Photo by Jenny Garey 13-year-old Aidan Gause was honored as a Young Environmentalist of the Year for a project on which he tested for pollutants near a Delaware Solid Waste Authority transfer station. Aidan's project was titled "DNREC's Little Helper" and he received recognition for it from Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (above) as did other Young Environmentalist of the Year winners.

Young people making a difference by caring for our natural world were recognized recently when Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner and DNREC Secretary John A. Hughes presented the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Annual Young Environmentalist of the Year Awards.

Twenty-two nominations came in from throughout the state, with judges acknowledging their difficulty in choosing a winner in each of three age groups.

Judges declared a tie between 10-year-old Tessa Hicks and 10-year-old Matthew Santacecilia in the elementary category for grades 1-4. Tessa, who lives in Newark and is the daughter of Glynn Hicks and Teri Hamill, will be a fourth grader at H.M. Brader Elementary in Newark. Described as “an interesting out-of-the-box thinker … extremely interested in wildlife and the environment” by her teacher and nominator Sharon Brubaker, Tessa has been a regular participant in her school’s National Wildlife Federation Frog Watch for the past three years. She shared her knowledge and experience with frogs, toads and salamanders by visiting pre-K classes to introduce 3- and 4-year-olds to amphibians.

“Animals are our really good friends,” said Tessa, explaining that her interest in wildlife began early, taking fishing trips with her father. Tessa also likes turtles, fish and fireflies, and she once raised a baby duck that later returned to the wild.

One of the judges, Jennifer Holmes, Education Coordinator for the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR), Division of Soil and Water Conservation, was impressed with Tessa’s work in scientific and educational outreach. “Tessa seems to have an amazing sense of the importance of our wetlands, which is wonderful!” she said.

Matthew, who will be a fifth grader at St. Ann School, lives in Wilmington with his parents, Marlene and Perry Santacecilia. An active recycler since age 4, Matthew hopes to start a recycling program at his school. He also enjoys birdwatching, and works to save their habitat. To reduce pollution, Matthew walks to school daily and is exploring new fuel ideas for vehicles, such as solar power and magnetic force. Asked why he thinks this work is so important, his explanation is simple – the natural world is our habitat, too. “Without the environment there would be no us,” Matthew said.

Top honors in the middle school category went to Aidan Gause, a 13-year-old from Harbeson who just completed the seventh grade at the Jefferson School in Georgetown. Aidan, who aspires to one day work for DNREC, resides with his parents, John and Colleen Gause, near the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s Route 5 transfer station. It was a tour of the station sparked a detailed research project into how the transfer station functions, and its possible effects on a nearby stream. “I wanted to figure it out for myself,” said Aidan, who conducted extensive testing on the area for pollutants, “And what I found was pretty consistent with what the state was telling me.”

Judges were impressed with Aidan’s scientific approach and the maturity of his work. “He took great initiative to see how the transfer station would affect his neighborhood, community and the environment,” said Judge Patty Murray, an environmental scientist in the Division of Water Resources, Water Supply Section.

The winner in the high school category is 18-year-old Nate Reed of West Chester, Pa., a new graduate of Salesianum School in Wilmington. The son of Gerilyn and David Reed, Nate plans to study biochemistry at Penn State in the fall. Dubbed “Mr. Environmentalist” by his Salesianum classmates, Nate was elected president of the school’s Ecology Club in his senior year. Under his leadership, the club continued to work with the Delaware Nature Society’s Stream Watch program, monitoring the health of the Brandywine stream near the school. The club was also involved in last year’s adoption of the stonefly as state macro invertebrate, with Nate writing one of the letters to the legislature favoring the stonefly.

“The environment has been under so much stress, and it’s starting to get so far away from its natural state. I’d like to try and find ways to slow this process down or stop it,” Nate said.

The judges were impressed with Nate’s strong commitment to stewardship and ethics. “Nate’s environmental involvement through his activities speaks volumes. I hope his enthusiasm has spilled over to his classmates and will continue into adulthood,” said Judge Terri Brixen, Environmental Scientist and Outreach and Education Coordinator, Air Quality Management Section.

Each winner was presented with a certificate, a $100 U.S. savings bond, a Delaware State Parks boating pass and a gift basket from Bella’s Cookies, an organic and natural bakery in Sussex County which co-sponsored this year’s awards.

The Young Environmentalist of the Year Awards program was established in 1993 in honor of Dr. Edwin H. Clark II, who served as Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control from 1989 to 1993. The awards are presented annually to Delaware students whose actions over the preceding year have protected, restored or enhanced Delaware's natural resources through innovative projects, and promoting public awareness and by demonstrating environmental stewardship and ethics. Students are nominated by teachers, parents, peers and youth group leaders.
Nominations for next year's Young Environmentalist will be accepted in May 2008. For more information on the awards program, please contact Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs Office, at 302-739-9902.