by George Stratman, 2001 Howard Bell Award Winner
Those of us who call ourselves "Naturalists" owe a great deal to Howard Bell. As early as the 1920’s he began to plant the seeds for the outdoor education profession in California while working with students from the Los Angeles area to plant seedlings in a recently burned area of the San Gabriel Mountains. Ultimately as these trees took root, so too did environmental education. In the years that followed, other cities and counties began taking students into the out-of-doors to learn about the environment. Ultimately Howard Bell and others in the Outdoor Education Profession organized what is now known as AEOE.
Over the years the trees that Howard Bell and his students planted have taken root and grown strong—so too has outdoor education. When we gather in Malibu for the Statewide AEOE Conference April 30- May 2, 2004, we will be getting together for the 50th anniversary of AEOE; for it was in 1954 that Howard Bell and his peers officially formed our organization. Since that time our profession and our membership has grown exponentially. Today hundreds of thousands of students are served annually in residential outdoor school programs alone with countless others attending day programs much like those originally done in the early years of Howard Bell’s career.
To honor his pioneering work in Outdoor and Environmental Education in California, AEOE has, since 1961, presented an annual "Howard Bell Award" for excellence in the profession. Recipients of this award have been some of the best and brightest in our profession. Pioneers like Howard Bell himself and Ed Pumula (founder of the San Diego County Program in 1946) have won this award. So too have Joseph Cornell (Author, inspirational speaker, and Naturalist), the Banana Slug String Band (need I say more?), and others. As such, the Howard Bell Award represents both a strong tie to our history and a high honor and tribute to those serving our profession today. It is the highest award given within the Outdoor Education profession in California.
As we approach the 50th anniversary of AEOE it is imperative that we nominate and select a Howard Bell Award recipient truly worthy of this high honor. To that end, we are encouraging our membership to nominate worthy individuals from their communities. These individuals may be long term naturalists who have for years touched the lives of students while on the trails and in natural areas. They could be administrators who have overseen the growth and development of programs, inspirational speakers, authors, musicians or others who have touched the lives of the students of California and made a positive difference in our profession. There is no doubt that there are many such qualified individuals and we are asking the AEOE membership to bring these individuals forward for consideration.