Prairie Springs Excellence Award
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Prairie Springs Instructor and Student Excellence Awards
Applications for the second annual Prairie Springs Instructor and Student Excellence Awards are now being accepted. Each of these $1,000 awards is funded by Prairie Springs: The Paul Fleckenstein Trust.
These awards are intended to encourage UWL instructors, undergraduate students and graduate students to continue the environmental education and conservation work that were the passion of the trustee, the late Paul Fleckenstein, and to inspire others to do the same. Students who graduated in December of the academic year in which the award is granted may apply.
Those who have applied in the past may apply for the award again using the same project. Past Prairie Springs Excellence Award winners can apply for the award every five years.
Please contact Andrew Ericson at aericson@uwlax.edu with any questions.
Important Information
These dates are for the 2025 awards.
- Nominations are due January 17, 2025.
- Applications are due January 29th, 2025
One does not need to be nominated to apply for the award. The nomination process simply acts as a way to encourage students or instructors to apply.
Application Criteria
There are two $1,000 Prairie Springs Excellence Awards. One $1,000 award is to be granted to a UWL undergraduate or graduate student and a second $1,000 award to a UWL instructor, including tenure-track faculty and instructional academic staff. The awardees will have made substantial and sustainable contributions to one or more of the following areas:
- Environmental Studies
- Environmental Research
- Environmental Education
- Environmental Outreach
The criteria for both the student and instructor awards includes the following:
Impact of the individual’s environmental accomplishment(s)
- Original and inventive campus/community project(s), research, or other leadership that results in tangible and practical contributions to environmental education, conservation, and restoration or progress on sustainability.
Scope of environmental accomplishment(s)
- The degree of engagement and impact of the applicants original and inventive campus/community project(s), research, or other leadership on UWL, the broader Seven Rivers Region, and beyond.
Sustainability of accomplishment(s)
- The degree to which accomplishments have an enduring and substantive impact, on a particular field, issue, community, etc.
The criteria for the instructor award includes the previous three listings plus the following:
Fostering and promoting student environmental leadership
- Pursuits that motivate, mentor, and inspire students to become influential environmental leaders.
Read About Past Winners
Application
Application Questions Lists
Nominate a colleague or student
Past Recipients
2024
Student - Blythe Pollard
Instructor - Niti Mishra
2023
Student - Veronica Sannes
Instructor - Tisha King-Heiden
2022
Student - Bella Anderson
Instructor - Ross Vander Vorste
2021
Student - Jade Wahlgren
Instructor - Kelly Sultzbach
Prairie Springs and Paul Fleckenstein
Paul Fleckenstein
Paul Fleckenstein was a steadfast supporter of environmental education and conservation programs. As the executive director of the R.A. Stevens Foundation and through personal contributions, Fleckenstein supported organizations such as the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, The Nature Conservancy, and the Denis Sullivan Schooner. Fleckenstein graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a major in urban education. The Prairie Springs name is the one that Fleckenstein gave his cherished home in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin and reflects the passion that he had for land and water conservation.
Community Judges
Dairyland Power Cooperative
Organic Valley
J.F. Brennan Company, Inc.
Campus Judges
Student Research and Experiential Learning Coordinator
Department of Environmental Studies
Department of Biology
Our community sponsors
Dairyland Power Cooperative logo
Organic Valley logo
Brennan Logo