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Written by Kelly Meinhart, Producer
 hen
you think back to your high school environmental studies classes,
you may recall the thrill of the hands-on connection you felt
with unique creatures, your sense of wonder in discovering
new ecosystems, and how our place in the world suddenly began
to make sense. But one thing that is often missing from these
studies is a follow-up course on how to take action to protect
these unique creatures and the environments you have now explored.
ike Yeager, an environmental education teacher at Milton High
School, has taken that lost connection and forged a new style
of educating — education by empowerment. Mike's students
can all tell you that the program has not only engaged their
interest in the environment and in water quality issues, but
that it has instilled a sense of leadership and community involvement
that is nothing like they've ever been involved with before.
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had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Yeager and his students, and
joined in for a tour of one testing site. If you visit the link
below, you can revisit that trip with me to learn more about
the program he and his students are providing in their watershed.
I caught up with Mr. Yeager, more recently, and we spoke a bit
about how his watershed studies program at Milton High came
about, and about his feelings on his students and on water quality
issues. He told me that he first became interested in science
simply because he enjoys the challenge of 'figuring things out,'
and he certainly passes this challenge along to his students
through their daily coursework. The indoor/outdoor classroom
approach really takes a hard look at the 11.6 square miles of
the Limestone Run watershed. "Our students look at soils,
forestry, and water quality and water quantity issues to create
a goal for the restoration of the entire watershed. The water
from Limestone Run feeds directly into water treatment plants
for neighboring areas, and so whatever comes out of our watershed
goes directly into our drinking water. So we really have to
take a hard look at what's going on in the watershed, and learn
to maintain it. Our water is a renewable resource, but people
need to realize that it's not unlimited."
e
spoke about his students, and the valuable lessons that they
have learned from one another. He commented that, "The
students are working with valuable technology here, but what
I hope they understand the most is how important water quality
is, and how quickly it changes. Also, that they can get involved
in making a change." Being a part of change means creating
partnerships. The students of Milton High have partnered with
the nearby Chillisquaque Creek watershed Association, and have
actually combined their efforts to form one watershed organization
that covers both the Chillisquaque Creek and Limestone Run.
Mike comments, "Our work wouldn't be possible without the
partnerships we've formed. The students make the phone calls
to others for help, and really take the initiative to develop
a relationship with the community."
hat
I found the most endearing in my conversations with Mr. Yeager
is his sense of humility. When we spoke about inspirations,
and his greatest personal achievements, he referred back to
his students by saying "My students never cease to amaze
me. If you give them the responsibility of doing a task -
they always come through. I have a wide variety of students
in my class, and I think I get more worried than they do.
I'm always impressed with how well they work together. I send
these kids out together to cover several miles of stream,
and I always know that I can trust them. They are the ones
who really make this work happen."
 ust
this past April Mr. Yeager was awarded the prestigious Governor's
Award for Watershed Stewardship, Educator of the Year.
Congrats to Mr. Yeager for his accomplishments, his award,
and for engaging today's youth in environmental studies and
protection.
More information:
Watershed
Weekly's previous feature of Milton High
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Most
influential teacher: Dr. Yurosevich - Penn State