HOPEWELL: Watershed Assoc. honors Montgomery teacher

   HOPEWELL — Jamie Witsen, an environmental science teacher in the Montgomery Township Upper Middle School will be recognized by the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association with its top educator honor at its annual meeting on Monday.
   The 5:30 p.m. meeting will be a special celebration of the Watershed Association’s 60th anniversary, during which the group will induct new trustees and honor volunteers, community members and environmental leaders.
   The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association’s Richard Rotter Award for Excellence in Environmental Education, which is being awarded to Ms. Witsen, is named in honor of the late Richard Rotter, an exceptional high school teacher in Montgomery who was a committed environmentalist in his own community. Each year the award is given to an area teacher who demonstrates a high level of enthusiasm and commitment to environmental education.
   Ms. Witsen truly encapsulates the spirit of this award, according to the association. A trained naturalist who teaches from the heart, she believes that education should be experiential and shares her own passion for the environment in the hopes that her students will carry the torch of teaching environmental education and awareness to their families and friends.
   ”From taking students to Mexico to see the Monarch butterfly migration first-hand, to partnering with the Watershed Association to get students out in the field at Montgomery Park to help us complete one of our most ambitious wetland restoration projects, Jamie aims through her lessons and actions to instill a love of nature in all her students,” said Jeff Hoagland, Watershed Association Education Director.
   A world traveler who brings her experiences back to the classroom, Ms. Witsen develops creative lessons and projects for her students — everything from debating the fate of African elephants, to producing commercials to spotlight endangered species, the association said.
   The recipient of numerous accolades — including two-time inclusion in the book “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers,” the John Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth Teacher Recognition Award and Montgomery Middle School’s 1999 Teacher of the Year — Ms. Witzen is a strong advocate for recycling and wise use of resources in both the township and school district. She is a member of the Montgomery Sustainability Committee and the district’s newly formed Recycling and Pollution Prevention Committee.
   In addition to Ms. Witsen, the Watershed Association will honor Cranbury resident Anna Drago with the Volunteer Service Award, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson with the Edmund W. Stiles Award for Environmental Stewardship. Ron Borsellino, Acting Director of the Division of Environmental Planning & Protection for US EPA Region 2, will be accepting Administrator Jackson’s award on her behalf.
   The Watershed Association will also induct five new Trustees to its Board. They are: Walter Bliss of Princeton Township, Bill Carmean of Pennington, Jonathan L. Erickson of Princeton Township, Marylou Millard Ferrara of Hopewell Township, and Scot D. Pannepacker of Hopewell Borough.