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Environmental Educators
of the Year 2006
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The Idaho Environmental
Education Association (IdEEA) has selected four Idaho educators as
“Environmental Educators of the Year.”
The 2006 Awardees are:
Christenia Coast, Carri Thomason, and Diane Welch, 3rd and 4th
grade teachers, Pocatello Community Charter School, Pocatello (phone:
208-478-2522)
This team of teachers was
nominated because of their commitment to educating students about the
geology of Yellowstone National Park. Chris, Carri, and Diane make it
possible for all the students of Pocatello Community Charter School to
visit Yellowstone during their 3rd or 4th grade year. They spend a
school week there as a part of a program called Expedition Yellowstone.
Students work with rangers, biologists, and geologists and, by the time
they leave, they feel a special connection with Yellowstone. The
students are exposed, many of them for the first time, to an entire
community of people who have dedicated their lives to learning more
about the natural world and working towards preserving it. The passion
of the park rangers is contagious. When the students come back to
school, they participate in an in-depth investigation examining the
geological features of Yellowstone.
 Amy Luft, Environmental
Education Coordinator, Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality, Boise
Amy champions environmental
education throughout the state. In the past year, she has focused much
of her effort on tools related to air quality. In 2006 Amy developed
twelve lesson plans and activities, three displays, and dozens of other
publications in support of environmental outreach and education. Her
direct efforts reached over 3,200 students and citizens in 2006. DEQ
employees recognized Amy’s contributions to the agency by voting her
Employee of the Year.
Each winner was recognized
with a certificate, scholarship for professional development, and lifetime
membership in IdEEA. IdEEA gives these awards annually, based on
nominations from across the state.
IdEEA is a non-profit organization that promotes and supports education
about Idaho’s environment. It coordinates a network of model schools,
operates an on-line searchable database, and presents the annual Idaho
Environmental Education Summit, to be held February 29 and March 1, 2008
in Boise.
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