From left to right: MaryLynne Malone, NYSOEA President; Tim Stanley, NYSOEA VP Human Resources, Susan Hereth, Scenic Hudson. Photo credited to: Frank Knight.
(OLIVEBRIDGE, NY) On Saturday February 6th, after a cold winter’s day of attending ecology workshops, maple sugaring classes, and craftmaking sessions, attendees of Ashokan’s Winter Weekend gathered in the glowing warmth of a grass-pellet stove to honor those who have contributed vast amounts of time and effort in the field of outdoor education over the year.
The recipients of this year’s awards are as follows:
The Environmental Impact Award–given to an individual or organization involved in research, conservation, and political action that influenced, protected and successfully dealt with problems associated with the environment–was presented to the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
The Appreciation Award–awarded to a NYSOEA member or member affiliate group who has contributed to the growth and/or betterment of the organization–was presented to Betsy Ukeritis of the New York State DEC and Jessica Olenych of Common Grounds Education Consulting in Arkville for chairing the 2010 North American Association for Environmental Education Conference, and to Nirmal Merchant, the VP Communications for the impressive short time span for implementing the redesign of the new website.
The Outdoor Educator Award–recognizing the outstanding classroom teacher, outdoor/environmental educator or interpreter in the Association who has used the outdoors to enrich curriculum and/or interpret the natural world in a way that has expanded the environmental appreciation of children or adults–was presented to Nance Gross, Program Director at the Ashokan Center.
The Service Award–for outstanding support of Association goals by contribution of personal time and energy–was presented to Susan Hereth, Education Coordinator for Scenic Hudson whose contributions as a Conference Chair, the Chair of the Literacy Committee and the great strides that committee has made in accomplishing NYSOEA’s goal to be an environmentally literate state, and to Tim Stanley of the Fresh Air Fund’s Sharpe Environmental Center for going above and beyond the tasks set for the positions of VP Program and VP Human Resource as well as spearheading the establishment of the Environmental Literacy Committee.
