News Release 523

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES PRESENTS WATER EDUCATION AWARD TO JEFFERSON CITY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER JULIE COOK

Volume 34-523	Contact: Renee Bungart
(For immediate release)	573-751-4465

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, NOV. 29, 2006 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will present Julie Cook, a teacher at Jefferson City High School, with the 2006 Water Education Award on Dec. 14 for her efforts to educate students about water quality issues.

The department will present the award to Cook at 8:30 a.m. during an assembly at Jefferson City High School.

"It gives me great pleasure to recognize Julie Cook on her efforts to educate students about water quality issues," said Department of Natural Resources Director Doyle Childers. "Cook's passion for the environment and desire to pass it on to her students is always evident in the projects and issues she develops with her students."

Cook and her students tackle projects such as tree planting on Wears Creek in Cole County. Cook is sponsor of the Environmental Club and developed an outdoor classroom at Jefferson City High School. In March of 2000, Cook participated in writing the Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) publication titled Discover a Watershed: The Missouri. Cook is one of the first Project WET facilitators trained in Missouri and has been involved in project WET workshops and programs for many years. Julie trained as a Stream Team volunteer in 1999 and her team, #1294, adopted Wears Creek in Cole County.

In addition to her other activities, Cook was selected as Science department chair, served on the board for the Missouri Environmental Education Association, and is a facilitator for the Aldo Leopold Education Project.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources presents the Water Education Award annually to Missouri high school or middle school teachers. The Water Education Awards focus our attention on the vital role of teachers in educating our future citizens on the importance and value of water as a critical natural resource. The department recognizes the outstanding effort and the unique opportunities that each instructor provides for their students to learn the wonders of water ecology.

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 the department sponsored 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.

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 meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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