Orange County Teacher Wins Governor's Conservation Achievement Award

Eric Landon McDuffie, an eighth-grade science teacher at C.W. Stanford Middle School in Hillsborough, has been awarded the Governor's Conservation Achievement Environmental Educator of the Year Award by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. Each year the North Carolina Wildlife Federation presents the prestigious Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards, an effort to honor individuals, governmental bodies, organizations, and others who have exhibited an unwavering commitment to conservation in North Carolina. These are the highest natural resource honors given in the state.

Eric has a long history of integrating environmental education and using outdoor learning with his classes. This award specifically stems from Eric's successful efforts to obtain a $355,000 Clean Water Trust Fund grant to improve water quality on the school's campus. The project not only improved water quality--it also provided an outdoor classroom for the school!

Eric has a strong environmental background--he once worked as a fisheries biologist and he is also currently enrolled in the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program. Congratulations Eric!

Some of Eric's students already promoting the benefits of outdoor, hands-on learning!