2020 Awardees
Lifetime Achievement (20+ years): Brian Brogan, The Antioch School
Brian is in his element in the outdoors and has weekly outdoor classroom days. These days consist of everything from tapping maple trees, building sapling wigwams, practicing archery, digging holes and climbing trees, as students are given time to explore nature freely. Brian also takes advantage of the school’s proximity to the Glen Helen Nature Center and leads weekly hikes for his students year-round. Brian’s dedication to outdoor learning has inspired many of his co-workers to adapt and have more of their classes outdoors.
Leader (10-20 years): Suzanne Mitolo, Primary Village South (PVS) Art Teacher
Elements of nature can be found scattered around Suzanne’s classroom, as she knows nature sparks creativity in her students. Suzanne was instrumental in creating and maintaining the school’s multi-sensory garden and encourages her students to use this space and other natural spaces at Primary Village South to grow their art and observation skills through the use of a nature journal. Suzanne provides rich, meaningful experiences for her students to understand the connection between themselves, art and nature.
Rising Star (<10 years): Patricia Lewis, Roosevelt Elementary, 2nd grade
Patricia shares her love and appreciation of nature with her students. Recently, she and her students created the “Roosevelt Garden”, which consists of raised beds for flowers and vegetables, grapevine and a fruit tree. The creation of the garden challenged the students critical thinking skills as they decided which plants would thrive in their garden. When not caring for the garden, Patricia’s students can often be found having outdoor picnics as they read books, using nature to explore new concepts such as measurements or observing and caring for the classroom pets and plants.