Woodcock Nature Center’s Education Director Awarded “Environmental Educator of the Year”

The following is a press release from Woodcock Nature Center.

Woodcock Nature Center‘s Director of Education Sarah Breznen was awarded the Environmental Educator of the Year Award from the Connecticut Outdoor and Environmental Education Association (COEEA) for her advancement of environmental literacy in Fairfield county, particularly in underserved communities from Danbury and Norwalk.

This is the second noteworthy award for Breznen in less than a year; in June 2023, she was presented with the national Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award by the Garden Club of America for outstanding environmental education of children.

The COEEA award was announced in New Haven on Dec. 9, 2023, at a ceremony which is part of COEEA’s annual educator conference. COEEA is a non-profit organization that engages, supports, and strengthens a collaborative network of individuals and organizations that promotes outdoor education and advances environmental literacy for all residents of Connecticut.

Woodcock’s Early Childhood Manager and Animal Curator Jennifer Bradshaw received the same Educator of the Year award in 2019; Woodcock now boasts two COEEA Award-winning educators among its small team.

As Woodcock’s director of education since 2009, Breznen oversees all environmental programming at the nature center including preschool programs, after school programs, community outreach, and strategic partnerships. She directs two of Woodcock’s most robust programs: summer camp and, in particular, school field trips, which have brought Connecticut science standards-based programming to thousands of children, including many in underserved communities, inspiring an important generation of young nature lovers. Breznen also serves as a member of the board of the Norwalk River Watershed Association and regularly volunteers in the Norwalk community.

“Sarah has spent nearly 15 years at Woodcock Nature Center quietly yet profoundly impacting youth in Connecticut,” Woodcock Executive Director Lenore Herbst said. “The many recent accolades she has received are long overdue and certainly well deserved. We are very proud of her and are lucky to have Sarah at our nature center.”