2004 Outstanding Educators

Linda Carson, New Hampshire

Linda Carson is a seventh grade science teacher at Hillsboro-Deering Middle School in Hillsborough, N.H.  She first got involved with Project Learning Tree in 1997 and became a facilitator to engage more educators in PLT.

Linda is an exemplary environmental educator.  She strives to engage students in an active examination of environmental topics, promotes social responsibility in the use of natural resources, and encourages students to create positive change.

Her teaching weaves student interests and experiences into activities that explore the natural world.  She does this through an interdisciplinary project that takes place at nearby Fox State Forest for three weeks each spring.  Students analyze the ecology and inhabitants of the forest through projects incorporating science, language arts, mathematics, geography, technology, visual arts, health, physical education, and more. 

True to being an "outstanding educator," Linda also serves as a role model for fellow teachers by helping them expand their comfort with and knowledge of the natural environment.  She is well known and respected among the teachers in her community, and has led numerous educator trainings for Project Learning Tree.

In 2002, the New Hampshire Environmental Educators honored Linda as the NH Environmental Teacher of the year.

Linda and her husband of 26 years, Geoff, live in Bow, NH with their two teenage daughters. At times they have lived with over a dozen pet birds, a fleet of turtles, lizards, fish, and a couple of snakes and cats. The best part of small town NH is getting outside and being able to enjoy the natural beauty in solitude. She hopes the exposure to and appreciation for the outdoors will be a life long interest for her students as it is for her.

Sandy Greene, Virginia

Sandy Greene is the Education Specialist for the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District in Verona, Va.  In this capacity, she's brought environmental education to many people in her community - teachers, students, parents, and colleagues.  While passionate about Project Learning Tree and environmental education, she is best known for turning her big ideas into action.

Sandy describes herself as a perennial camp counselor who enjoys the outdoors.  In 1970, she organized the very first Earth Day celebration at the University of Richmond.  Now, more than 20 years have passed since she took her first Project Learning Tree workshop!  During these 20 years, Sandy's PLT ideas have turned into big outings, outdoor classrooms, and tree plantings while hundreds of school children have reaped the rewards.

Not one to stop learning, Sandy went back to school to earn her Masters in Education in 1997, which allowed her to teach grades 4-8.  She also became a PLT facilitator in 1999.  Sandy keeps up with the latest PLT additions, taking many courses and trainings since her original introduction. 

While working, conducting PLT workshops, and earning her masters degree, Sandy did not stop sharing her love of the environment.  Over the years she has organized Envirothon competitions, outdoor classroom creations, and one five-day rafting trip for over 100 people teaching them about water treatment, hydroelectric power, farms, water value, and the beauty of nature.  Her ideas keep coming and she hasn't stopped yet!

Sandy lives with her husband in Mt. Sidney, Virginia.  They are the proud parents of two children in college. Sandy's family is used to having their stuff made into props, her crazy ideas, and her spur of the moment trips and tangents - all for the call of environmental education.

Derenda Marshall, South Carolina

Derenda Marshall is a third grade teacher at River Ridge Elementary School in Moore, S.C.  In 1988, Derenda attended her first Project Learning Tree Workshop - and she hasn't looked back since.  She jumped right in and started running with PLT activities, lessons, and workshops - becoming a PLT facilitator seven years later.

Putting her knowledge of PLT to good use in the classroom to benefit her students, is an essential element of her teaching style.  Derenda says, "Environmental education is integrated into all areas of the curriculum in my class.  I use it as a way to drive my curriculum to instill a love and appreciation for the environment in my students.  They are the future of our environment."  So, math lessons evolve into a coordinating science lab and greenhouses become an opportunity for writing poetry.

While her energy in using PLT inside the classroom impressed many, her enthusiasm for spreading the good word of PLT throughout the region is a force to be reckoned with.  She has conducted several PLT workshops along her journey, worked with the South Carolina Aquarium to develop curricula for their program, promoted PLT through her work as a master teacher in graduate courses, and used PLT in many workshop settings to reach people across the state.

These are just short glimpses into the environmentally aware world that Derenda is creating around her - one lesson and person at a time. 

Derenda and her husband live in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where they are known for nursing small animals back to health.  They live there with the full house of "backyard critters" that they use to promote environmental education in schools around the state.  Both live the environment 24/7, at their home, in their school, and in their community. 

James R. Sanders, Jr., Georgia

James (Jimmy) Sanders, Jr. is an Outreach Forester with International Paper Company.  For more than 30 years, he has educated students, teachers, and fellow foresters about forest ecosystems and natural resource management.  In fact, he attended one of Georgia's first PLT facilitator trainings!

Jimmy's commitment to both students and teachers is extraordinary. In his current position he has the opportunity to teach many PLT activities to school children and youth groups.  He initiated and organized Camp Lighthouse to introduce inner city, at-risk children to nature.  Earth Camp, another project he started, encourages gifted students to make a difference in their environment through action and leadership.

His impact on teachers has been just as great.  He helped launch two of Georgia's most outstanding teacher education programs: Georgia Southern University Teachers Environment and Free Enterprise Institute (TEFEI) and the Armstrong Atlantic State University Teacher's Environment and Free Enterprise Institute (TESSI).  In both endeavors, Jimmy uses the opportunity to introduce participants to the PLT program.

Jimmy has also served as a productive member of the Georgia PLT Steering Committee for several years.  He has played a strong leadership role in Southern Region PLT Coordinators' Conferences and has shared much in the way of innovative methods of working with educators.

Jimmy lives in Savannah, Georgia.  He acknowledges that the support he receives from his family makes the scope of his work possible.

Fred Wiechmann, Florida

Fred Wiechmann is principal of Lakeland Christian School, an elementary school in Lakeland, Fla.  As a teacher, Fred always made use of student enthusiasm by involving them in the process of science.  So, when he took a Project Learning Tree workshop in the summer of 1994, it was a perfect connection - which is where his story begins.

After attending a PLT workshop, Fred took things a step further and went through PLT facilitator training.  During the training, he learned about becoming a PLT school.  Not long after gaining this knowledge, Fred had all of his teachers PLT trained over a 12 week period.  Then, in March of 2000, Lakeland Christian School became an official PLT school!

The beginning of each school year at Lakeland Christian School now kicks off with Creation Care Week, where PLT activities are conducted daily at all grade levels.  Other programs Fred is involved with at his school include: Faith's Forest, a habitat restoration project on the school's campus; a 5th grade retreat which uses the environment to improve critical thinking and cooperative learning skills; a Monarch Butterfly Tag/Release project; a butterfly garden; and more.

Besides training his entire staff in PLT, Fred also jumps at any opportunity to advocate the use of Project Learning Tree to any group that will listen.  He has facilitated PLT and other EE-related workshops at many venues including Florida Southern College, PLT Schools Conference, and the Annual Association of Christian Schools International Florida Teachers Convention which attracts approximately 2,000 teachers.

Fred and his wife Barbara's habitat is now an empty nest in Lakeland, Florida.  They have adjusted well to Florida's climate.  Fred and Barb enjoy running around many of the lakes found within Lakeland's city limits. Their home is on a lake which provides peace and serenity in the midst of rapid urban growth in Lakeland.