News Releases 409

News Release No. 409

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HONORS LADUE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER WITH WATER EDUCATION AWARD

Volume 33-409	Contact: Susan Bloomer
(For immediate release)	573-526-1825

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, OCT. 5, 2005 --- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will present Ladue Middle School teacher Elizabeth Peterson with the 2005 Water Education Award for her efforts to educate students about water quality issues. Peterson will be presented with the award the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the William C. Schock Clean Water Conservancy Awards and Recognition Ceremony. The awards will be held starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Alberici Corp. headquarters at 8800 Page Ave. in St. Louis.

Sharing a love for nature with students, Peterson spent countless hours teaching them how to care for water resources through monitoring activities on Deer Creek. She also founded the Ladue Stream Team in December 1989. Peterson is a dedicated science teacher who promotes Science Olympiad competitions, leads the Jr. Academy of Science after-school club and is currently the president-elect of the Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM) professional organization. Peterson also attends many professional development workshops and courses to keep up with current environmental issues.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources presents the Water Education Award annually in conjunction with World Water Monitoring Day activities. World Water Monitoring Day, held on Oct. 18, gives citizens an opportunity to positively impact the health of rivers, lakes, estuaries and other waterbodies. Volunteer monitoring groups, water quality agencies, students and the general public are invited to test four key indicators of water quality: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity.

The recipients of the Water Education Award are chosen based on the following criteria:

Involvement with the Missouri Stream Team Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program;

Use of Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) in classroom activities;

Personal innovative ideas that promote youth's interest in the conservation of water resources;

Continued personal commitment to provide high quality educational programs about water ecology and water resources.

Other 2005 Water Education Award recipients include:

Erica Cox, Lebanon Junior High School,

John England, Farmington Middle School,

Ron Howerton, Noel School (K-8th).

For more information, call the Department of Natural Resources' Water Protection Program at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-1300.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming events, meetings and hearings, visit our online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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