OACD and Chesapeake Conservation Education Awards 2009

OCC Area III Commissioner George Stunkard (right) presented the award and check to Tammy Jones in an awards assembly at Okay Schools on May 22.

OCC Area V Commissioner Virginia Kidd, OCC Assistant Director Ben Pollard, and Hughes County Director Randy Cotten and Associate Director Dale Jenkins presented the award and check to Caprice Coleman on May 21. Above, from left, are Cotten, Pollard, Coleman, Kidd and Jenkins.

OCC Area I Commissioner Matt Gard (right) presented the award and check to Sally Schmidt at Washington Early Childhood Center in Alva on Thursday, May 7, along with (in back, from left) East Woods County Conservation District Secretary Reva Maddox and Director Tom McDowell.

OCC Area II Commissioner Mike Rooker, OACD Area II Director Richard Parker, OCC Executive Director Mike Thralls and members of the Cleveland County Conservation District board presented the award and check to Jane Dmytryk in an awards assembly at Jackson Elementary in Norman on May 26. From left are Cleveland CCD Directors Gene Seiter, Dale Horton and Jackie Listen, Rooker, Dmytryk Parker and Thralls.

Present for the award and check presentation to Gloria Vass were, from left, students Katarina Spitzsmiller and Shira Zachary, OCC Education Coordinator Karla Beatty, students Lauren Tinsley and Stephanie Emperly, Gloria Vass, Oklahoma County District Chairman Richard Parker, and Oklahoma Conservation Commission Assistant Director Ben Pollard.

Five teachers from across the state – one in each Congressional district – received Outstanding Conservation Educator Awards cosponsored by OACD and Chesapeake Energy for outstanding achievement in Conservation Education. The recipients were Tammie Jones, Okay Public Schools; Caprice Coleman, Moss Public Schools; Sally Schmidt, Alva Public Schools; Jane Dmytryck, Norman Public Schools; and Gloria Vass, Edmond Public Schools. Sec. Of Agriculture Terry Peach, Sarah Gainer, Chesapeake Energy, and Trey Lam, OACD, presented the awards during Conservation Day at the Capitol on March 25. In May the awards were again presented during assembly programs at each teacher's school.

Congressional District 1 - Tammy Jones, nominated by the Wagoner County Conservation District. Jones teaches 5th and 6th grade science and reading at Okay Elementary School. Her students spend a considerable amount of time in the school’s outdoor classroom  where they study nature up close and personal. They see, smell, feel and experience all the living and nonliving things in their school’s backyard including a small pond, rock garden, butterfly garden and native grass plots. She says that learning in the outdoors makes the textbook pages come alive. OCC Area III Commissioner George Stunkard presented the award and check to Tammy Jones in an awards assembly at Okay Schools on May 22.

Congressional District 2 - Caprice Coleman, nominated by the Hughes County Conservation District. Coleman teaches 7th -12th grade science at Moss Public Schools. Her goal is to create conservation literate students. She does this by tying conservation of natural resources into all of the classes she teaches including earth science, biology, chemistry and physical science. Coleman’s students participate in the OACD poster contest as well as tree planting programs for Earth Day. OCC Area V Commissioner Virginia Kidd, OCC Assistant Director Ben Pollard and Hughes CCD Directors Randy Cotten presented the award and check to Coleman at Moss Public Schools near Horntown, Okla., on May 21, along with Hughes CCD Associate Director Dale Jenkins.

Congressional District 3 - Sally Schmidt, nominated by the East Woods County Conservation District. Title Reading teacher for the Alva Public School System and a teacher for 28 years, Schmidt states that her goal is “to increase the students’ understanding of science, social studies, mathematical and literature concepts using plants and animals for a hands-on approach.” She makes learning fun by combining classroom projects with field trips. The many learning events she arranges for her students include participation in East Woods County Conservation District’s annual Conservation Youth Expo, Arbor Day observances to learn about trees and Eagle Day events where her students spend the entire day outside studying wildlife and nature. OCC Area I Commissioner Matt Gard presented the award and check to Sally Schmidt at Washington Early Childhood Center in Alva on Thursday, May 7, along with East Woods County Conservation District secretary Reva Maddox and Director Tom McDowell.

Congressional District 4 - Jane Dmytryk, nominated by the Cleveland County Conservation District. Dmytryk teaches 2nd grade at Jackson Elementary School in Norman. Using a courtyard outdoor classroom and a larger outdoor classroom on school grounds, Dmytryk’s students encounter situations where nature provides the stimulus for unique whole-learning experiences that integrate reading, creative writing, science, math and art. Her students participate in a paper recycling program and the Oklahoma Microscopy Society’s Ugly Bug contest. OCC Area II Commissioner Mike Rooker, OACD Area II Director Richard Parker, OCC Executive Director Mike Thralls and members of the Cleveland County Conservation District Directors Gene Seiter, Dale Horton and Jackie Listen presented the award and check to Jane Dmytryk in an awards assembly at Jackson Elementary in Norman on May 26.

Congressional District 5 - Gloria Vass, nominated by the Oklahoma County Conservation District. Vass teaches 9th-12th grade Environmental Science at Edmond North High School. She is also the Team Advisor for the Edmond North High School Envirothon Team. Vass’s students participate in the Oklahoma Blue Thumb volunteer monitoring program and are responsible for monitoring a section of Chisholm Creek. Her students are also involved in the Adopt-a-Teacher recycling program at the school where they empty an adopted teacher’s recycling containers on a regular basis. Vass’s students also get real-world experience balancing environmental issues with social and economic issues as they develop the layout for a city. The Oklahoma County Conservation District and OCC also made a special presentation to Vass at Edmond North High School on May 19. District Chairman Richard Parker, OCC Assistant Director Ben Pollard, and OCC Education Coordinator Karla Beatty were on hand for the presentation along with Edmond North Principal Jan Keirns and a group of Vass’s students that assist with Blue Thumb water monitoring.