2023 Grant Recipients
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR
OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Each year, outstanding classroom and community educators are recognized for their unique and invaluable contributions to the field of Environmental Education. Nominations are made in the spring and awards are given out at the Project Green Sustainability Summit each year.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATORS
OF THE YEAR - 2026
Amy Griffin
ELEMENTARY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
Mrs. Griffin’s 6th grade class worked all year to plan, design and create an outdoor classroom at Whittier Elementary in Boise. Students drove the decisions for this project and communicated their plans and ideas themselves through proposals and presentations, working with area contractors, district personnel and writing grants to raise funds for this project. Mrs. Griffin’s commitment to empowering her students to take the lead on this project is such an amazing learning opportunity for these kids that they have gained so many skills from. The outdoor learning space they have created will be used by all grade levels at the school and has already hosted educators for the Sustainability Summit this summer.
PAST AWARD RECIPIENTS
EE Grant Opportunity
IdEEA is pleased to offer Environmental Education Grants to support environmental education for Idaho’s youth.
We invite proposals from formal/informal educators, parents, students, and student groups for projects that help youth learn more about environmental education and/or enhance their connection with nature. Grant funds can be used to develop or continue community or school environmental projects, for teachers to develop or purchase new materials, and more. Special consideration will be given to projects that provide hands-on learning opportunities for youth and can provide a resource for other educators.
Grants are offered each fall and have currently been allocated for this school year.
25/26 Grant Recipients
One Stone
High School
One Stone High School in Boise offered several winter term immersions, which are experiential courses to inspire passion and curiosity. An example of such an immersion experience is Solitude and Survival Stories: “Using Pete Fromm’s memoir (Indian Creek Chronicles) of a winter alone in the Selway–Bitterroot Wilderness as our guide, we’ll explore what it takes to spend the winter outdoors, as well as what we stand to gain by spending alone time in nature.” Students planned and executed solo day trips outdoors in January, ranging from a 30-mile bike ride on the Greenbelt to a 5-mile hike in Hulls Gulch, and wrote about their experiences. Funds from the grant, generously sponsored by Cap Ed Credit Union, purchased access to wilderness yurts, passes to trailheads, and navigation tools for a two night winter yurt trip for students in Idaho City.
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Farmin Stidwell Elementary
The Farmin Stidwell Elementary School in Sandpoint introduced over 500 students to the vital role of pollinators and native wildflowers through hands-on experience centered around flower pressing. Students used handmade flower presses created with materials purchased by the grant to collect, identify and press wildflowers from their own homes or neighborhoods in early spring. To further enrich the experience, the project incorporated pollinator-focused lessons using curriculum provided by Idaho Fish and Game, and hosted a visit from a local beekeeper.
Salmon Outdoor Classroom
The Salmon Outdoor Classroom in Salmon, a four-acre ecological learning space owned by IDFG, located within walking distance of both Pioneer Elementary and Salmon Junior/Senior High School, installed a live-streaming camera on an active osprey nesting platform and integrated it into SVS’s Outdoor Education programming for students from the two schools. Funds from the IdEEA Grant were spent on purchasing a lifetime membership to a live-streaming software called CamStreamer. Five high school students from the high school Envirothon Team were directly involved in the fundraising event and restoration of the Outdoor Classroom space. Beyond their direct involvement, the link was shared with teachers and nearly every student in the Salmon schools has had an opportunity to view the camera in their classrooms. Approximately 30 youth attended the outreach event which included kid-friendly games and STEAM demonstrations by the local STEAMworld.
Thurkill Elementary
Thurkill Elementary in Soda Springs will enhance its existing science curriculum by offering after-school STEM nights. These activities will deepen students’ knowledge of science, foster an appreciation for local industries and resources, and encourage responsible environmental stewardship—ultimately helping prepare a strong, informed future workforce.
Coeur d'Alene
High School
Coeur d’Alene High School in Coeur d’ Alene recreated their current Environmental Science course with focus on the Pacific Northwest (mainly forestry and water resources). The project enabled the teachers to take two classes to off-site experiences (University of Idaho Experimental Forest, simulators, and other nearby forested and wild landscapes.) for interactive learning experiences. The funds from this IdEEA grant were used to offset transportation costs and allow for additional field trips as well as paying for seedlings planted in May.
Previous Grant Projects
Amy Brownlee: Boise School District
I wrote a 5th grade GATE unit exploring forestry, jobs in the industry and giving students the chance to experience the tools of the trade (loggers tape, diameter tapes and clinometers) and the opportunity to try their hand at plot mapping and land management. I needed funding for the tools so I wrote a grant and was awarded $500 by the Idaho Environmental Education Association. I quickly bought the tools I needed...so excited!
The essential question for this unit is “How can we support a balanced forest?” We then jumped right into learning about a foresters job and the tools they use to help manage ground. We are lucky to have a nice yard in front of our school with lots of trees to go outside and immediately put these tools to good use! Students learned to use a clinometer to measure the height of trees, a diameter tape to measure the diameter of trees and a loggers tape to measure accurate distance. We also spent time learning to identify trees, specifically conifers.
Students entered this unit with limited knowledge of the forestry industry, they had opinions based on their own personal exposure to information and experience. They had never thought about the various players in managing land and above all they, for the most part, hadn’t even thought about forestry as a career field and certainly were blown away by the vast opportunities it holds. One of the most rewarding outcomes is the first hand opportunity to be in contact with the professionals doing the work.
During our reflection activity students wrote they were surprised by how many jobs there were in relation to forestry. “I was surprised that forestry jobs aren’t just loggers and scientists but architects and managers.” “It shows how much work is put into our forests.” They also wrote about how their thinking had changed or been supported. “I was against cutting down trees but then I realized that supports the forest.” “I thought a healthy forest was a forest that never had fire and never cut down trees. But now I know it’s natural to have fires in forests and some trees need it.”