Local Teachers’ Receive Conservation Teacher of the Year Award

Annually the Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District (SVSWCD) recognizes the outstanding conservation education efforts of teachers in the SVSWCD service area of Rockingham County, Page County and the City of Harrisonburg with the Conservation Teacher of the Year Award. Two awards were given, one to a K-5th grade educator and one to a 6th-12th grade educator.

 

The 2022 K-5th grade Conservation Teacher of the Year recipient is Alexandra Szucs. Ms. Szucs is an ESL teacher at Spotswood Elementary School in Harrisonburg City. While Ms. Szucs’ primary role is support for first grade, she goes above and beyond to provide conservation education to all grades at Spotswood Elementary School. She helped develop and maintain the school garden, was a founding member of the school’s Earth Club and has worked to develop a composting program. In her four-year tenure as an educator, she has worked with many organizations to enhance conservation education at Spotswood Elementary. She has worked with staff from the Department of Forestry to provide lessons about trees and reinforce their importance in the environment. She has also coordinated with the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District for a visit of their Underground Classroom to the school’s summer camp to teach the students about the importance of healthy soil. 

 

The 2022 6th-12th grade Conservation Teacher of the Year recipient is Shelley Garrison. Ms. Garrison is a biology and environmental science teacher at Spotswood High School in Rockingham County. Ms. Garrison enhances her curriculum by incorporating lessons about conservation and natural resources. She engages her students in outdoor investigations on the school campus. She also has her students teach local elementary students about water quality and stream health. Ms. Garrison has worked with outside groups and organizations to provide her students with relevant and engaging hands-on activities. She works with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to provide her students

 with lessons on water quality and stream health in the Shenandoah River. She has received grants from the Pure Water Forum to provide resources for her classroom. She has also worked with the Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District and local Natural Resource Conservation Service to guide her class on an invasive species clean up on the school grounds.