youth and adults on topics such as wildlife management, wetland ecology, and outdoor recreation.

A native of west-central Illinois, Amy studied Environmental Science at Illinois College and has a Master of Science degree in Environmental Planning and Management from University of Illinois at Springfield.  She is a member of the Environmental Education Association of Illinois, North American Association of Environmental Education, Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals, and Illinois Native Plant Society. She is a certified Project Learning Tree facilitator and an Illinois Climate Stewards facilitator.