The Jane Goodall Environmental Magnet School at Waldo

Here at home, the Snow Leopard Conservancy is engaged in a unique partnership with Waldo Middle School science teacher Mike Weddle, recipient of a $25,000 Milken Award given annually to educators throughout the United States for creativity and innovation in the classroom. With the money, Weddle and his wife Karen founded the H.J. Weddle Environmental Education Foundation, to help other schools develop environmental projects.

Weddle, who visited Africa in the summer of 1997, was one of the original supporters of Dr. Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots program, based on the philosophy that every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, and every individual can make a difference. Weddle’s Roots and Shoots club evolved into creation of the Environmental Magnet School at Waldo, which he named for Dr. Goodall.

“This isn’t just for the Talented and Gifted Students,” explains Weddle. “This isn’t just for at-risk kids. It’s for all of them.” The school offers an integrated buffet of classes such as math, science and social studies, all viewed through the lens of environmental research.

Weddle took a sabbatical in 1999 and visited Ladakh during one of our field sessions. There he learned first hand about the people-wildlife conflicts in Hemis National Park. The “snow leopard kids” in his Endangered Species Project focus their studies on the Snow Leopard Conservancy’s village-based livestock corral improvement and snow leopard conservation activities. They write a conservation plan, fundraise for it, and correspond with the local school kids.

“The research our students are doing helps field researchers and scientists,” says Weddle. “When the students understand that it makes it all more exciting.” Eighth-grader Heather Davidson adds, “I joined Jane Goodall Environmental Magnet School because it would get me even closer to the environment, and let me learn about nature. It’s been great.”

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