Neil C. Johnston, a partner at the law firm of Hand Arendall, L.L.C., has won the 2003 National Wetlands Award for Education and Outreach. He will be honored at a ceremony on May 20th at the Senate Caucus Room in Washington, DC, for his work as the founder and President of The Project CATE (Conservation Action Through Education) Foundation.
Mr. Johnston stands out in the field of environmental law and conservation education for his ability to be extremely effective, explains Tom Hutchings, founder of the Alabama Coastal Foundation. “He is effective because of his incredible tenacity and his heart-felt belief that the education of children is the only real way to ensure the continued vitality of our coastal environment.”
Project CATE’s current efforts involve the development and dissemination of interactive educational CD-Roms and related classroom materials. The first CD-Rom, Ribbit’s Big Splash, contains information, data, activities, and games related to wetlands, gulfs, ponds and rivers. The CD-Rom has been distributed free of charge to hundreds of teachers throughout the state of Alabama, the Southeast, and foreign countries.
“Neil Johnston and The Project CATE Foundation, Inc. are producing excellent programs that will benefit the children of Alabama and other states for years to come,” said Anne Jolly, Education Program Specialist with the Southeast Regional Education Laboratory. “In its impressive first effort, The Project CATE Foundation has shown it is dedicated to conservation education and has produced a well-designed and instructionally sound learning program.”
Ribbit’s Big Splash has won many state and national educational awards, including: Best Environmental Curriculum (2002) by the Environmental Education Association of Alabama, and the Gulf Guardian Award for Best Youth and Education Program (2002) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program.
In 2002, Johnston and Project CATE established the Annual Coastal Kids Quiz, a team competition for 5th grade students which uses Ribbit’s Big Splash as the base curriculum for the questions. The second annual Quiz was held on Earth Day 2003 — April 23rd.
Since 1989, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. EPA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
“Wetlands are complex and extraordinary ecosystems that perform vital environmental functions,” said Dale N. Bosworth, Chief of the USDA Forest Service. “The work of these award recipients to protect and restore our critical wetland resources is truly commendable.”
For more information on the National Wetlands Awards winners, or the ceremony, contact Erica Pencak at wetlandsawards@eli.org or 202-939-3822.