Environmental Education Awards

Each year, RIEEA recognizes educators, youth, organizations, and schools across Rhode Island who demonstrate leadership, innovation, and dedication to help their communities learn about the environment and engage in outdoor learning and recreation. Nominations are solicited from the community each summer and we celebrate the winners in the fall.

Congratulations to the 2026 Rhode Island Environmental Education Award Winners!

  • Lara Haggerty, Teacher of the Year

  • Layla Farahbakhsh, Environmental Educator of the Year

  • Avery Walsh, Youth Leader of the Year

  • Save The Bay, Organization of the Year

 
Each award winner receives a certificate, monetary award, and RIEEA membership. We will celebrate the winners at the RIEEA EE Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, October 21, from 6:00-8:00pm at the Save The Bay Center. There will be lite fare served by a local caterer, an open bar with wine and beer and soft drinks, and a short program. Winners will be invited to attend to accept their award and registration will be complimentary for them (or for one representative if it is an organization) and a guest.

Lara Haggerty headshot

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Lara Haggerty

Lara Haggerty (she/her) of West Kingston, RI, is a science educator and instructional leader at The Greene School (TGS) who is helping shape environmental and science education well beyond her own classroom. As a member of TGS’s Instructional Leadership Team, Lara helps strengthen schoolwide teaching practice, while her implementation of OpenSciEd has made TGS a model site visited by Rhode Island Department of Education educators and school leaders. As the Career and Technical Education coordinator, she also helped reshape the school’s Environmental Engineering pathway into an Environmental Science pathway aligned with growing opportunities in Rhode Island’s Blue Economy. Lara brings the same hands-on approach to environmental stewardship, working with students on composting and recycling initiatives and leading TGS’s Envirothon team to consistently strong statewide results. She has built partnerships with many community organizations, connecting students with real-world environmental expertise and career pathways. Through accessible field-based learning and her leadership of TGS’s ADA-accessible Learning Meadow, Lara is creating opportunities for every student to engage deeply with science, the outdoors, and their role as environmental stewards.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

Layla Farahbakhsh

Layla Farahbakhsh (they/elle) of Pawtucket, RI, is an environmental educator serving as the Nuestros Bosques (Our Forests) program coordinator with Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and helps facilitate the  Arboleros Forestry Program in collaboration with PNPP. Their work cultivates community tree stewardship through hands-on tree work and classroom learning to help participants develop a deeper understanding of trees, ecology, and reciprocity with the natural world. Graduates from the program receive Providence Community Tree Keeper Certification, which certifies them to directly care for public trees in their neighborhoods. In addition to their work with Nuestros Bosques, Layla helps lead recreational trips throughout the watershed, incorporating their knowledge of trees, ecology, local history, and ornithology. Before their work with WRWC, Layla led and trained both volunteer and professional hiking trail construction crews in proper tread construction, rock work, and safe chainsaw operation. In addition to their work with Arboleros, Layla is deeply committed to learning and is a staff member at Congress of the Birds, Rhode Island’s only avian-specific wildlife rehabilitation center, as well as NEXUS, a surfing community for People of the Global Majority, and a graduate of the Steelyard’s workforce welding and apprenticeship.  Layla is committed to adapting to different learning styles, community needs, and helping all of us feel a little more connected.

YOUTH LEADER OF THE YEAR

Avery Walsh

Avery Walsh (she/her) of Bristol, RI, is a student leader who has turned a passion for environmental and social justice into meaningful action in her school and community. As co-president of Mt. Hope High School’s Environmental Club, Avery organizes monthly campus and community cleanups and nature walks, engaging her peers and local residents in hands-on stewardship. She also helped create the free “Climate Cafe” lecture series at the local library, connecting community members with environmental organizations to learn about local climate challenges and ways to get involved. Avery has worked to engage younger community members through the free Eco-Expedition at Audubon’s Environmental Center and has helped amplify local environmental issues through the club’s social media. She also conducted the majority of the interviews for Rising Waters, a documentary about climate resilience in Warren, RI, helping bring local voices and experiences to a wider audience. Balancing environmental leadership with academics, athletics, and other community commitments, Avery exemplifies the curiosity, initiative, and civic engagement of a young environmental leader.

ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR

Save The Bay

Save The Bay (STB) has a longstanding commitment to environmental education, accessibility, and stewardship of Narragansett Bay. For more than three decades, Save The Bay’s education team has connected Rhode Islanders with the Bay through hands-on, experiential, and place-based learning. Today, the organization’s education team partners with 26 of Rhode Island’s 38 public school districts.  They work with students during the school day and through afterschool programming as well as summer camp, and with the larger community during their public programming aboard their education vessels and the Hamilton Family Aquarium. STB participants use scientific tools and direct observation to investigate water quality, marine life, habitats, and ecological change. Signature programs such as Bay Partners, Narragansett Bay Field Studies, and the Salt Marsh Nursery Program help transform learning into sustained environmental stewardship. Save The Bay’s educational impact is strengthened by partnerships with schools, municipalities, scientists, conservation organizations, volunteers and community groups, as well as by the organization’s advocacy and habitat-restoration work. STB is also committed to making its programs welcoming and accessible through initiatives such as KultureCity certification, sensory resources, accessible touch tanks, Museums for All admission, and scholarships for BayCamp participants. By creating meaningful opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience Narragansett Bay, STB is cultivating an informed, engaged, and enduring community of stewards dedicated to protecting Rhode Island’s greatest natural resource.

Thank you to our 2026 sponsors!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available to help offset the cost of this annual event and to allow RIEEA to offer tickets at a sliding scale to ensure everyone can attend regardless of their financial circumstances. Contact us to learn more.

Past Recipients:

2025

  • Student/Youth of the Year: James Pastor Tzul
  • Teacher of the Year: Natalie Tarr
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: Eli Nixon
  • Organization of the Year: Chariho Regional School District


2024

  • Student/Youth of the Year: Enyu (Alaina) Zhang
  • Teacher of the Year: Katharine (Katie) Bowers
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: Nicole DiPaolo
  • Organization of the Year: 15 Minute Field Trips


2023

  • Student/Youth of the Year: Maggie Lauder
  • Teacher of the Year: Adrienne Buckley
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: Lizz Malloy
  • Organization of the Year: Wild Lives


2022

  • Student/Youth of the Year: Fiona Brand
  • Teacher of the Year: Stacy Gale
  • Nonformal Educator of the Year: Tracey Hall
  • Organization of the Year: The Greene School


2021

  • All Rhode Island Teachers in recognition of all of their hard work in 2020 – and beyond – to keep our children healthy, safe, and academically engaged, many times outdoors!


2020

  • Student of the Year: Willa Phillips
  • Teacher of the Year: Jane O’Connell
  • Informal Educator of the Year: Bill Oakes
  • Organization of the Year: Movement Education Outdoors


2019

  • Student of the Year: Brendan Peck
  • Teacher of the Year: Doreen Schiff
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: Kimberly Sullivan
  • Program of the Year: The Empowerment Factory


2018

  • Teacher of the Year: Kerri Withrow Valentine
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: Lisa Maloney


2017

  • Teacher of the Year: Holly Emery
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: Molly Allard


2016

  • Teacher of the Year: Ray Allsworth
  • Environmental Educator of the Year: April Alix

2025 Award Winners, above from left to right:  Student/Youth of the Year James Pastor Tzul, Environmental Educator of the Year Eli Nixon, Teacher of the Year Natalie Tarr, Gina Picard and Michael Comella of Organization of the Year Chariho Regional School District.

2024 Award Winners, above from left to right: Environmental Educator of the Year Nicole DiPaolo, Student/Youth of the Year Enyu (Alaina) Zhang, Teacher of the Year Katharine (Katie) Bowers, Melissa Guillet of Organization of the Year 15 Minute Field Trips.

Photo of 2023 Environmental Education Awardees

2023 Award Winners, above from left to right: Teacher of the Year Adrienne Buckley, Alex and Lumen Hornstein of Organization of the Year Wild Lives, Environmental Educator of the Year Lizz Malloy, Student/Youth of the Year Maggie Lauder.

2022 Award Winners, above from left to right: Student of the Year Fiona Brand, Teacher of the Year Stacy Gale, Nonformal Educator of the Year Tracey Hall, and Founder/Board Chair and Students of Organization of the Year, The Greene School.

Translate »