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Two Vermont Residents Win Environmental Educator Awards

Release Date: 05/12/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - Two residents of Vermont were among 11 residents of New England who were recognized this week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for demonstrating exceptional work in drinking water education.

The sixth annual Environmental Educator Award given out by EPA New England was awarded Thursday in Montpelier.

"These citizens have helped spread the word on the importance of clean, safe drinking water," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator for EPA New England. "They are being recognized for efforts that will help ensure our drinking water is protected into the future."

The recipients in Vermont are:

• Marita Johnson, Springfield, Vt.,: Johnson, a seventh grade biology teacher, has developed over her 31 years in the Riverside Middle School an ecology-based curriculum emphasizing natural cycles and the need for humans to be good Earth-keepers. Studying the water cycle is central to her curriculum.
• Lee Bonson, Burlington, Vt.,: Though it is her first year as a fourth grade teacher in the Smith Elementary School in Burlington, Bonson has created many projects to teach kids about the environment and the importance of clean drinking water. The creation of a "living machine" taught students to understand the ecosystem and how nature cleans water.