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Environmental Educators
of the Year 2004
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The Idaho Environmental Education
Association (IdEEA) has selected three Idaho teachers as "Environmental
Educators of the Year."
The awardees for 2004 are:
Renee McNally, 2nd grade teacher, Lena Whitmore Elementary School,
Moscow (phone: 208 882-2621)
Each spring for the past decade, McNally
has guided her students through a 3-4-month-long investigation of local
habitats, including forests, prairies, ponds, and stream sides. Last
year at the Moscow Renaissance Fair, her students designed a
"canoe-on-wheels" to pull visitors through a three-dimensional mural of
each habitat. McNally says, "The optimism and idealism of young people
can be infectious and I hope adults catch at least a drop of the passion
kids have for the outdoors."
Robert E. Beckwith, science teacher,
Mountain View High School, Meridian (phone: 208-939-0017)
Since 1972, Beckwith has used innovative
outdoor teaching methods to enhance his students' classroom learning.
His learners have used jet boats, backcountry air services, and their
own feet to access many remote study locations throughout the
Intermountain West. Along the way, Beckwith founded three established
environmental education modules: 1) Project SITE (Students Investigating
Today's Environment)-Student-gathered water quality data from the Snake
River and its tributaries is provided to the Idaho National Engineering
and Environmental Laboratory for environmental monitoring. 2) "Testing
the Wildwater, Testing the Wildland"-A teacher workshop which combines a
raft trip down the Salmon River with investigations of water quality,
noxious weeds, range health, wildlife populations, and soil types. 3)
Project FIRE-Up (Field Inquiry Research Experience)-Students and
teachers surveyed 6,000 acres of prescribed burns in the Owyhee
Mountains, built a geographic information system database with their
data, and provided it to the Bureau of Land Management to be used in
future land management decisions. Together, these three endeavors have
reached thousands of students and hundreds of teachers. Beckwith says,
"Idaho is such a heaven for environmental education."
Greg Kaltenecker, director, Idaho
Bird Observatory (IBO), Boise (phone: 208-426-3262)
During his graduate work at Boise State
University, Kaltenecker co-founded the Idaho Bird Observatory in 1993.
This non-profit research and education unit of BSU conducts long-term
monitoring of hawks, owls, and migratory songbirds along the Boise
Ridge, a major flyway used during migrations. Education is a key
component of IBO's work, as volunteers and school children are
introduced to and involved in hawk counts, songbird mist-netting, and
forest owl research. IBO's main site is located on Lucky Peak and
activities are concentrated during autumn migration. Kaltenecker says,
"We are currently developing a year-round environmental education
program that will work with local schools and make use of several
natural areas."
Each winner has been recognized with a
colorful certificate, scholarship for professional development, and
lifetime membership in IdEEA. IdEEA gives these awards annually, based on
nominations from across the state.
Donny Roush, IdEEA executive director, says, "Environmental education is
as much a 'how' as it is a 'what.' Renee, Bob, and Greg epitomize the best
of both the 'how' and the 'what' for environmental education in Idaho."
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