Published: April 25, 2007 09:32 am         

Kevin Dodge Honored

Garrett College professor helps ordinary people appreciate natural world

FROSTBURG - Garrett College Professor Kevin Dodge received this year's Richard A. Johnson Environmental Education Award from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory.

The award was presented by Appalachian Laboratory Director Robert Gardner at a ceremony there Thursday for Dodge's contributions to expanding the community's understanding and appreciation of the natural world. "Kevin's contributions to environmental education have allowed hundreds of Western Maryland residents to better understand and appreciate the natural world around them," said Gardner. "In addition to his work as a professor, Kevin's enthusiasm for raising environmental awareness throughout his community is inspirational to everyone in the environmental education field."

Dodge's work over the past two decades has expanded his classroom to the outside world, with a renewed emphasis on experiences built upon field trips to parts of the mid-Atlantic/Central Appalachian region. While his past research focused on habitat use by wood warblers on Isle Royale National Park and the impact of gypsy moth-induced habitat change on forest birds in eastern West Virginia, Dodge and his students have studied the breeding biology, habitat use and fall migration of northern saw-whet owls since 1991.

In the community, Dodge is actively involved in natural resources issues in Garrett County and the surrounding area. He is a member of the Savage River State Forest Citizens Advisory Board, the Youghiogheny River Watershed Association and the Allegheny Highlands Conservancy. He is a frequent local consultant to The Nature Conservancy and regularly leads hikes and conducts campfire programs for state parks and forests.

The award provides the recipient with $2,000 to support further environmental education activities. An endowed fund to support the Johnson Award has been established at the University System of Maryland Foundation and is administered by the Appalachian Laboratory. Contributors to the fund include Allegheny Power, NewPage Corp., Mettiki Coal Co. and numerous private citizens and other organizations.

The environmental award was created in 1991 in memory of Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon who supported environmental education.