By Jessica Vance
Alumni of our program have gone on to work as educators in K-12 schools, state and national parks, nature centers, and universities around the world.
We are thrilled to celebrate Wolf Ridge Naturalist Alumni Alison Wood (’97–’98), who has been selected for the prestigious Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Fellowship. Alison, now a dedicated science teacher at Denfeld High School in Duluth, is one of only 14 U.S. K–12 educators chosen for this incredible honor.
The fellowship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, recognizes teachers for their academic achievement, professional excellence, and leadership potential. As part of the program, Alison will travel to Greece next year to spend four months studying how schools integrate citizen science and outdoor data collection into their curriculum.
Citizen science has been proven to encourage critical thinking, build connections to the outdoors, and empower students to take action in their local communities. For Alison, this research is deeply connected to her teaching philosophy. “When students can be outside, experiencing the natural world first-hand, their learning is so much more meaningful,” she shares. “Then if we could add our local information to crowd-sourced data programs, students in Duluth, Minnesota can be connected to researchers and communities throughout the world.”
Once her research concludes, Alison plans to bring her findings home to Duluth by leading professional development workshops for local educators. Her goal is to expand the use of citizen science in classrooms, ensuring more students have the opportunity to learn through outdoor experiences and real-world data collection.
We are proud to see Wolf Ridge alumni like Alison continuing to inspire students, lead in their communities, and foster meaningful connections with the natural world.
🌍✨ Congratulations, Alison! ✨🌍
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