Chicago Wilderness Educator Named Teacher of the Year

Deborah Perryman, an environmental science teacher at Elgin High School, was named 2004 Illinois State Teacher of the Year. She was selected from among 12 finalists (out of 300 nominees). Perryman has been a major partner in the Mighty Acorns program, enlisting her high school students as mentors to the fourth-through-sixth graders. She estimates that her students have taught more than 10,000 young children about Illinois natural history. Her students collect stream samples and examine macroinvertebrates to assess water quality. They work to restore habitat in nearby nature preserves. And they built a nature trail on 34 acres adjacent to the high school.

Through Perryman's efforts, Elgin High School has become a "Stenciling Clearinghouse" for The Conservation Foundation. The distinction came when Perryman's students learned that stormwater is not treated before it enters creeks, rivers, and lakes and then worked on a class project entitled "2,000 in 2000." Using stencils and paint, the students aspired to stencil 2,000 storm drains in the Poplar Creek Watershed. By last fall, the students had marked 3,800 drains with signage stating "Dump No Waste, Drains to River." The foundation now provides equipment and training to any community organization interested in the project.

In 2002, Perryman received a BP Leader Award to support a reading program in which her school students read books with an environmental message, then volunteered to do conservation activities.

See also a story about Perryman's student Nestor Camarillo, in "I Want to Teach," CW Spring 2002.