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Wisconsin Environmental Literacy Plan Being Developed
The Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition is working to develop an Environmental Literacy Plan for Wisconsin that will address the environmental education needs of Wisconsin's pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade schools and will pay special attention to creating more opportunities to get kids outside. The Plan will recommend a comprehensive strategy to ensure every child graduates with the environmental skills and knowledge needed to contribute to a sustainable future. Deb Weitzel, environmental science teacher in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, represents the Wisconsin Environmental Science Teacher Network in the Coalition. Deb’s main priority is to ensure the interests of environmental science educators are addressed in the plan. For additional information about the Coalition visit: http://eeinwisconsin.org/net/org/info.aspx?s=86593.0.0.2209 

DPI Environmental Education Consultant Position Funded
Wisconsin’s 2009-2011 budget included funding to support the reinstatement of an Environmental Education Consultant position within the Department of Public Instruction. Many educators, organizations, and legislators lobbied to restore this position after funding was cut in the late 1990s. This position will support statewide K-12 environmental education initiatives in Wisconsin's schools and ultimately, it will ensure Wisconsin is meeting its environmental literacy goals. For more information, please contact Jesse Haney, Wisconsin Environmental Education Foundation, 715.346.3604 or Jesse.Haney@uwsp.edu 

Wisconsin Environmental Science Teacher Network on Facebook
Join the new Wisconsin Environmental Science Teacher Network group on Facebook to network, share ideas, ask questions, and find resources: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=245385895573 

ES Teachers in the News

Gibraltar Teacher Named Conservation Educator of the Year
David Tupa, science teacher at Gibraltar High School in Fish Creek, has been named the 2009 Conservation Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. Tupa teaches environmental science, biology, human anatomy, forensic science and earth science at Gibraltar, where he has worked since 1996. Over the years, his students have built and installed bird nest boxes, assisted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in salmon egg harvesting, participated in bird counts and written letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.
Press Release (PDF)

Berlin Teacher Receives National Environmental Science Teaching Award
Pat Arndt of Berlin High School is recipient of the 2008 Ecology/Environmental Science Teaching Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). This award is given to a secondary school teacher who has successfully developed and demonstrated an innovative approach in the teaching of ecology/environmental science and has carried his/her commitment to the environment into the community.

Grantsburg High School Awarded Statewide Honors
Environmental science teacher Matt Berg and his students from Grantsburg High School were awarded the 2007 Outstanding Achievements in Youth Monitoring award for their work analyzing mussel communities in northwestern Wisconsin and monitoring dragonfly communities on the St. Croix River and its tributaries from the Citizen-Based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin.
More Information (CBM web site)

Middleton High School Teacher Presented National Honors
Debra Weitzel, environmental studies and chemistry teacher at Middleton High School, was awarded the first Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award from the National Environmental Education Foundation. Since beginning her career at Middleton in 1978, Deb has been a pioneer for environmental studies at the high school level. She has grown Middleton's program from a single course to a popular and challenging series of classes that includes an advanced placement environmental course as well as two elective courses, Environmental Studies I and II.
Press Release (PDF)
Capital Times Article (PDF)