Lexington and Richland County schools, educators and students honored at statewide EEASC conference.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n
Environmental educators, students and schools from Lexington and Richland counties were among those recognized during the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina’s (EEASC) annual conference at the University of South Carolina Upstate.<\/p>\n
The annual awards celebrate individuals and organizations that promote conservation, sustainability and environmental education throughout South Carolina.<\/p>\n
“Environmental education changes the way people see the world around them,” said EEASC Executive Director Keith Willoughby. “This year’s recipients remind us that meaningful learning happens everywhere—in classrooms, parks, nonprofits, businesses and communities—and that one person’s passion can inspire lifelong stewardship in countless others.”<\/p>\n
Among the local honorees was Kassidy Roof of the Lexington Soil & Water Conservation District, who was named Green Step Schools Mentor of the Year. Roof was recognized for supporting and mentoring Green Step Schools across Lexington County, where she coordinates environmental education efforts in 15 schools and organizes an annual recognition ceremony before Lexington County Council.<\/p>\n
Pleasant Hill Elementary School in Lexington County received the Green Step Schools Conserve School of the Year Award for its commitment to recycling and waste reduction. Under the leadership of teacher Maura Farley, students recycle a variety of materials and create sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness using recycled plastic bags. The school’s recycling efforts have also earned 11 outdoor benches through the NexTrex Challenge.<\/p>\n
Brockman Elementary School in Richland County was named Green Step School of the Year, the program’s highest school honor. The school was recognized for projects including stream monitoring, hydroponics, weather observation, storm drain painting and student-led environmental stewardship activities.<\/p>\n
Several Midlands students also received statewide recognition.<\/p>\n
Jack Wrigley, a Cub Scout and student at Heathwood Hall in Columbia, earned an Outstanding Youth Award after helping advocate for the Prothonotary Warbler to become South Carolina’s official migratory bird.<\/p>\n
Outstanding Youth Awards were also presented to Heath Wenger and Andrew Brannon, senior engineering interns at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies. The pair secured grant funding to design and build greenhouse kits equipped with solar-powered ventilation systems and rain barrels, then partnered with Leaphart Elementary School to teach fourth-grade students about engineering and environmental sustainability through hands-on learning.<\/p>\n
During the 2025-26 school year, EEASC’s Green Step Schools program recorded 363 environmental education projects at 63 schools in 24 South Carolina counties, the highest participation in the program’s history.<\/p>\n
The Environmental Education Association of South Carolina’s annual conference brings together educators, conservation professionals, nonprofit leaders and public officials to promote environmental literacy and recognize excellence in conservation education across the state.<\/p>\n
Photos from Digital Assets Awards Photo Gallery<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lexington and Richland County schools, educators and students honored at statewide EEASC conference. Environmental educators, students and schools from Lexington and Richland counties were among those recognized during the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina’s (EEASC) annual conference at the University of South Carolina Upstate. The annual awards celebrate individualsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[34],"tags":[1349,494],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-8680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-education","tag-environmental","tag-honors-and-awards"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Enviro-Leaders_2026_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}