BIO

As a kid growing up in suburban Pittsburgh, I had a thirst for things natural. One of my favorite places was the stream nearest our home. Looking back, even though the stream wasn't exactly a hotspot for biodiversity, it provided considerable fascination for me and helped me get to where I am today. I also greatly enjoyed my time as a Boy Scout, especially the feeling of checking out a "new" forest, stream, or wetland on camping trips. An additional enjoyment was learning about our oceans from Jacques Cousteau. This remote, second hand exposure from television was enough to start me dreaming about a career around water.

My first career did center around water, or actually under water, but it came in the form of nuclear engineering on Navy submarines. During that time, I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up, and after my six year stint was up I decided to pursue my original interest in nature. At Cornell University I studied fishery science. My biggest highlight (other than meeting my future wife) was a summer spent at Shoals Marine Laboratory. I loved the hands-on, learning-for-learning-sake approach used at the Lab. After a stint at a trout hatchery, I entered grad school at SUNY ESF.  In 1987, our family moved to Maryland as I took a job in the environmental consulting field. After 7 years in consulting, I was hired by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and have worked there since. For 14 years, I ran the statewide stream survey. During summers, we made a special effort to hire high school students and greatly enjoyed sharing knowledge and experiences with a group of future high achievers. By setting expectations high and having everyday hands-on learning, the vast majority of our student interns truly shined and have continued to do so.

Shortly after joining DNR, I received an offer from Johns Hopkins University to teach freshwater ecology to graduate students on a part-time basis. I accepted, then promptly scrambled for my life to prepare an entire course in just a few weeks during a very busy summer field sampling season. Fourteen years later I am still teaching and very much enjoy it. I have been known to use knowledgeable high school students as assistants to help teach grad students how to use sampling gear, identify fish and macroinvertebrates, etc., and I almost always bring along high school students on field trips.

As our three children grew up, I often found myself in their classrooms doing critter demonstrations of one sort or another. During these times, I gained an appreciation for the effect that living examples have on learning. I still receive requests to teach and rarely turn them down. As my oldest boy entered Boy Scouts, I began to use every opportunity on campouts and during backpacking trips to use the continuous open air classroom that was always present. In 2000, we formed a co-ed Venturing Crew through Boy Scouts, starting with five youth. In addition to high adventure activities and annual participation in the Cannon Envirothon competition, the Crew has done a great many environment-related service projects. A key feature of these activities has been having our crew members serve as naturalists and instructors, as there is no better way to learn than to teach. Today, the crew has 20 members and is moving toward a focus on sustainability, clearly the most important issue of our time. We are also encouraging the crew to become an influence in greening their schools and greening their elected officials.  Although I don't have much free time, I have found that helping to develop future "Winston Churchills" of the environmental world to be one of the most satisfying feelings in my life. If we are successful in pursuing a "No Child Left Inside" approach to education, I believe we can truly change the world.

PARTNER STATEMENT

Paul Kazyak formed the Venturing 202 in 2000 to offer intense environmental science education for high school students. High school boys and girls participate in the Boy Scouts of America Venturing Crew 202 in developing, planning, and carrying out environmental education and restoration projects along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Paul uses "his enthusiasm for things environmental" to stimulate the natural inquisitiveness in our youth and steer it outdoors. Paul has recruited natural resource professionals and environmental educators with similar views on teaching to work with him on the projects. He is creating a culture where youth are expected to lead educational efforts in an outdoor setting to observe their world, develop thoughtful questions about it, and engage others in conversation and learning.  National Science Teachers Association, an organization that supports and advocates informal science educators who bring an emphasis on creativity and enrichments strategies to their teaching, recognizes Paul Kazyak with an Outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year Award.