ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATORS OF THE YEAR - 2020

MISHA SMITH - HAWTHORNE ELEMENTARY

My mission as an educator is to inspire curiosity, critical thinking and creative problem solving in my students.  I strive to instill an understanding that knowledge is powerful, and students can use this power to improve their world.  I love to get my students outdoors and in the field as much as possible, as well as connecting them with guest speakers and experts locally and globally.  Most of the learning that takes place in my classroom is hands on and inquiry project based, and involves just the right amount of controlled chaos to be fun and engaging.

-Misha

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ALI WARD - BOISE HIGH

As an educator I see myself as a facilitator, a science tour guide, shepherding, and apprenticing my students as they tap into their own curiosity and follow their paths of inquiry and exploration.  Science experimentation and learning are at times messy, smelly, nuanced, and difficult, and often must take place outdoors.  Most scientific questions don't have simple or clearly "right" answers and environmental justice is, in my mind, a core subject.  Helping my students become scientifically literate and able to see multiple angles and approaches to solving an environmental problem is my passion.
-Ali

MATT PODOLSKY - WILD LENS COLLECTIVE

To me, environmental education represents the connective tissue that brings together all the most urgent issues that humanity currently faces.  I embrace a new environmentalism that teaches us about the interconnected nature of our current planetary crisis, and strive to show others through storytelling that social justice, racial justice and income inequality are inextricably linked to the climate crisis, the extinction crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.  The role of environmental educators in analyzing and communicating these critical connections is urgent as we enter a future of overlapping crises, and I'm honored to be recognized for the small role that I play in this complex, interdisciplinary field. 
-Matt

SANDY RACINE - VOLUNTEER WITH THE PEREGRINE FUND'S WORLD CENTER FOR BIRDS OF PREY

As an educator & lover of kids for well over 36 years, my volunteer time the last four years at the World Center For Birds of Prey has given me an incredible knowledge base & the ability to share my passion for raptors & their most needed conservation with a variety of people young and old.  Seeing kids & adults light up when they see a raptor up close & personal brings me such joy. My goal is for all visitors to value raptors in the wild & appreciate their value in our environment. 
As I end all my school tours with a cheer...
RAPTORS RULE!
-Sandy

PRIMARY / SECONDARY EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

Formal educators are typically school teachers.

NON-FORMAL EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

Non-formal refers to educators that work outside of a formal school system.

VOLUNTEER EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

Volunteers make the world go round!