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 Local Fish & Game Employee Given a State Educator Award
Posted: March 11, 2009 05:22 PM
Updated: March 11, 2009 05:35 PM
Press Release
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Gregg Losinski on the Left
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POCATELLO - At their annual conference last week, the Idaho Environmental Education Association (IdEEA) named Gregg Losinski of the Idaho Department of Fish & Game from the Upper Snake Region as the 2009 Idaho Professional Environmental Educator of the Year.
Losinski is known to many Upper Valley residents as the person who appears in the media speaking on behalf of Fish & Game in the region, but public information work is only half of his job.
According to Losinski, "My actual official title is Regional Conservation Educator, but lots of folks just see me as the talking head for the department."
Losinski makes use of all his involvement with Fish & Game management to help bring his environmental education to life.
Losinski has taught Project WILD to teachers for over 15 years, as well as creating his own special weeklong workshop for teachers held at Harriman State Park, called "WILD in the Yellowstone Ecosystem."
He currently chairs the Information & Education subcommittees for the Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC). The IGBC is responsible for all grizzly bear recovery in the lower 48 and adjoin Canada.
He oversees the regional hunter education program and provides a myriad of school programs across the region whenever possible. He represented Idaho at the Conservation Education Summit held in 2004 to try and expand outdoor education to coincide with all the attention being generated by the book, "Last Child in the Woods." This book by Richard Louv introduced the phrase "Nature Deficit Disorder", to describe how today's kids are losing touch with the outdoors.
Even though many people associate education solely with children, Losinski sees his work as having a greater scope, "I love to teach kids, but when I teach teachers the multiplier effect has a chance to kick in." Losinski also sees his media work as education as well, "Hopefully when people see my video on TV or hear me speak they gather a greater understanding of how complex and wonderful Idaho is and how hard we all need to work together to enjoy it, without destroying it."
Laron Johnson of Rigby Junior High, chairs the IdEEA Awards Committee and also presented Dan Richards of New Meadows, Idaho with an award for the 2009 Idaho K-12 Environmental Educator of the Year. |
