Stephanie Bishop
Dave McNett Environmental Educator of the Year – 2023
This year’s recipient of the Dave McNett Environmental Educator of the Year Award, Stephanie Bishop, has managed Thurston Conservation District’s South Sound GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network) watershed education program for over 11 years and is revered for her dedication and passion. The GREEN program teaches watershed education for Thurston County youth in grades 3 through college and Stephanie works with more than 500 students and 80 teachers annually from Thurston County.
Stephanie’s dedication to outdoor education is evident in her work history. She graduated from The Evergreen State College with a degree in Natural History. Prior to her job with GREEN, she served as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Mason Conservation District for almost 6 years. She has also volunteered for Stream Team, works as a Capitol Land Trust land steward, and has been a salmon docent at Kennedy Creek.
Stephanie was nominated and is supported by her fellow workers who frequently mentioned her hard work, passion, and “masterful planning.” She organizes learning experiences outdoors for local students and collaborates with teachers to support their curriculum, works with local tribes & environmental organizations, writes grants, plants trees, creates curriculum, closely plans with teachers, and much more. Trips for students might include Water Quality Monitoring, exploring Puget Sound Beach, or learning about salmon spawning.
Stephanie is proud of the work GREEN did during the COVID outbreak to continue to transform their whole program to be accessible virtually. For instance, they used document cameras for virtual tours of the salmon trail and even dissected salmon over Zoom. Many of the resources developed during COVID are still in use as pre- and post-lessons. Another source of pride is that every North Thurston Public School 5th grade class is included in the Water Quality Monitoring in collaboration with the Nisqually River Education Project.
According to Sarah Moorehead, Executive Director of TCC, “she always has the best interest of the kids at heart.” Another frequent accolade was summed up by Sam Nadell, South Sound GREEN Program Coordinator, who said: “She works to give students a quality experience outdoors and goes the extra mile–above and beyond.” Congratulations to Stephanie Bishop for such dedicated efforts to the outdoor education of Thurston County’s students.
