(L to R) Matthew Ehrhart, PA CBF, Karl Blankenship, William C. Baker, CBF President, Dr. Bern Sweeney, Bill Bechtel, Rep.Russ Fairchild

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation this week held a special awards ceremony in Harrisburg to honor its 2006 Educator of the Year and recognize two other individuals with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Bill Bechtel, a Selinsgrove high school environmental science teacher was named 2006 Educator of the Year and Karl Blankenship and Bern Sweeney were each honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their outstanding contributions to the environmental field.

“These awardees are truly examples of individuals who make a difference in the lives of others, CBF President William C. Baker said. “We honor them for their substantial contributions toward improving the quality of our environment, and specifically, to improving the water quality of Pennsylvania’s streams and rivers which ultimately impact the Bay.”

Educator of the Year: Bill Bechtel -- Bill Bechtel teaches high school environmental science in the riverside town of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. A past recipient of the Snyder County Conservation District Conservation Educator of the Year, he is an icon in his community.

His teaching involves the science of healthy aquatic systems with a strong philosophy emphasizing personal responsibility and action. His students get out of the classroom, study the Susquehanna River, collect data, track rainwater, and even map where farm animals have access to local waters.

Each of his students prepares a personal “Chesapeake Bay Action Project,” and engages in stream clean-ups, habitat restoration, and even fundraising to conduct their projects.

A stalwart supporter of CBF programs for over 11 years, Bill has taken students on canoe programs, participated in CBF’s Teacher Training Institute, and served on CBF’s Pennsylvania advisory panel.

Bechtel recently was quoted as saying, “What really helps is getting outside…We’re fooling ourselves if we think kids are going to remember the worksheets they do. But if we take them out on a canoe, they’re going to remember that the rest of their lives.”

Lifetime Achievement: Karl Blankenship - Karl Blankenship created the Bay Journal in 1991 and has been its editor and principal writer ever since.

The Bay Journal is widely read by policy makers at both the state and federal levels, as well as by citizens, scientists, journalists, and others interested in the Chesapeake Bay or coastal issues.

Its accurate, in-depth coverage of scientific and policy issues has made it the “paper of record” for the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, and it is frequently cited in reports, books, and other publications.

Besides his work with the Bay Journal, Blankenship has been widely published in regional and national magazines. He is frequently consulted on the creation of environmental publications, and communicating science and environmental issues.

Blankenship has won numerous awards for his work, including the June Sekoll Media Award from the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Society in 1998; the Environmental Excellence Award from the Maryland Department of Environment in 1992; the Salute to Excellence from the Maryland Governor, also in 1992; and the 2001 Excellence in Journalism Award from the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation, a coalition of 14 scientific and conservation organizations.

Lifetime Achievement: Bern Sweeney - Bern Sweeney is the Director of the Stroud Water Research Center in Chester County. He has been a credentialed leader in stream ecosystem research and education for decades.

A former Vice-President and Curator for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and President of the North American Benthological Society, at present Sweeney also serves on a number of state and federal committees which deal with developing and implementing groundbreaking science relating to streams and riparian ecosystems.

Sweeney has been an invaluable ally in CBF’s efforts to restore the Chesapeake and its watershed. Currently, he is assessing the impact of acid mine drainage streams' abilities to process nutrients. His findings are providing the critical link between Pennsylvania's two leading causes of stream impairment and will be critically significant for advancing CBF’s nitrogen reduction efforts in Pennsylvania.

Sweeney and the Stroud Center are fully committed to seeing that information is disseminated to academics, decision makers, conservation professionals, watershed activists, and school children and to seeing it put to use in policy decisions.

NewsClip: Bay Group Honors Selinsgrove Teacher

5/5/2006