K-State Konza Prairie environmental educator receives award

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Sources: Valerie Wright, 785-587-0381, konzaed@k-state.edu;
and Annie Baker, 785-587-0381, bunny@k-state.edu

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

K-STATE KONZA PRAIRIE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR RECEIVES AWARD

MANHATTAN -- The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education has selected Kansas State University's Valerie Wright, Konza Prairie Biological Station environmental educator and naturalist, for the association's Award for Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education, preK-16 educator category.

Award recipients have been nominated by their peers and exhibit outstanding leadership and achievement, as well as collaboration and cooperation within the environmental education field. Nominees must have a minimum of five years involvement in the field of environmental education and continue to make significant contributions to environmental education in Kansas.

"We are thrilled to honor these deserving individuals and organizations who give so much of their time and are so dedicated to environmental education in Kansas," said Cindy Ford, president of the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education.

Wright was hired in 1996 as the Konza Prairie's first environmental education coordinator. The Konza Prairie Environmental Education Program offers educational programming at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, a field research station owned by The Nature Conservancy and K-State, and managed by the K-State Division of Biology. More than 4,000 visitors -- half of which are school-age children -- experience the Konza Prairie through reservations each year.

From its inception, Wright has developed the Konza Prairie Environmental Education Program by working with researchers, educators, administrators and volunteers to bring it what it is today. She administers the program, coordinates with co-operators, develops new activities and materials, and trains docents. She is the primary educator for the teachers' workshops and student science research program, and is responsible for the program's Web site and research databases.

The mission of the K-12 and public/adult offerings of the program is to enhance the understanding of the ecology of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, increase the understanding of the process and value of science and increase public appreciation for the importance of scientific research as a foundation for sound grassland conservation and management.