BIO

Thank you for the distinguished honor of being named the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Fujifilm Outstanding Environmental Educator. There are many outstanding environmental educators across the nation doing incredible projects with their students. I am proud to serve among you and do my part to help all students increase their environmental awareness.

I grew up in Nagoya, Japan where I received an outstanding science education at Nagoya International School. I was fortunate to continue my pursuit of science at Samford University in Birmingham, AL where I began my teaching career under the guidance of their phenomenal Biology Department. After working as a teaching assistant and research assistant on several grants at Samford, I continued my own education at Florida International University. It was at FIU that I received my Masters Degree in Biology where my own research took me back to Japan to study the efficacy of traditional Japanese methods for detoxifying a poisonous mushroom for human consumption.

I have taught high school science in south Florida for seven years. After establishing a successful environmental science program for Pembroke Pines Charter High School, I was recruited to join the new Everglades Restoration & Environmental Science Magnet Program at South Plantation High School. I have found my educational niche teaching AP Environmental Science and environmental project-based service-learning.

Project-based learning can get very expensive. This year, grant funding and community donations have helped our environmental projects succeed. I have written or co-authored several major successful grants/awards including the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Fujifilm Environmental Excellence Award, Toyota Tapestry, Florida Learn and Serve, Girl Scouts USA Grant, Reefball Foundation Grant, Best Buy Te@ch Award, and Paramount Classics Grant. This funding helps support the multiple environmental projects that I mentor including the RARE CORAL Project (deployment of two artificial reefs and development of coral reef curriculum), Solar Knight (a solar-powered race car we plan on sharing with the community and racing cross-country from Dallas to New York this summer), and more! Our school is preparing to construct a unique water garden that I designed. This garden will accompany our new science building and educate all of our students and the community about water quality, quantity, timing and distribution here in south Florida. It will also provide more service-learning project opportunities for our students.

This year, I have represented our school as a guest speaker at the Broward County Water Advisory Board Meeting, South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Meeting, County Commissioners of Broward Board Meeting, NatureScape Broward meetings, the American Water Resource Association Regional Meeting, and at the 2006 National Science Teacher Association's National Conference. I am an AP Reader for CollegeBoard and have shared my project-based learning strategies at several CollegeBoard AP Summer Institutes. I conduct the county-wide APES student review session each April and was recognized as the 2005 Broward County Environmental Educator of the Year.

What really matters is that I try to provide an unforgettable environmental learning experience for my students. I teach a rigorous AP Environmental Science class that always keeps my students guessing. Whether I come in dressed in a hazmat suit to teach my students about nuclear waste, don a traditional Japanese outfit to teach about the environmental impacts of sushi (sushi is prepared by our culinary arts students), or spook my students with a graveyard human demographics lab and ghostly history tour of the old Miami Cemetery, they always know they will have a unique learning experience. I take students off campus to learn about everything from sea turtles to sewage treatment plants. Last year, I took 14 students to Hawaii for an environmental expedition. I also took 10 students to Nagoya, Japan to volunteer at the Aichi Expo, Environmental World's Fair. This year, I took 250 students to see Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth. My students were inspired and have since installed a small green roof, a green screen, encouraged our administration to install light motion sensors, and created a light switch sticker campaign entitled "Knights turn off Lights" to help reduce our school's energy use and impact on global warming. I firmly believe that a motivated student is a powerful thing indeed! If you show students you truly believe in them, they can build cars that run on sunshine and turn several tons of ordinary concrete into teeming coral reefs!

Thanks to SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Fujifilm and your partners for taking the time to recognize high school environmental achievements. Thanks to my administration, fellow faculty, supportive parents, and dedicated students for believing in my ambitious project ideas. Finally, thanks to my loving and understanding wife, without whose support and permission I would not be able to fully engage my students in project-based environmental stewardship.

PARTNER STATEMENT

In Phipps' R.A.R.E. C.O.R.A.L. (Restoration through Artificial Reef Education: Creating Outreach Reefs through Alternative Learning) Project, students regularly monitor coral reef sites and learn about aspects of valid long-term data collection and analysis. The project, which has received numerous awards, gives students opportunities to interact with government agencies and work with various university faculty and students, allowing them to learn about career opportunities in environmental and marine science. Students also learn about the design and construction of artificial reefs using materials and techniques that are sustainable and marine-friendly. They gain experience with grant writing; develop print and online publications for teachers, students, and Girl Scout troops; and create, distribute, and present coral reef conservation hands-on learning labs for area middle schools and community educational outreach events.