I am honored to have been chosen as the 2022 award recipient for the Northwest, Region 10, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators or PIAEE! The award winners were mentioned on the EPA’s websites and social media on July 1 and the awards ceremony happened in Washington DC on August 4. I could not attend in person so I watched the live stream and screen recorded the part where they called my name. I have a copy of the 2 minute video I recorded below.
This award is amazing not just because it recognizes me but because it recognizes the work we’re doing here in Chimacum. I applied for this award because it was right up my alley but more importantly it lets me show my students that they work they’ve been doing in 6th grade Science has value and matters. It was time well spent. It also allows me to show my future students that the work they will be doing in my class is good, relevant, important work. This is another incredible way to provide my students with motivation and excitement for the work we do in school!
My Environmental Stewardship Project earned my students and me entry into NOAA’s Ocean Guardian School program and that not only elevated my project but also provided continued funding. This environmental stewardship project alone has received 24 of my 50 career grants! I have always been able to tell my students that the project we do in 6th grade Science is important to our community and will help them become better stewards of their watershed and their planet. All the grants this project has received from service learning grants to environmental grants served as proof that the work students did mattered, and now the work has received this country’s highest honor!
Our neighborhood newspaper, the Port Townsend Leader, wrote the following article. And here’s one from the Peninsula Daily News.
The Washington Education Association (WEA) recorded the following video:
Here’s the clip I recorded from the August 4th awards ceremony:
The plaque I received is HUGE!
I feel very fortunate. I am in awe of all this recognition. Last year, I was chosen as the 2021 NCCE Outstanding Technology Educator of the Year and now the 2022 PIAEE. I am so grateful and will use these accolades to continue the good work of helping my students learn with joy.
