Award Winner: Sharon McDonald, Athol High School

 Schoolyard Teacher, Sharon McDonald, Twice Awarded  

Sharon was nominated by her school principal for one award, and by her students for another.  She is pictured below holding the Award  for Excellence in Environmental Education by the Commonwealth of Mass.   See the photo and article posted in the Athol Daily News on May 22nd. 

RECOGNIZED -- Athol High School teacher Sharon McDonald was honored at the May 20 meeting of the Athol-Royalston Regional School Committee with the Secretary's Award for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. McDonald was recognized for her work with students at AHS in environmental science and the Environmental Club. 

Left to right -- AHS Principal Steven Meyer, who submitted McDonald's name for the award, AHS Science, Technology, Engineering and Math teacher Jeff Weston, McDonald, and ARRSD Superintendent of Schools Anthony Polito.Photo by Keith Kent *

Sharon was also recognized by the Athol High School Honor Society at Athol H.S.  Unfortunately, we have not yet accessed a photo or any formal write-ups from that event.  Stay tuned for that...

Highlights of Sharon's work at Athol High School :

• Excellent overall science teaching in biology and environmental science 
• Advisor for the Environmental Club  
• Led a "Trash Ball"; Dance in which students dance in "upcycled" attire made from trash.
• Organized a school-wide  environmental fair for Earth Day
• Worked with an outside agency to provide opportunites for students to travel to Central America to engage in ecological research.
• Led 2 Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology projects: Vernal Pool and Our Changing Forests. 

Athol H.S. Principal Meyer sums up Sharon's work as follows:  

Ms. McDonald is able to deliver a message to students that goes far beyond the classroom and truly impacts the way they view the world.

* Excerpt from the Athol Daily News, May, 22, 2015

In Memory of a Harvard Forest Schoolyard Teacher and Mentor; Bill Van Valkenburg

 Bill Van Valkenburg's Obituary is available online at:  http://www.Van Valk Obit

HF Schoolyard Teacher Awarded for Excellence-2014

Schoolyard Teacher Donna Cochrane Honored at State House 

 During a State House ceremony on Tuesday, May 6th,Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rick Sullivan recognized Schoolyard teacher, Donna Cochrane of North Attleboro H.S. among other awardees at the 20th Annual Secretary's Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education. 

“Investigating and Protecting Our Water and Woods”

North Attleboro H.S. teacher, Donna Cochrane has engaged her students in active field research, data collection, and analysis of the local watershed and woodlands for over 6 years.  Donna has a strong motivation to connect her students to the natural world around them; to help them to investigate and come to know the trees and waterways in ways they have never known before.  Donna has partnered with the Watershed Access Lab at Bridgewater State University for 8 years and with Harvard Forest for 6 years.  Through these partnerships, Donna is able to leverage the expertise of professional scientists for the benefit of her students’ education

As active participants in the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program and the Phenocam Network, Donna’s students are able to participate in an authentic field ecology study that provides them direct experience in important science skills including data collection, measurement, observation, data analysis. As questions or issues arise in these school-based studies, backup support is available from Harvard staff. Another kind of partnership is at work here as well; Donna and her students are part of a larger network of over 1,400 students, who are all contributing to the same scientific study; Buds, Leaves and Global Warming, led by researcher, John O'Keefe.  Together this network of students and teachers form a learning community.  Teachers are able to bounce ideas off of each other, and share resources in person at Harvard Forest workshops and larger science teacher conferences.  Teachers also share activities and lesson plans on the HF website. Donna has participated in every level of Harvard Forest workshops and this year, presented at the National Science Teachers Association Conference. 

Donna is one of only four K-12 teachers participating in an international Phenocam network.  This study, led by  Harvard University researcher, Andrew Richardson, uses web cams, which allow for automated, near-surface remote sensing of canopy phenology across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Both the field study and the Phenocam study help students monitor the length of the growing season over time, in order to best analyze how climate change is impacting the timing of leaf out and leaf drop of local trees. By comparing images of their canopy to others throughout the world, students can learn a lot about how the timing of leaf out in their local area compares to the timing and rate of change in other places.