Susan Milan, a kindergarten/first grade teacher at South Whidbey Elementary School, was selected as an honorable mention recipient for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Milan worked with students and colleagues at the school to reduce waste weight. In addition to increased recycling efforts, the school has sorted its food waste after lunch to feed local horses and chickens.

Jennifer Bowman, the coordinator for the council at the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s office of Environmental Education, encouraged Milan to apply for the next award in the fall of 2012.

“Thank you for your dedication to education and protecting the environment,” Bowman told Milan in a recent letter.

“Your continued efforts to use the environment as a context for exploratory and integrated learning will help strengthen the education experiences of your students for years to come. We are fortunate to have educators like you in our schools today. Congratulations!”