2002 Outstanding Educators

Maggie Arrington
Arkansas Forestry Commission, Arkansas

Maggie Arrington is a forester totally committed to environmental education. Working throughout the state of Arkansas, Maggie infuses environmental education into all she does.

Since her initial PLT training in 1997, Maggie has served as a PLT educator, facilitator, state steering committee member, first-ever Arkansas regional coordinator, and most recently the chairperson for the first Arkansas state PLT conference (2002).

Maggie uses PLT with learners of all ages and has experience facilitating PreK-8 and secondary workshops. Towards the end of 2001 she helped plan and facilitate an advanced workshop on children's literature and environmental education that received rave reviews and was featured in the Spring 2002 edition of the Branch newsletter. In her own words, workshops are "resource vending machines that can deliver tons of great additional education information to traditional and non-traditional educators alike." And she would know; she has trained Arkansas Forestry Commission members, timber company employees, school teachers, scout leaders, and natural resource professionals.

Her involvement in PLT extends to promoting the program through newsletter articles and email lists, passing out brochures at every event she attends, and designing the state PLT logo. From marketing to facilitating, she embodies the awareness to action model.

It is Maggie's dedication and commitment to environmental education, as exhibited through the many programs with which she is involved, that made Maggie an obvious choice for outstanding PLT educator. In addition to her list of PLT activities, she is also involved in the Arkansas Envirothon, the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts Youth Conservation Camp, Arbor Day celebrations, Forest Landowner Education Workshops, and the Girls Understanding Technology & Science mentoring program to name a few!

Kris Irwin
The University of Georgia - Warnell School of Forest Resources, Georgia

In 1996 Kris Irwin completed his PLT facilitator training and it all takes off from there. That same year he joined the Georgia PLT State Steering Committee and has since been an active member, working to secure grants and other funding to make PLT in Georgia a successful program.

This year, Kris has volunteered to serve as PLT Regional Coordinator for the Athens region. And as further proof of his leadership with PLT, he took it upon himself to head the development of the PLT Effectiveness Survey for teachers. The survey was mailed to 3,230 Georgia teachers to assess their use of PLT in the classroom. The survey results will serve to evaluate current and future strategies for the program's implementation.

Within the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forest Resources and the College of Education, Kris has paved the way for pre-service foresters and teachers to become involved in PLT. He has introduced the materials to professors and administrators of the schools, designed workshops to accommodate student schedules, and conducted his high-energy workshops in attractive locations to maximize appeal.

Kris has delivered over 30 education outreach workshops that provided PLT training. This year the Georgia PLT Steering Committee adopted PLT Facilitator Mentoring Guidelines. True to his innovative spirit, Kris signed up as Georgia's first mentor and is training a young forester in PLT.

When the Georgia curriculum was revised in 1998, Kris volunteered to serve on the team charged with correlating PLT to the new standards. He worked diligently on the math and science correlation, and his excellent work has made PLT much more marketable and attractive to the Georgia education community.

It is Kris's dedication to PLT and environmental education in general — illustrated through his creation of the Georgia Environmental Network in Education, and use of experiential workshops with University of Georgia professors, Georgia Association of Teacher Educators, and pre-service teachers — that make him a national PLT outstanding educator.

Anita Smith
China Middle School, Maine

Anita Smith's commitment to environmental education and PLT is apparent no matter which hat she wears: teacher, community leader, PLT facilitator, Maine PLT Executive Committee member.

As a teacher, Anita has impacted countless students through her coordination of China School's Forest Day, where participants spent a day engaged in hands-on learning about the forest. She serves on the Science Curriculum Committee. As a part of her contribution to education, she aligned the school district's entire science strand with the Maine State Learning Results and developed the fifth grade wetlands curriculum.

A few examples of her excellent educational leadership abilities include: staffing a table in the forest tent at the state fair, encouraging her colleagues and other professionals to participate in the China School Outdoor Classroom programs, and working with the Maine Tree Foundation Teacher Tours.

Anita has been a trained PLT facilitator since 1990, conducting three to four workshops each year. In addition, she serves as a mentor for new facilitators and has been key to training over 60% of China Middle School's teachers in PLT. And as if that was not enough, Anita has also been an active member of the Maine PLT Executive Committee since 1999.

As one of her nominees put it: "Once in a great while I have had the opportunity to work with exceptional people whose passion for teaching and learning inspired everyone they meet. Anita Smith is such a person.

Sally Wall
Seabrook Intermediate School, Texas

Sally's interest in environmental education began when she was a student at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she majored in biology. It was there that she learned the importance of teaching future generations about our natural resources and environment.

As a high school and later a middle school science teacher, Sally utilized every opportunity to take her students outside and to incorporate good environmental education into her classrooms. Through Sally's position as a key district science curriculum developer, these values extend beyond her classroom and into many other classrooms in the Houston-Galveston area. Sally also serves as a mentor for pre-service educators and first-year teachers, encouraging them to attend PLT, WILD, and WET workshops and to use the materials in the classroom.

Sally puts it best as she explains, "As a middle school teacher, I need to motivate and involve my students in the learning process. The PLT model of awareness, knowledge, challenge, and action allows me to not only motivate my students but also to demonstrate how environmental education can be an intricate component of teaching to my colleagues and future educators."

She also shares her enthusiasm for environmental education with her community at large, helping to conduct field trips to local nature centers, and coordinating community service projects and family science days. In all of these events she involves teachers, students, parents, and administrators.

As part-time employee for the Environmental Institute of Houston, Sally shares her wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for EE with others. Sally Wall is truly an outstanding PLT educator, as reflected in her efforts as a PLT facilitator, a PLT educator, a mentor to pre-service teachers, and an active practitioner of environmental education.

Woody Franzen
Environmental Education Consultant, Washington Forest Protection Association, Washington

Woody Franzen is a true friend of PLT and environmental education as exemplified throughout his 30 years as a fifth grade teacher and his current work with the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA). During his career with the school district, he assisted in establishing a residential outdoor learning program for all fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in the district. Today, he works with and trains teachers through WFPA's Environmental Study Site (ESS) program and WFPA's District team program.

Woody is a role model for teachers, demonstrating successful strategies for working with students beyond the confinements of a traditional classroom. As a naturalist, he explores the interrelated workings of ecosystems in personalized ways, helping participants observe their surroundings and asking questions.

Woody facilitates district teams, school site teams, and other participants in workshops. He provides a quiet leadership giving participants a comfort level that is hard to duplicate. He effectively illustrates for teachers that using the environment as an integrating context can improve education and reduce teacher overload.

For the last 10 years Woody has facilitated PLT workshops, at both the PreK-8 and secondary levels, in 16 of Washington's 39 counties and in many of the state's school districts. In the last four years, he has trained approximately 300 staff members throughout the Everett Public School District.

"Woody breaths environmental education, it is a part of his core and he shares that with everyone he meets�The fact that several years after retirement he is willing and excited to give to the EE community is an example of his commitment to the need for all people to understand the principles of the environmental education movement."