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News Releases from Region 10

EPA and White House Honor Outstanding Environmental Educators in Oregon and Washington

08/16/2016
Contact Information: 
Suzanne Skadowski (skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov)
206-553-2160

(Seattle – August 16, 2016) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality recognized two teachers in Oregon and Washington for outstanding environmental education.  Teachers Megan Alameda, at Baker Technical Institute, in Baker City, Oregon and Laura Tyler, at South Shore PK-9 School, in Seattle, Washington were among 18 teachers across the U.S. to receive the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. The awards recognize innovative environmental educators who integrate environmental learning into their classrooms using hands-on, experiential approaches. The awards were presented at a ceremony today at the White House.
 

Megan Alameda, Baker Technical Institute, Baker City, Oregon

Megan Alameda uses a collaborative and interactive teaching process that engages her students to help in the cleanup of a nearby brownfield. Brownfields are contaminated properties that can be safely cleaned up and sustainably reused or developed. The project-based nature of her class allows grades 9 through 12 students to fill brownfield cleanup roles such as managers, coordinators, specialists, researchers, and presenters that best match their individual strengths. Megan and her students have partnered with other organizations such as the Powder Basin Watershed Council to get students in the field at least once a month to participate in the brownfield cleanup. Megan’s students have learned about brownfields and presented their knowledge at a public open house and at state brownfield conferences.

Laura Tyler, South Shore PK-9 School, Seattle, Washington

Laura Tyler has spent three decades as an educator focused on improving urban students’ environmental understanding. Recognizing the importance of creating a connection between nature and her students, Laura brings her students on field trips that allow them to see a variety of local ecosystems. Her “Solutions and Pollutions” unit teaches students about water chemistry by having them test water quality at nearby Lake Washington. Her students have helped restore part of the East Duwamish River Greenbelt by removing invasive species and planting native species. Laura has also had a major impact on the environmental sustainability of her district and community. She helped start and grow a four-school recycling program into a recycling and composting program that now exists in every school in the district.

For more information about environmental education at EPA, visit:
https://www.epa.gov/education.

Learn about all of the environmental educator award winners at:
http://www2.epa.gov/education/presidential-innovation-award-environmental-educators-piaee-winners.