Hoover High teacher Ort named 2023 Conservation Educator of the Year in Alabama

by

Janet Ort, an environmental science teacher at Hoover High School, was named the 2023 Conservation Educator of the Year at the Alabama Wildlife Federation Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards banquet earlier this month.

The award is given each year to a teacher who has made great contributions to the conservation of Alabama’s wildlife and related natural resources.

Ort is the leader of Hoover High School’s outdoor classroom, which boasts butterfly and pollinator gardens, a log decomposition area, nature trail, sensory garden, weather station and many other elements.

Under her leadership, Hoover High’s 2022 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math team ranked among the top 10 teams nationally, and one of her students finished second in a national STEM showcase.

Hoover High School this past spring was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA program for exceptional achievement in educating for sustainability and improving the environmental footprint of the school grounds, facility and curriculum.

It is the third school honored in Alabama and the 180th school in the United States toreceive the Green Flag, the Eco-Schools program's highest honor.

Hoover High this past year had a dozen students inducted into the National STEM Honor Society, and the Hoover High BioBucs team has developed a sensory garden for special education classes, built a solar-powered charging station and conducted a school light audit.

The school in 2018 was recognized with a Best Environmental School Project award for its “Lights, Cameras, Wildlife and Gardens” project. Also, in 2021, Ort was recognized by the Alabama Science Teachers Association as Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year.

The Alabama Wildlife Federation’s annual banquet, co-sponsored by Alabama Power Co. and PowerSouth Energy, this year was held at The Marriott Legends at Capitol Hill in Prattville on Aug. 4.