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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

April 25, 2005

Nature's advocate

Environmental education is her priority

Just months ago, the city settled out of court with Bay Area-based Greenbelt Alliance, which sued over environmental issues with the Lagoon Valley plan.

As the city's first-ever environmental education specialist, that puts Morlock in an interesting spot: the lead environmental advocate in a city that hasn't befriended too many environmentalists.

"It's really a visionary move by the city to incorporate environmental education into their community services outreach," said Morlock, who's been on the job since January. "It's impressive - none of the other local cities have a position like this."

Falling under the umbrella of Vacaville's Community Services Department, Morlock's goals are to bring a better understanding to the city's children and adults alike.

"The education the kids get in school isn't coming home," Morlock said, adding that environmental science is a relatively new thing in the classroom, having only been included in state academic standards since 2003.

Morlock, a former medical researcher for the U.S. Army and Chicago's Northwestern University Medical School, said the Environmental Protection Agency did a study in 1999 showing that people with a greater knowledge of environmental matters are more likely to believe nature and growth can rightfully co-exist. But since many adults haven't had much background in environmental science a lot of people are clueless.

Morlock was a middle-school science teacher for nine years in New Mexico prior to getting the Vacaville gig. She said she knows firsthand how tough it is for educators to fit in everything they need to teach in the school day. And because environmental education is tough to really do inside the classroom, it tends to get squeezed.

So Morlock plans to go outside the classroom to help kids grasp nature this summer. She's organized three weeklong camps - one each for elementary, middle school and high school students - that will focus on aspects of environmental science.

Along with building a relationship with Vacaville educators to complement classroom teachings, Morlock has put together some outside classes, including one teaching young children about insects that's just wrapping up.

She said she's also planning nature hikes, tours revolving around the environmental history of Vacaville and even a "star party" in July, where amateur astronomers will join locals at Lagoon Valley Park with some high-powered telescopes to gaze into the skies while learning about comets, constellations and planets.

Morlock said the program should be self-sustaining soon, with grants and class fees paying for her salary and materials. She said it was a bold move for the city to create this position, and she intends to prove it was a worthwhile venture.

"If I can develop a program that help Vacaville understand the environmental, I've succeeded," she said.

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