Alabama Educator Wins 2002 National Wetlands Award

May 2002

Robert Hastings, Director of the Alabama Natural Heritage Program at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, a program of the Nature Conservancy, has won the 2002 National Wetlands Award for Education and Outreach. He will be honored at a ceremony on May 16, 2002, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC for his exemplary contributions to the conservation and restoration of the nation’s wetlands.

For more than 13 years Dr. Hastings has designed programs, organized and conducted workshops, led field excursions, promoted partnerships, and developed educational materials to assist educators throughout the Lake Pontchartrain region. He used his role as professor of biological sciences at Southeastern Louisiana University and director of the Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station to develop environmentally literate citizens able to make informed personal, professional, and political decisions.

“Wetlands are natural classrooms that make learning fun, especially for kids; but they also make teaching fun,” said Hastings, “There are so many opportunities for exploration and discovery.”

Hastings supervised the development of Turtle Cove as a quality education center for teachers, encouraging the use of the site for school field trips and scientific research. Under his leadership, Turtle Cove has become an important educational facility that uses the wetlands of the upper Lake Pontchartrain estuary to demonstrate the principles of environmental sciences. “Whether working with environmental professionals or with students and teachers, Dr. Hastings provides leadership in the battle for the restoration of the ecological health of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin,” said Sue Ellen Lyons of Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, “We are empowered by his work, and we treasure his rich legacy.”

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. Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service. The sponsors believe that rewarding these efforts helps ensure that future generations will have quality wetlands, biological diversity, and clean water.

“I offer my congratulations to these environmental heroes and applaud their efforts to safeguard our national wetland heritage for current and future generations,” added Ben Grumbles, Deputy Assistant Administrator of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information on the National Wetlands Awards winners, or the ceremony, contact Dorigen Fried at wetlandsawards@eli.org, http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org/index.htm or (202) 939-3250. For more information on Christy Foote-Smith, please contact Eric Hutchins at 978-281-9313 or Eric.Hutchins@noaa.gov.