Submitted Photo Angela Bartholomay, center, instructs students in dissecting owl pellets.

BOTTINEAU – Angela Bartholomay, an associate professor of Science at Dakota College at Bottineau, is the recipient of the 2025 Project Learning Tree (PLT) Leadership in Education award. Bartholomay has been honored for her work promoting environmental stewardship through education for more than 30 years, according to a DCB news release.

PLT, an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), is an award-winning education program that advances environmental awareness, forest literacy and green career pathways, using trees and forests as windows on the world. The Leadership in Education award recognizes educators who make significant contributions in their state to PLT and youth environmental education.

“Angie is a pillar in the North Dakota PLT program. As a facilitator and educator, she has worked with Project Learning Tree and state partners to promote environmental stewardship through education. She is integral in nurturing the next generation of environmentally literate educators and students across the state,” said Beth Hill, the North Dakota PLT state coordinator at the North Dakota Forest Service, in the release. “Angie is always intentional in providing environmental education opportunities to diverse audiences, such as Indigenous and rural K-12 schools.”

More than 30 years ago, Bartholomay began teaching PLT in her rural classroom. In her current position, she hosts many workshops for teachers, nonformal educators and preservice education students. In recent years, she has spearheaded a series of four summer workshops called the “Natural Resource Institutes.” In these workshops, she collaborates with local natural resource professionals to enrich educator learning, covering topics such as soil health, drone technology, forest inventories and conservation tree production.

She additionally organizes direct education events for students that highlight green career pathways in her region, including career fairs and the DCB Water Festival, STEM Day, Science Olympiad, and more.

“Angie’s passion for improving access to environmental education is one of the things that truly makes her stand out. Oftentimes, students in rural areas don’t have access to events or resources, so Angie hosts education days in the heart of the communities, where she helps connect students from rural and tribal schools to nature. She wants to ensure everyone can learn about and enjoy the environment,” said Josh Brankman, vice president of Education at SFI/PLT, in the release. “We are pleased to honor Angie for her leadership and dedication in environmental education in North Dakota, and we know her passion for the environment and youth education will be felt for years to come.”

Since 1976, PLT has reached 145 million students and trained 765,000 educators to help students learn how to think, not what to think, about complex environmental issues. PLT helps develop students’ awareness, knowledge and appreciation of the environment, builds their skills and ability to make informed decisions and encourages them to take personal responsibility for sustaining the environment and quality of life that depends on it.

Bartholomay, along with Butch Bailey, a forester and instructor for Mississippi State University Extension Service, and Susan Cox, Conservation Education coordinator for the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region, will be honored at the 2025 PLT Annual Conference in Clemson, South Carolina, from March 10-14.