D.C. Teacher Honored as NOAA Environmental Hero for 2008
April 22, 2008
NOAA has selected elementary school teacher Steven King from Washington, D.C., as an Environmental Hero for his contributions supporting NOAA-related science education. For the past several years, King has overseen and managed Shepherd Elementary School’s annual James D. Martin Science Fair, and has partnered with NOAA in providing mentors, judges, and a venue for the fair.
NOAA’s Environmental Hero Awards were established in 1995 to commemorate Earth Day by honoring volunteers who help NOAA carry out its mission — to understand and predict changes in Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. The award program also raises awareness about NOAA’s volunteer programs.
“Thousands of people across the country join forces with NOAA each year and the Environmental Hero award is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to several of those individuals who have made a significant impact,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Steven is an outstanding teacher, and has been motivating and exciting students in learning about science. By partnering with a science agency for his school’s science fair, he has provided additional encouragement and inspiration to Shepherd students.”
Although as an elementary teacher King teaches all subjects, he has a distinct passion for science and its relevance to everyday life. For the past five years, King has been the main catalyst for Shepherd Elementary School’s science fair, which includes participation by grades four through six, in addition to his regular duties. This past year, he taught second graders who were not old enough to participate in the fair, but continued his role in managing it and helping students successfully complete their projects.
King named the science fair in 2003 after the late James D. Martin, a NOAA employee who had given presentations about environmental science to Shepherd students and facilitated the donation of surplus NOAA computers to the school. Since then, King has requested and received the help of NOAA mentors to aid some of the students with their projects. In addition, the science fair has been held at the NOAA Science Center for the past several years, which requires a great deal of extra logistics effort for King. He believes strongly, however, that the effort is valuable because the students have been excited to display their projects in this professional venue and to discuss their projects with NOAA scientist-judges.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
Contact: Jeanne Kouhestani, 301-713-7693