“Janet is an eager, enthusiastic educator. Everything Janet taught us was important. She made learning real by touching the natural world, the Saskatchewan world!”
(Melanson Award citation, 1997)
Janet Galger (Melanson Award Winner, 1997)
Over a 30 teaching career, Janet taught in four elementary schools and influenced the lives of hundreds of students. She taught grades 3-6 from a guidance-literature-experiential approach and that facilitated her strong link to outdoor and environmental education. She always had high expectations and prepared her students well.
In the 1960’s, the Regina Board of Education (RBE) began offering outdoor education opportunities to teachers and making available a range of outdoor sites for use by teachers and students. Janet learned from and interacted with a succession of RBE consultants from Jack MacKenzie to Linda Dodd. Janet renewed and shared her expertise at countless local workshops. Her students had opportunities to use urban parks and museums, tour elevators, participate at Agribition, do schoolyard ecology studies, go on field trips and do natural history studies, experience amping trips, and take part in traveling classrooms to the Ft. Carlton-Batoche area.
Throughout her career, she took full advantage of professional develpmnet opportunities that were offered or that she created. These included: the RBE workshops; involvements with the Society Energy & Environment Development Studies (SEEDS) Program; field trips with the Regina and Saskatchewan Natural History Societies; becoming a Project WILD leader; attending the Blue Lake Centre in Alberta; and participating in countless conferences including NA AEE, SOEEA, COEO, and Nature Canada. Janet was constantly searching for new ideas and methods to engage her students and parents in experiences out-of-the-classroom!
Janet served on the SOEEA Board of Directors for many years involving much consultation, many trips, countless meetings and late nights. She served as Secretary for seven consecutive terms from 1985 to 1992. This meant dealing with four different Presidents and their styles of operating, while keeping accurate and concise records of regular and Annual Meetings. She did all of this with grace, style, cooperativeness, humility and her boundless enthusiasm. SOEEA was fortunate to have her volunteer services for such a long time.
Children and the environment have always been at the center of Janet’s life. She continues to do volunteer work associated with both of these. She has achieved much over her career in promoting and acknowledge those who have made outstanding and long serving contributions to outdoor and environmental education.
Source:
Janet Galger Melanson Award Citation, SOEEA, 1998