Why Join WAEE

June 23, 2021

Scott Lee reflects on his years as a member with WAEE

When I started teaching at Trempealeau Elementary School back in 1975, I had a pretty good background on what was expected of a teacher (my mom was one of the best elementary teachers ever) and also had a pretty good knowledge of the natural world (my dad was an avid outdoorsman, hunted, fished, and had a great respect and love of the natural world). I wanted to pass that on to my 5th graders, but didn’t really know just how to best go about doing that. Teaching in Trempealeau, WI, along the Mississippi River and home to the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge and Perrot State Park, it seemed crucial that I instill a love and appreciation of the natural world that surrounds them.


That’s where WAEE came in.

In the early 1980s I attended one of the WAEE Fall Conferences and it was incredible! I came back with several great activities so implemented them as soon as I could. I instantly became “hooked” on WAEE and started regularly attending their three main annual events – Fall State & Midwest Conferences, Winter Workshops, and the spring workshop held at the Wausau School Forest. I hardly missed any of these from the mid-80 through my retirement in 2008, and continued beyond that, as I went on to teach Environmental Studies at UW La Crosse from 2009 to 2017. I came home from every conference with new ideas and couldn’t wait to implement them. 

After seeing my enthusiasm and hearing about how fun and educational these events were, several staff members at the school also became involved in WAEE, attending these workshops with me. With that core of people and using the many, many activities and ideas we picked up at WAEE events, Trempealeau became even more involved in environmental education. We took the kids camping at Perrot, seasonal trips to the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge, hiked the bluffs and down to the river, dissected road kill deer, learned about and sampled wild foods, started an annual Environmental Awareness Day, started a school-wide recycling program including aluminum cans that brought in over $100,000 by the time I retired and it still continues today. All that money is earmarked for EE at the school. This also led to several displays at the school – a 30’ X 9’ X 4’ bird display with over 150 native birds and other critters mounted in their natural habitat, a 16’ waterfowl case with over 40 native waterfowl, a display case with various critters (skunk, badger, six owls, otter, mink, ermine, raccoon, baby fox, loon, vulture, and more), and many full mounts of free-standing critters (both a grizzly and black bear, albino deer, coyote, red and gray fox, turkey, and sandhill crane). The cost of all these came from our recycling fund, with nothing coming from the taxpayers. All this would not have happened without the guidance we received from WAEE events.

Getting involved and becoming a life member in WAEE was easily the smartest thing that I did as a teacher. My success in the elementary school and at the college level would never have happened had it not been for their help and guidance along the path of my career.

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Dear Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education (WAEE) Members, As environmental educators, we are committed to raising awareness about the environmental challenges facing our state and teaching the next generation about the importance of environmental stewardship. Today, we are reaching out with an urgent call to action in light of the oil spill that occurred in December 2024 in Wisconsin and the ongoing Enbridge pipeline battle in Northern Wisconsin, which has the potential to catastrophically contaminate the Great Lakes. We strongly encourage you to take a moment to watch the film Bad River , available now on Peacock. This powerful documentary sheds light on the struggle faced by communities and ecosystems impacted by Enbridge’s pipelines, including the threat they pose to the pristine waters of the Bad River Watershed. The film is an eye-opening look at the risks of oil pipeline operations in Wisconsin and the people and wildlife that stand to lose everything if action is not taken. We believe it is essential that our voices, as environmental educators, be heard in this critical moment. We encourage you to call your senators and express your concerns about the environmental risks posed by the Enbridge pipelines and the recent oil spill. Your voice can make a difference in the fight to protect Wisconsin’s natural resources and ensure a safe, sustainable future for all. Here’s what you can do:  Watch the film Bad River to understand the environmental implications. Call your state senators to urge them to take immediate action to hold Enbridge accountable and protect Wisconsin’s waters. Find contact information for your representatives here . Share this alert with others in your community, and encourage them to take action. As environmental educators, we have a unique role in advocating for the health of our state’s ecosystems. By raising our voices in support of stronger environmental protections, we can help shape a future where our waters, lands, and communities are safe from the risks of oil pipeline disasters. Thank you for your dedication to environmental education and advocacy. Together, we can make a meaningful difference.
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