By Kim Taylor
It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that I nominate Sarah Lemley for
the AEOE Northern Environmental Educator of the Year Award, 2007! For the past
4 years, I have had the privilege of living and working with Sarah at the Yosemite
Institute. Since her arrival in January, 2004, I have been inspired by her
professionalism, drive, and dedication to environmental education. Not only
has Sarah shown her commitment to providing educational programs of the highest
quality to our students, but to our instructional staff as well by coaching
new employees and presenting professional development seminars. Sarah has also
reached out to teachers and naturalist of AEOE by sharing eight different thematic
workshops and six early morning bird walks at both local and state-wide conferences
since 2001. In addition, she has volunteered for the Yosemite Association and
co-instructed at the Bird Symposium in Yosemite National Park.
Sarah is not only fantastic teacher, but an eager learner as well. Her quest
for new knowledge and understanding has taken her to various workshops and
seminars, including a week-long Natural History of the Sierra Nevada course
offered by San Francisco State University this summer. She has spent numerous
weekends through the years volunteering at a local organic farm in order to
learn more about how organic gardening and systems of food production and delivery
are tied to environmental stewardship. I am constantly inspired by her efforts
to walk the talk of environmental educators and her ability to teach by example.
Although I have known all of these things about Sarah, it wasn't until this
summer that I was lucky enough to actually see her weaving her magic with students
in the field. This happened over the course of a 14-day college-level field
research program for high school students that we instructed together. Hours
of forethought, strategizing, organizing, and planning were coupled with her
expertise, experience, style, and spunk to create, in my opinion, one of the
best field courses Yosemite Institute has offered. Each day, Sarah modeled
exemplary teaching techniques, group management, and field safety. She motivated
the students with genuine enthusiasm and her passion for exploring and learning.
Through all this, she not only inspired the students, she inspired me.
Before the Yosemite Institute, Sarah led wilderness canoe trips in the
Boundary Waters for three seasons (1999-2001). Her work included designing
a curriculum that promoted group unity, spiritual growth, and nature awareness.
Between seasons, Sarah taught biology as a student teacher in Iowa for one
semester. In the spring of 2001, Sarah worked as an environmental educator
in South Carolina before moving to southern California the following fall.
There she worked as an outdoor science teacher for the LA County Outdoor School
at Wrightwood for two years.