The 2021 Formal Environmental Educator of the Year Award

The 2021 Formal Environmental Educator of the Year Award honors an individual who has made outstanding, ongoing efforts to infuse environmental education into school curriculum; we are proud to congratulate our own Dave “Mr. DJ” Johnson as the year’s recipient. The award is bestowed by the Minnesota Association of Environmental Education, an organization which aims to strengthen the role of education as a solution to environmental and societal challenges.

DJ was nominated by Marte Kitson, Extension Educator at Minnesota Sea Grant, who noted that he is an outstanding teacher–sincere, earnest, dedicated, hard-working–and is creating excitement, inspiration, and a sense of wonder in students to inform a long-term interest in environmental sciences and related careers. DJ’s development of a comprehensive monitoring protocol for Brewery Creek, which runs through Marshall’s beautiful campus, involved students in his passion to observe our environment while also connecting with the greater

community. Through this project, students have worked in collaboration with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Citizen Water Monitoring Program, St. Louis River Watch, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, University of Minnesota’s Natural Resource Research Institute, and the City of Duluth. Way to go Mr. DJ!