Contact: Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902. PHOTOS AVAILABLE.

Gov. Markell joins DNREC Secretary O’Mara to honor Delaware’s 2011 Young Environmentalists of the Year
in State Fair ceremony

HARRINGTON (July 28, 2011) – Today at the Delaware State Fair, Governor Jack Markell and DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara announced and honored three Delaware students as the 2011 Young Environmentalists of the Year.

Logan Aber, 9, of Newark, who will enter the fourth grade at Holy Angels School in the fall, was chosen as the Delaware Elementary School Young Environmentalist of the Year. Logan was just 4 years old when he started participating in DNREC’s Adopt-A-Wetland Program and the Stream Watch Program. That first year, his nomination notes, Logan “helped catch macro invertebrates, fell in the stream, got stuck in the muddy bottom of the wetland, lost his boots, caught frogs and had a great time.”                                                 

At 7, Logan joined the 4-H Environmental Science Club and started wearing chest waders (no more lost boots) to test dissolved oxygen and pH levels and to collect and count macro invertebrates from the stream and wetland between Upper Pike Creek Road and Three Little Bakers Golf Course. Since joining the club, Logan has never missed a meeting, and has spent more than 40 hours monitoring and cleaning the Pike Creek site, planting trees and cleaning beaches. For the past two years, he has participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count and built a birdhouse, two squirrel feeders, a bird feeder and a birdbath, all of which have won blue ribbons at the Delaware State Fair.

Judges commended Logan for his environmental interests starting at such an early age. “Logan has demonstrated his great interest in the environment through a wide variety of projects including stream monitoring, trash pick-up and participating in bird counts,” noted judge Jennifer Holmes, while judge Michelle Jacobs praised Logan’s efforts to educate others. “It’s impressive that Logan not only wants to learn for himself, but also shares his knowledge with his classmates and friends.”

Luke Szrama, age 14, of Newark, who will be an eighth grader at Christ the Teacher Catholic School in the fall, was named Delaware’s Middle School Young Environmentalist of the Year. He recently became an Eagle Scout, having earned the honor in part by planning and implementing an environmentally-oriented community service project.

Christ the Teacher has a restored wetland area on campus which was underutilized as an outdoor science classroom due to a lack of available information on the variety of plant and animal life living in the wetland. Luke decided to meet the need for information by laying out an Interactive Learning Trail with 15 outdoor stations in the wetlands to provide students, teachers and other explorers with locations to stop and identify plants, mammals, insects, reptiles and amphibians.

Luke took his project even further and created an accompanying Wetland Field Guide for the trail. The 28-page, fully illustrated guide is clear, concise and well-organized, and is useful for grades K through 8, with photos, facts and identification techniques for everything from leaves to animal tracks.

“I knew that Luke was working very, very hard on this project but truly, when I saw the end product, I was astounded that such a young man could create such a meaningful service to his community. Luke has given our school a true gift that will benefit hundreds of students a year for many, many years to come,” wrote teacher Angela Carpenter, who nominated Luke.

“I saw that a very precious and valuable learning resource was being wasted. In Scouting, I am constantly surrounded by the outdoors and I see its true value. I wanted others to see how much they could learn from the wetlands and have them want to learn more,” Luke said of his work.

Judge Michelle Jacobs called Luke’s efforts very impressive, noting, “Creating a learning trail is not an easy task, and then Luke also took the initiative to create an accompanying field guide – what an awesome achievement!” Judge Jennifer Holmes noted that Luke’s work will have an impact on other students for years to come, adding, “What a great project – well-thought out and implemented, and very creative.”

Nathaniel D. Valenti, 16, of Dover, who will be a junior at Dover High School in the fall, is the Delaware High School Young Environmentalist of the Year. Nathan has been keenly interested in the natural environment since the first grade, when he planted more than 200 hardwood trees in Blackbird State Forest which are now more than 20 feet tall.

Currently a Life Scout in Troop 903, Nathan is working towards earning the rank of Eagle Scout and the William T. Hornaday Medal, which in Scouting represents “a substantial commitment of time and energy by individuals who have learned the meaning of a conservation/environmental ethic.” To receive the Hornaday medal, a scout must earn a number of conservation-related merit badges and plan, lead and carry out substantial conservation projects – three for bronze, four for silver.

Nathan has completed two such large projects so far: a 2008 reforestation project planting nearly 2,000 trees and a bluebird project in late 2010 to early 2011 that included laying out a bluebird trail near the Education Center in Blackbird State Forest, creating an accompanying informational brochure on bluebirds and constructing bluebird nesting boxes for local bluebird populations. To accomplish his project, Nathan organized nearly 60 youth and adult volunteers who put in nearly 200 hours to build 21 boxes and complete the 10-station trail, as well as contributing nearly 50 hours of his own time and work planning, organizing and executing the project. He has also monitored the boxes for nesting success, which included at least five fledglings.

“Nathan is a very environmentally-minded young man. It was clear that his project was well-planned and executed, and I love how Nathan involved the younger kids in his project,” said Judge Michelle Jacobs.

Established in 1993 in honor of former DNREC Secretary Dr. Edwin H. Clark II, the Young Environmentalist of the Year Awards are presented annually to Delaware students who have worked to protect, restore or enhance our state’s natural resources through environmental stewardship, innovative projects and promoting public awareness.

Also honored today were the three top trophy winners in the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Annual Youth Fishing Tournament, which was held June 11 at three Delaware ponds. This year’s honorees were:

• Dustin Waller, 14, of Georgetown, Sussex County and overall statewide winner, who caught 4.25 pounds of fish out of Ingrams Pond.
• Pierce Clifton, 13, of Houston, Kent County winner, who took second place statewide with 3.46 pounds of fish caught at Wyoming Pond in Wyoming.
• Emma Griffith, 12, of Middletown, New Castle County winner, won third place statewide with catches totaling 2.81 pounds out of Lums Pond in Bear.

Established in 1986, the tournament is designed to introduce youth to the sport of fishing and to teach the catch and release approach to conservation. For more information on the tournament, call 302-739-9913.

Vol. 41, No. 291