Picklesimer Selected as Outstanding Educator
June 16, 2009

Candy Picklesimer, a sixth grade teacher at Bloom-Vernon Elementary, was selected by the Environmental Education Council of Ohio (EECO) as the Outstanding Formal Educator for 2009. Annually, EECO recognizes Ohio educators for their contributions to environmental education. For years, Picklesimer’s enthusiasm for science and the outdoors has motivated her students to get excited about the world around them.

In 1979, Picklesimer began teaching fifth grade at Symmes Valley Elementary and soon developed and initiated the school’s gifted program. She noticed a number of students were becoming bored with school and she wanted to find a hook to get them interested in reading, writing, and critical thinking. Picklesimer took her students outdoors. “We had a thirty acre woods behind the school,” explains Picklesimer. “We developed a nature study area and a small amphitheatre. The kids found it irresistible.” When other teachers saw how the nature study area motivated students, they also began to utilize it.

For the past ten years, Picklesimer has taught at Bloom-Vernon Elementary where she has continued to get her students excited about science and the world around them. Throughout the year, Picklesimer involves her students in an assortment of classroom activities that keep them interested in science, natural resources, and the environment. She reflects on some of those projects and the impact they had on her students, recalling, “It gave the kids a real world purpose for their work that really inspired them.”

The Scioto Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) recognized Picklesimer’s impact on her students and nominated her for the EECO Formal Educator Award. The nomination highlights Picklesimer’s passion for science and nature and her influence on students. As stated in the Scioto SWCD nomination, “Picklesimer’s enthusiasm rubs off on her students and their interest is apparent by the excitement they show in their work.”

Picklesimer has not only gotten her students excited about the outdoors, but has also inspired other educators to go outside to teach. Over the years, she has partnered with Ohio University Southern to teach summer enrichment courses covering numerous outdoor education topics. For eighteen years, Picklesimer taught postgraduate courses at Miami University, traveling to Wyoming teaching educators to use the outdoors to teach across the curriculum.

At the conclusion of the 2008 – 2009 school year, Picklesimer retired as a classroom teacher, but plans to continue teaching science through workshops. “I hope to continue sharing my love of science through workshops at OU Southern and Shawnee State University,” says Picklesimer. Both teachers and students will continue to benefit from Picklesimer’s enthusiasm and knowledge of science.

To honor Picklesimer for her dedication to environmental education, EECO recognized her at their annual banquet at Deer Creek Lodge in Mt. Sterling, Ohio. Scioto SWCD Education Coordinator, Jeff Montavon, presented Picklesimer with a plaque made of recycled glass.