MAEE Awardees

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Janine Kohn has dedicated over 30 years to connecting people with nature and advancing environmental education, founding youth camps and creating statewide outreach programs. Her work in national curricula has inspired countless individuals and shaped Minnesota's environmental education landscape.

Erin Schmidt has brought environmental education to life through citizen science and global fieldwork, creating memerable hands-on learning experiences. Her dedication to empowering students as environmental stewards has left a lasting impact on the next generation of environmental leaders.

Hamline University’s School of Education and Leadership has supported environmental education through graduate programs, partnerships, and the Center for Global Environmental Education. Their work continues to equip educators with the resources to incorporate sustainability into their teaching and inspire future generations.

Marina de Albuquerque Marcon’s leadership as President of Green Crew, leading projects like pollinator gardens and the Landfall Tree Equity initiative, has made a profound impact on environmental stewardship. Now studying engineering at the University of Michigan, Marina continues to champion sustainability in her academic journey.

Duluth Preschool has transformed urban schoolyards into nature playscapes, providing equitable, nature-based learning for young children. Their efforts ensure that every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to connect with nature from an early age.

Dawn Bahajak has had a long and impactful career in Minnesota environmental education, including service at the Springbrook Nature Center, the Minnesota Zoo, and for the last couple of decades, as a coordinator of environmental education for the MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 

Dawn has led many of the DNR's major education initiatives, including leading the Natural Resource Education Committee which guided and developed many impactful EE programs. In partnership with U of M Extension, she also helped spearhead the development of the Minnesota Master Naturalist program, including development of much of the classroom training courses and materials. The last several years, she has served as the coordinator of DNR's presence at the Minnesota State Fair, which is the department's biggest annual outreach effort. Her leadership and efforts have brought many new activities and programs to the State Fair, including the Fish Pond talks, live fish cam, and numerous, rotating education displays, which have reached millions of Minnesotans.

- Summary of nomination by Jeff Ledermann at the Minnesota DNR

Ana is a teacher at North Hennepin Community College where she teaches courses such as Nature and Literature, Environmental Justice and Nature Immersion, and Community Organizing. Ana created the Environmental Justice class through North Hennepin Community College in partnership with many organizations, advocacy groups, and educational institutions, including YMCA Camp Northern Lights.

Ana is known for her drive and passion to create an intentional place for all to grow, learn, and build community. She worked to ensure that her students understood career and internship pathways in many environmentally-focused fields.

“I am fully confident of Ana’s capacity to inspire, grow, and support the next generation of learners and changemakers in this world, through her curriculum and vast community network she has.“ – Daniel O’Brien

“As her student, I have seen first hand the kind of work Ana is doing, and it is powerful, life-changing, and incredibly important.” – Dustin O’Brien

- Summary of nomination by Daniel O'Brien and Dustin O'Brien

Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center (ELC) aims to connect people to nature through education and transformative outdoor experiences. Located in rural southeastern Minnesota, they provide outstanding education programs & outdoor adventures to over 16,000 children, adults, and families each year. Eagle Bluff ELC is being recognized for their leadership in the state of Minnesota, helping to advocate for outdoor education through their contributions to the Outdoor 

School for All Bill, and for being a key partner in the successful coordination of the 2023 MAEE Conference. At the annual conference, their staff not only participated on the planning committee, but led engaging sessions at the conference, offered unique outdoor experiences, helped secure donations from local businesses, and provided discount rates that made the conference affordable at all levels. They continue to be a strong supporter of environmental educators across the state. 

- Nominated by the MAEE Board of Directors

Glacial Hills Elementary School is an environmentally-focused school that embraces project based learning, student-centered instruction, and learning outside the classroom to teach Minnesota State Standards and environmental education. Over the last two years, Glacial Hills has focused on living out this mission and these values while expanding project based learning and environmental education opportunities for all students.

Students gain knowledge about how natural systems function and how human systems interact with and depend on them. All the while, they also gain and demonstrate respect and concern for the earth’s health and participate in environmental stewardship. It is through these experiences that students apply what they have learned into action!

One of the most exciting projects is the outdoor learning center called the Eagles Nest which will be designed and built by 3rd through 6th grade students along with community partners. The school received grants and community donations wot transform two acres behind the school into a learning center, rain garden & butterfly garden with native prairie grasses. This project also allows the students to share their love of the outdoors and mother nature with the community as this center will be open to the public outside of school hours.

- Summary of nomination by Jodee Lund.

Alyssa Janilla at Kind Roots Early Learning & Care excels in teaching young children about environmental conservation because she has an incredible ability to make learning about the environment accessible and fun. She has developed and implemented engaging, age-appropriate curriculum and activities, seamlessly incorporating Literacy, Art, Math, Music and Stem all together. Alyssa inspires a love for nature and fosters a deep appreciation for the natural world by organizing outdoor experiences and field trips that connect children with their environment.

Alyssa always takes every opportunity to encourage eco-friendly behaviors like the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling, as well as other eco-conscious habits like composting. She is a great role model for the young environmentalists she teaches and demonstrates environmentally responsible behavior and practices, serving as a role model for both young children and her colleagues.

“Alyssa is passionate and a dedicated advocate for instilling environmental consciousness in young children, preparing them to be responsible stewards of the planet.” - Annie Berres at Kind Roots Early Learning & Care

- Summary of nomination by Annie Berres

My path was set at an early age, collecting butterflies and squashing ants in our suburban back yard. Once I figured out how to stay upright on a bicycle the Minnesota River Valley supplied me with secret springs, Indian mounds, forts and poison ivy.  Our mother was on the City of Bloomington Natural Resources Board, our dad was a Boy Scout leader; so I became an environmentalist like her and a camp-craft wizard like him. We went to the Lake every weekend that I wasn’t camping with the Eagle patrol. Earth Day came in 1970 and I found my “thing”. Summer canoe guiding in the BWCA kept me sane and solvent during college years at the U of M earning a biology degree. A fateful internship at the The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) in Isabella set my course for the next 40 years There was a slight detour to The Catskills for three years teaching EE and leading more canoe trips into Canada. Then 1981 Jack Pichotta took a chance hiring BJ, my wife, and me as naturalists at The ELC.  We moved with the Center in 1988 to Finland, MN as it morphed into Wolf Ridge. I worked for years, building trails, study sites, a climbing wall, and a ropes course, I also wrote scads of curricula and taught/tortured visiting students week after week, year after year. I earned a Masters of Education, mentored college interns, was in turn mentored, and worked with a tight, dedicated, fun-loving staff of amazing educators. It was the best job in the whole world. 

Jen Heyer has been an Eden Prairie educator since 2001.  

In 2015, she created a program called Wilderness Wednesday, teaching her kindergarten students outside for the majority of the day. They spend all morning and afternoon outside in the school forest and creek area learning state standards through environmental education.  

In 2019, her Wilderness Wednesday program extended to first and second grade students with a Nature Explorer Club that meets after school once a week.

She has partnered with Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District, Safari Club, MN DNR: Project WILD and Project WET, MN DNR: Forestry Department, Minnesota Trappers Association, the Keystone Elk Country Alliance, the Minnesota Tracking Club, and Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN). 

In 2018, she attended the American Wilderness Leadership School in Jackson Hole, WY and has also written two articles for the Minnesota Adventuring magazine.  

Jen presented at the 2019 Minnesota Association for Environmental Education’s Midwest Environmental Education Conference in Minnesota in October. In May 2020, she will be speaking at the Minnesota Kindergarten Association Spring Conference. 

Jen received the 2019 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators and accepted the award in Washington, DC from the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Jessie Loftus was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania and moved to the Twin Cities in 2011. She is true east coaster at heart. Jessie graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in general psychology. A passion for the outdoors and helping connect others to nature led her to pursue a career in the environmental education field. She got started on this journey in 2011 during an AmeriCorps term served with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota in the youth outdoors branch. Since 2012 Jessie has been working for the City of Saint Paul in many different capacities including her current role as an Education Specialist at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. In her role at Como Jessie has taught hundreds of classes to people of all ages, designed and implemented new program offerings that reach previously underserved audiences at Como. She champions equity in her daily work and helps thousands of visitors develop an appreciation of the natural world every year. She is a lifelong learner, with a love for family, friends, meeting new people, warm weather, and being her authentic self every day.

Jahir Aquino is currently a senior at Edison High School in Northeast Minneapolis. Jahir began his journey with Spark-Y as a student in the Edible Agricultural School Yard Professional (Easy-Pro) course at Edison. Spark-Y is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that empowers youth through hands-on education rooted in sustainability and entrepreneurship. Spark-Y partners with schools, like Edison, to bring innovative, hands-on STEM programming to the classroom. Jahir joined the Easy Pro class as an underclassman and soon started to show great potential and passion. In the summer of 2018, Jahir was accepted to the Spark-Y Summer Internship Program. That summer he worked with other youth to care for and maintain an aquaponics system, school garden, and greenhouse at Edison High School. Jahir may not be outspoken but he always led his team by example, being the first to volunteer for challenging tasks. He was our resident “aquaponics expert” that summer. The following summer Jahir again applied for the internship program after showing so much enthusiasm for aquaponics, growing food, and caring for the environment. During his high school career, Jahir has now participated in two summer internships and three in-school programs with Spark-Y. This semester Jahir is again taking the Easy Pro course, this time as a senior and a leader. He has unlocked his potential and shown so much promise for his future. His passion is outmatched only by his kindness and positive outlook. He is truly a special young man with a bright future ahead. Jahir hopes to go to college and study environmental science after graduation. It is youth, like Jahir, who gives us so much hope for the future of our planet.