Beth Henry-Vance works for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. She was here today to honor a special teacher who has made a lasting, positive impact on his students as well as the local community.
Lee Wright has made sure that his students have experienced a wide range of hands-on environmental education opportunities, such as composting food scraps from school and releasing thousands of quail into the wild.
Wright has been an agriculture education teacher at Tygarts Valley Middle/High School in Mill Creek since 2014. He has anywhere from 70 to 110 students per semester, and he strives to make a positive impact in their lives and the local environment. He teaches students in eighth through twelfth grades, and also serves as the school’s FFA advisor. Wright’s natural resource pathway classes include information about native species of plants and animals, fish and wildlife management, forest management, environmental stewardship, soil science, and more.
For the past three years, he has worked closely with a wildlife biologist from Kubrabow State Forest to have students release bobwhite quail into habitat at the Huttonsville State Farm Wildlife Management Area.
Through the project, Wright’s students have learned about the importance of food sources and quail-friendly habitat, such as grasses and underbrush, which allow the birds safe places to hide. He and his students have helped release 5,000 quail each fall.
Another hands-on experience for Wright’s students includes learning about the composting process and how to reduce food waste. For the past three years, students have been involved with turning food waste from the school’s salad bar into compost. The compost is then used in the school’s gardening efforts.
His work also includes leading FFA students in a variety of activities and competitions, and his teams have placed first in West Virginia and second in the nation in an FFA competition two times, in 2017 and 2024. Wright also volunteers with the Mountain Eagles 4-H Club.
Each year, three educators are selected as the West Virginia Environmental Teacher of the Year to represent the elementary, middle and high school levels.
The teachers are honored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for going above and beyond in promoting environmental awareness in their classrooms, schools and communities. Each teacher receives a $500 personal award and a $1,000 check to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education at their schools.
These amazing teachers play a pivotal role in helping young people understand the importance of environmental stewardship, which benefits all of West Virginia.
I am pleased to announce that Lee Wright is the winner of this year’s Environmental Teacher of the Year award for the high school level.
