Natasha Lee (BEd’16, MEd’20) seems to have boundless energy. She’s acting vice-principal of the Exchange R.C. School in her home of Trinidad and Tobago, president of the 4-H Leaders Council of Trinidad and Tobago, secretary of the 4-H Caribbean Council, treasurer of County Caroni 4H Voluntary Leaders Council, and a dedicated volunteer in numerous organizations in her community.

She also went back to school to complete Bachelor of Education and Master of Education degrees from the University of New Brunswick, all while still working and volunteering full time, and raising a son.

Natasha says she was raised to help others without a second thought. “My parents were both teachers and were very giving to their community. I remember when I was very young there was an accident at school and a young child was hurt very badly. My father scooped him up and took him in his arms to the health centre without a second thought. That always stuck with me. It’s important to give back at any opportunity, no matter how small. It makes an impact.”

She adds that she’s been blessed with many opportunities to help.

Natasha has been teaching since she was 18 years old, and when the opportunity to attend university presented itself, she enrolled in UNB’s Bachelor of Education program in 2012, under the ROYTEC-UWI banner. “UNB offered virtual courses with 1-2 weeks of face-to-face lectures with UNB lecturers right here in Trinidad and that worked well for me as I needed to keep teaching.” Her husband, Clint Lee (BEd'16) also studied in the program at the same time. Natasha completed a Master of Education at UNB four years later, earning double designation degrees in Leadership and Management and Curriculum and Instruction.

“Eat what you grow and grow what you eat.”

She has also long been involved in 4-H in Trinidad and Tobago, and over the past 20 years has deepened that commitment. Her mantra is “Eat what you grow and grow what you eat.” She has introduced aquaponics to several schools and encourages students island-wide to see the value and potential of farming and eating local. She hosts an Eat Local Day annually and even has her own YouTube channel, which she uses to promote the use of local produce.

Under Natasha’s leadership, 4-H club membership has nearly tripled, with revenues growing and new projects being implemented, all with active learning as the core element. Students in 180 schools across Trinidad and Tobago have been given the opportunity to become involved in growing plants in their schools through hydroponics, aquaponics and vertical planting. They’ve also been given the tools and knowledge to build backyard gardens, participate in beach clean ups and manage recycling and composting bins.

“Our success is due to a lot of outreach,” she explains. “Our goal is to grow nationally, regionally and internationally, and we believe that to do that, we need to motivate teachers to become involved and volunteer. We worked with the Ministry of Education to give teachers one day off/month to be able to access training which they in turn use to teach the 4-H curriculum at schools, and it’s been helping to get teachers to volunteer their time. We also make sure to provide them with help on the ground – it’s all about caring for our teachers and making our programs accessible to everyone."

Natasha says that 4-H has had so much success in Trinidad and Tobago, she’s now helping other islands in the Caribbean with their own efforts to grow the movement. “Food insecurity is a big issue, and our focus on youth means kids can see where their food is coming from and appreciate fresh foods instead of imported produce. It also gets kids outside and stimulates their learning and gives them a sense of community. It works, and has a big impact over time.”

With so much activity and accomplishment, it would be easy to assume Natasha is ready to take a rest. But that’s not the case. “There is a greater force driving me, and I’ve learned to listen to it. It’s telling me to keep going, assist even more on a regional level and international level. Listening has always done me well.”