Long Island Teacher Wins National Earth Day Educator Award

HAUPPUAGE, NY — A fifth-grade teacher at Bretton Woods Elementary School is one of people from across the country recognized this year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality as an innovative environmental educator. On Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the agencies announced that Veronica Morabito-Weeks was one of the recipients of the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators.

The award recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who use innovative methods to educate students about the environment. Morabito-Weeks was chosen for how she integrates environmental concepts across subjects including language arts, social studies and math, a news release from the EPA said.

"Veronica’s students gain firsthand experience interacting with nature by studying and caring for animals including axolotls, chinchillas, trout, Bobwhite quails, and horseshoe crabs. She offers her students the opportunity to work with environmental professionals, hoping it may spark student interest in stewardship projects. Building on the classroom experience, students can work with staff from Cornell University to release the trout they’ve raised and study invasive fish species through river sampling after school. Also, in collaboration with Caleb Smith State Park, the students hatch and raise quails to support a tick reduction program in the park."

The 26-year teaching veteran's efforts go beyond her individual classrooms. She has helped create a butterfly garden, a native plant garden, an environmental science club and organizes environment-oriented field trips for the fifth graders.

“I am absolutely thrilled to receive this award,” Morabito-Weeks said in the statement.

“I am motivated every day by my students’ deep commitment to make positive change in the world. I know that they are ready to be powerful stewards of the earth, and I share this great honor with them.”