Two Rhode Island teachers receive EPA’s 2023 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
BOSTON (April 26, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership with the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), have announced the 2023 recipients of the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE).
Two of the nine national awards were presented to Rhode Island educators. This year’s recipients are Margaret Brennan from Portsmouth Middle School in Portsmouth, and Gwynne Millar from Exeter West Greenwich High School in West Greenwich.
The PIAEE award was established by the 1990 National Environmental Education Act and seeks to recognize, support, and bring public attention to the outstanding environmental projects performed by teachers who go beyond textbook instruction to incorporate methods and materials that utilize creative experiences and enrich student learning in K-12 education.
“The extraordinary achievements of Margaret Brennan and Gwynne Millar are remarkable in scope,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “They have tackled relevant, environmental challenges in their communities, inspired students, and helped prepare for a more sustainable, inclusive and hopeful future. We thank them for their hard work preparing the environmental leaders of tomorrow!”
2023 recipients of the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
Margaret Brennan
At Portsmouth Middle School in Rhode Island, Mrs. Brennan met with the Eastern RI Conservation District to improve her students’ education through outdoor and project-based learning. Thanks to this partnership, Mrs. Brennan had access to a 6-acre plot of land half a mile from her school, and she developed an after-school program dedicated to teaching students about land development with an environmental focus. For 8 weeks, she and 25 of the school’s students created five areas of interest on this land: a garden area, a high tunnel, a solar energy area, and irrigation area, and a chicken area. After encouraging the students to research information about these areas, the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm was born, and by June 2022, students completed the construction of each area. Today, the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm engages with 75 students each year (including high school students) and is preparing to offer educational field trips to students hoping to work on the farm for hands-on learning.
Mrs. Brennan has been sure to balance learning with fun at the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm. She balanced daily chores, for example, with fun activities. Students learned how to fish in the nearby reservoir, drive a tractor, build irrigation systems, and pollinate certain vegetables. Mrs. Brennan also taught students about soil health, covering everything from photosynthesis to composting to carbon sequestering. Furthermore, as part of her vision to merge sustainability with community, Mrs. Brennan has encouraged students to bring some of the farm’s plants to disadvantaged homes to demonstrate how to grow healthy and affordable food in small spaces.
In addition to sounding the alarm about environmental concerns, Mrs. Brennan’s farm has united the community by integrating students with various socioeconomic backgrounds and learning styles. For students with social struggles, the farm has been an opportunity to find their sense of belonging, and many have gained a newfound confidence that will aid them beyond the farm’s borders. In addition, parents are encouraged to participate with their children through their own sustainability plots, and students at Thompson Middle School-an inner-city school with many free and reduced-lunch students-visit during the summer to learn how to plant and grow their own vegetables.
Mrs. Brennan believes that outdoor learning is the best way to engage her students, and the results at the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm support that belief. Through her work, students are not only learning how to help the environment, but also interacting with other students and their community through unprecedented, hands-on collaboration.
“Connections to nature improve our physical and emotional health while applying critical thinking to our everyday learning. Students learn best when outside and learn to have a healthy respect for nature and our food source. This creates sustainability as the hope will be that they grow up and work in a field that will help the environment, the community, and the next generation of learners,” said Mrs. Brennan. “I am grateful to work with a district that values outdoor education and our community. It is an honor to receive this award and I would like to thank my administration, my colleagues, my students, and families who have supported my efforts in outdoor education and connections to environmental organizations on Aquidneck Island.”
Gwynne Millar
Ms. Millar, a biology and environmental sustainability teacher at Exeter West Greenwich High School in Rhode Island, sees herself as more than someone who imparts knowledge onto the next generation-instead, she is a facilitator of learning who encourages students to think for themselves, take risks, and understand that true learning is more than memorization. With more than 30 years of experience under her belt, Ms. Millar knows that a true teacher encourages students to face the risk of failure. In fact, science as whole, she affirms, is a series of failures that have pushed humanity forward. This belief is reflected in her teaching style, which is characterized by experimentation and choice boards, and she allows students to choose the problems they hope to solve, all the while supporting their decisions and designs.
Recently, Ms. Millar’s class investigated matter cycling-specifically, composting-which is particularly relevant to the problem of excessive food waste accumulating in the state’s only landfill. Considering that Rhode Island’s dump is projected to reach capacity by 2035, and with Rhode Island schools generating 5 million pounds of food waste each year, she and her class investigated different composting methods to develop an effective program for the school.
Additionally, Ms. Millar leads an annual research trip to the Cape Eleuthera Institute in the Bahamas to study green sea turtles. She encourages students to experience the life of field scientists as they capture, tag, and collect data on these sea turtles for a national database. Following their experience on this trip, many students decide to pursue environmental science in their college careers.
Ultimately, science is useless without real-world application, so Ms. Millar is also cognizant of the need to encourage her students to serve communities and vulnerable populations. She does this, for example, through local beach cleanup events and water sampling. She also sponsors kayak trips for families who wish to explore local waterways and essential wildlife. Even during the holiday season, she is hard at work, as she has collected Christmas trees to support trout habitats and combat river erosion. Currently, Ms. Millar is seeking grant funds for community programs for the eradication of invasive species.
Overall, Ms. Millar’s immersive lesson plans encourages students not only to understand the environmental present, but also empower them to create solutions for its future. Her programs are combinations of education and experience, both of which are supplemented by her inspirational approaches to taking risks, involving local communities, and problem-solving with passion.
“Students learn best when allowed to investigate real-world problems and answer questions using inquiry-based and phenomenon practices. Environmental education is the perfect vehicle for this engagement,” said Ms. Millar. “It provides students with the building blocks for living a sustainable lifestyle, and hopefully, they will serve as leaders in their communities, motivating others to live a sustainable lifestyle as well. It is an honor to be recognized for this award.”
Honorable Mentions: 2023 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
Matthew Dransfield, South Burlington High School, South Burlington, Vermont
When Mr. Dransfield walks down the halls of South Burlington High School in Vermont, he sees himself not only as a teacher, but also as a trusted mentor. Confidently, he knows that students learn best when they have a fun, engaging relationship with their teacher, and he has put in the work to be an effective leader and role model. Having a rapport with students has allowed him to encourage them to experiment without a fear of failure, and his optimism replaces their “I can’t” with “try this.” This approach has allowed students to explore the topics that interest them and find out for themselves what they are truly capable of achieving. Mr. Dransfield also understands that not all students process information the same way, and his relationship with them allows him to personalize his teachings to suit their needs.
Chris Donnelly, Boston Green Academy, Brighton, Massachusetts
In Brighton, Massachusetts, the Boston Green Academy is the only school in the Boston Public Schools District with a green mission. It is no wonder, then, that the school was grateful for Mr. Donnelly’s contribution in founding the Environmental Science Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. Specifically, Mr. Donnelly makes environmental justice the cornerstone of his part of the program, giving students the context necessary to understand how environmental issues disproportionally affect minorities, both in the City of Boston and around the world.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/two-rhode-island-teachers-receive-epas-2023-presidential-innovation-award
