Audubon Society Present Educators' Award to Hillsborough Teachers

Written by Kia Bergman

Hillsborough High School’s team of environmental science teachers was recently honored with the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Patricia F. Kane Environmental Education Award. 

Named in honor of environmental educator and NJ Audubon volunteer extraordinaire, this annual award recognizes an educator whose dedication has provided individuals with learning opportunities that use the environment as an integrating context. 

The environmental science team of teachers consists of (in alphabetical order) Joseph Hernandez, Tracey Jameson, Ron Knight, Kate LaCorte, Joanne Rimmler and Lucille Titus. 

The teachers received the award for their development of a freshman-level environmental science course that incorporates the topic of stewardship awareness with an outdoor experience that provides students with relevant real-life learning opportunities. This incorporation of in- and out of- class experiences allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the personal role they play in protecting the local environment and natural resources. 

With input from the team of teachers, Dale Rosselet and Michael Pollack from NJ Audubon nominated the high school team because they were “…impressed with their commitment to providing real life experiences for their students through thoughtful integration of environmental issues into the curriculum.”

Both Rosselet and Pollack worked with the Hillsborough teachers at the Summer Institute Field Studies for Teachers held at Duke Farms. Through this program, the teachers learned new methods to integrate what they learned at the Duke Farms program into their existing Environmental Science curriculum.

Complementing courses at Hillsborough High School included in the Environmental Science strand for advanced grades are Geophysical Science, Advanced Geophysical Science Honors, and AP Environmental Science.