PITTSBURG, Kan. — Two people who have quietly gone about the business of helping others understand the environment, their role in it and their impact on it are getting some well-deserved recognition this spring.
Ironically, they nominated each other.
Cindy Ford, a professor of biology at Pittsburg State University, has since 1985 contributed to the knowledge of countless Southeast Kansans when it comes to all things outdoors — plants, animals, interactions and conservation.
Her specialty is instilling an awareness in people that didn’t exist before, whether it’s helping someone identify a creature living in the backyard by the sound it makes — a spring peeper, a chorus frog a red-winged blackbird — helping a child feel more comfortable around reptiles and amphibians, or helping decision-makers understand the connection of all living things.
In addition to teaching, she also has played a key role at the Science Education Center at Greenbush, where non-formal learning takes place. Ford also was instrumental in the formation of the Sperry-Galligar Audubon Society and has helped train scores of teachers.
Ford also formalized the Nature Reach program at PSU, which in the past two decades has provided thousands of youngsters and adults an opportunity to see native Kansas species up close.
Delia Lister, the current director of Nature Reach, is following in Ford’s footsteps. She nominated her mentor for the Distinguished Professional Interpreter Award from the National Association for Interpretation.
To understand what that means, one must understand interpretation: It is the process of taking a technical language and translating it for people in order to evoke an emotional and intellectual connection. In the case of both Ford and Lister, that’s a connection to nature.
In turn, Ford nominated Lister for the Rising Star Award given by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education — an award given to someone who has been in the profession for fewer than five years and whose duties include front-line interpretation.
Lister began working with Nature Reach as an undergraduate at PSU, then as a graduate student. She then took over a few years ago and immediately began to get the program on solid financial footing by establishing a foundation and pursuing grants.
In the past few years, she has become well known at schools in Southeast Kansas as “the animal lady” through outreach programs. Full of ideas for the program, she also began a small summer camp last summer in an effort to get area children hooked on nature.
Lister lives at the university’s Natural History Reserve and also is caretaker of the raptors undergoing rehabilitation in the program. In addition, she teaches environmental life science classes at PSU and serves as president of the Sperry-Galligar Audubon Society.
Lister will receive her award Friday in Topeka; Ford traveled to St. Louis in February to receive hers.
Both were honored to have been selected as recipients, but for Lister, knowing her mentor has been so proud of her work is an accomplishment in itself.
“It’s great to be honored next to someone I think so highly of,” she said.
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