Education Cabinet
Environmental Education Certification Program holds graduation ceremony

Note to editors: Photos and cutlines can be downloaded at http://educationcabinet.ky.gov/newsroom/photo/2007keecgrad.htm. Photos are by Tim Thornberry, Kentucky Education Cabinet.

FRANKFORT, Ky.  – Fourteen Kentuckians graduated from the 2007 Nonformal Environmental Education Certification Program March 5 at Mammoth Cave National Park. The graduates included cooperative extension agents; zoo, public forest, library and park staff; and others interested in teaching about the environment in a nonformal setting.

“Kentucky is one of only three standards-based certification courses for environmental education in the nation. This certification course is the only one that is based upon completing actual courses and assessments. Graduates of this year’s class are to be commended for completing a rigorous program that other states are looking to emulate,” said Jane Eller, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council (KEEC).

“The KEEC began administering the Kentucky Certification Program for Nonformal Environmental Educators in March 2004. Until then, there had never been any specific preparation to be an environmental educator in Kentucky. We are very proud of this course-based, standards-aligned program. And now with our fourth graduating class, we have 98 Certified Environmental Educators,” said Eller.

The 2007 graduating class includes Jennifer Lyon Adler, Bourbon County; Billy Bennett, Clark County; Maria Jimena Bertshi and Diane Moon, Jefferson County; Debbie Bramlage, Franklin County; Hope Crosbie, Powell County; Becky Haltermon, Boone County; Josh Johnson and Michael Nunnally, Barren County; Sonya Wood Mahler, Trigg County; Andy Sigmon, Lee County; April Haight, Rowan County; Jessie Nelson, Greenup County; and Martha Yount, Breathitt County.

The three courses that make up the program are based on national guidelines developed by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). For more information about NAAEE, go to http://naaee.org.

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The KEEC, an agency in the Kentucky Education Cabinet, was established in 1995 to improve Kentuckian’s understanding of the environment. Their mission is to provide citizens with the knowledge and skills they need to make their own informed environmental decisions. For more information on the certification program, visit www.keec.ky.gov.