Nov. 18, 2008
Solin speaks at nation’s first-ever Green
Charter School Network conference
Alumnus Jeremy Solin (’97), director of the LEAF K-12 (Learning Experiences
& Activities in Forestry) education program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point (UWSP), took part in a panel discussion, “Sustainable Practices From School
to Home and Community,” at the first-ever national Green Charter School Network
Conference held in Madison earlier this month.
Solin is deeply involved in both public and community education issues
pertaining to not just forestry education but also educating communities
about growing and buying local produce, a growing national movement.
Solin’s outreach and educational focus more often than not targets
young people, both within and outside the classroom. According to
Solin, his session focused on how students, educators, and parents
can foster sustainable practices in schools, homes, and communities.
“Young people can be a powerful force in promoting sustainable schools
and communities,” said Solin. “Whether ongoing environmental monitoring
projects to recycling and waste reduction, sustainable practices are
learned behavior.”
At the Green Charter School Network Conference he shared his expertise
with charter school professionals from throughout the United States.
Joining Solin on the panel was Melissa Rickert, outreach specialist for
KEEP (Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program) at the Wisconsin Center
for Environmental Education at UWSP; and Ellyn Lahr, a parent from the
Oshkosh Environmental Education School.
Solin has given similar presentations for many years throughout Wisconsin
and the Midwest, including the Wisconsin Governor’s High School Conference,
Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education, Wisconsin’s Department
of Natural Resources, the Midwest Environmental Education Conference,
Midwest Renewable Energy Association, Trees for Tomorrow, and the North
American Association for Environmental Education, to name but a few.
This year he founded the Sustain Central Wisconsin Network, an effort
to urge residents to utilize sustainability principles on the farm,
at home, and at the workplace. In 2006 he was a founding member of
the Central Rivers Farmshed, where the mission is to urge the private
sector to support locally grown foods.
Solin graduated in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in water resources.
He received a master’s degree in education, with an emphasis on
environmental education, from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Solin received the 2008 Spirit of Community Service Award and the
College of Natural Resources Outreach Award.
