UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Doug Wentzel, a program director, instructor and naturalist at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center (SCEC), has been awarded the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators’ (PAEE) Keystone Award for lifetime contributions to environmental education.
The award was presented to Wentzel on Monday, March 13, at PAEE’s annual conference in Halifax.
The award recognizes an educator who has dedicated their life to advancing the quality and opportunity for environmental education in Pennsylvania. Recipients display “uncommon and exceptional understanding, passion and commitment to environmental education, and serve as an inspiration to other environmental educators,” according to the association.
“Doug cultivates curiosity in emerging environmental educators as they learn and grow at Shaver’s Creek before they spread their wings to create magic somewhere else,” said Matt Marsden, Outdoor School and Discovery Camp assistant director at Shaver’s Creek, who nominated Wentzel for the award.
Wentzel celebrated his 30th anniversary of working at Shaver’s Creek in fall 2021. He directs the education internship and numerous birding programs at Shaver’s Creek and helped create The Birding Cup annual fundraiser. He teaches natural history and environmental interpretation at Penn State and is a certified trainer through the National Association for Interpretation. He regularly contributes field data to citizen science projects on birds, butterflies and amphibians within the park, and his ongoing passion is to foster the awareness of the diversity of life in our own backyards.
Wentzel said he was “deeply appreciative, surprised and humbled” to receive the award.
“PAEE plays a vital leadership role in the commonwealth and has enriched my understanding of the profession and connected me to a dedicated community of educators,” he said.
Marsden said Wentzel has inspired thousands of undergraduates to be curious about the natural world and mentored hundreds of educators, in addition to leading innumerable bird walks, entertaining campers and counselors with stories, and much more.
“As a former intern myself and a 20-plus year staff member at SCEC, I can confidently say that Doug’s effect is still multiplying,” Marsden said.
“Doug taught me one of the best leadership philosophies I have ever heard, and that I repeat regularly to my own students. You can be child-like without being childish. Letting your sense of curiosity about the natural world be your guide leads to engaging experiences whether you are the teacher or the learner.”