As GEEKS begins to grow and receive more recognition, we must recognize the "Mother GEEK"...Renee Morrison. Not just because she is one of the coolest mom's that we know...not only does she hike, bike, swim, ride, climb, skate, boulder, and glide...she also tells the most deliciously terrifying ghost stories...can bark like a hound dog (she says she WAS a hound dog for a few years back in the day)...makes the best chocolate chip cookies ever....oil paints, dances and writes books...and gives 110% of herself to teaching children about nature. Her passion is working with inner city children and giving them quality experiences outdoors. She says, "Seeing a child who has never been in the forest experience nature for the first time is worth more than silver and gold. One young man looked around at the trees, the lake and the sky and said, I've seen this (nature) on television but  I didn't realize it was REAL! After participating in our KIN (Kids into Nature) Camp for three years, he plans to enter college next year majoring in biology. That is what makes my world spin." Renee has received national recognition for her work as an environmental educator over the past 20 years. She has coordinated programs for Jacksonville State Univerisity for the past three years. Before that, Renee was the Director of Education for the Anniston Museum of Natural History for ten years. Prior to the museum, she studied endangered species in El Yunque tropical rainforest in Puerto Rico. She also has a strong interest and background in cultural anthropology. She is very active in Civil Rights education and leads heritage tours. She says her significant mentors/influences include Georgia Calhoun (President of Choccolocco Heritage Society), Jenny Walker Whitman (Poet and Naturalist), Dr. Bill Summerour (Ornithologist and Artist), Pete Conroy (Director of EPIC and JSU Field Schools), Maggie Johnston (Camp McDowell Environmental Center Director), Joanne Bland (Director of National Voting Rights Museum), Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Katheryn Tucker Windham, John Denver, Margaret Meade, Soujourner Truth, Maya Angelou,  and too many others to list!!! Renee is currently writing two books...one about strong southern women titled "Brass Daisies" and another about the ghosts of Northeast Alabama titled "Ghosts on the Mountain and Spooks in the Valley."  Visit JSU Field Schools website at http://fieldschool.jsu.edu for more information on Renee's organization and the programs they present.

May Spotlight: Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿, Miyazaki Hayao) (Born January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan) is a director of animated films and a co-founder of the animation studio and production company Studio Ghibli.

Miyazaki is the creator of many popular animated feature films, as well as manga. Although largely unknown in the West outside of animation communities until Miramax released his film Princess Mononoke in 1999, his films have enjoyed both commercial and critical success in Japan and East Asia. Miyazaki's Spirited Away is the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan; Princess Mononoke held the same title for a short period until the release of Titanic later in the same year.

Miyazaki's films are distinguished by recurring themes such as humanity's relationship to nature and technology, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic. The protagonists of his films are often strong, independent girls or young women; the villains, when present, are often morally ambiguous characters and have redeeming qualities.

Miyazaki's films have generally been financially successful, and this success has invited comparisons with American animatorWalt Disney, However, Miyazaki does not see himself as a person building an animation empire, but as an animator fortunate enough to have been able to make films with complete creative control. In 2006, Time magazine voted Miyazaki as one of the most influential Asians in the past 60 years.

August recognition goes to Maggie Johnston:

Maggie Wade Johnston is an inspiration to hundreds of kids and adults through her passionate lifestyle which, if observed, is the epitome of the true naturalist. She is the Director of McDowell Environmental Center (MEC). She has worked for MEC for over 3 years. She grew up in Winona, Mississippi and attended the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Montevallo for graduate work. She taught science and environmental education at Alabama School for the Deaf for 21 years, volunteers at the Chair of the Alabama Sierra Club, and is active in several other outdoor organizations. She is married to Mark Johnston and has one daughter, Alison, three sons, Noah, Ethan and Adam and a grandson Carter. They have 2 four-legged family members, Buddy and Chinnabee. Maggie enjoys canoeing, hiking, fishing, gardening, bird-watching, traveling, reading and living in the country.

For More Information about Environmental Education in Alabama
Contact Maggie Wade Johnston at Camp McDowell Environmental Center
at (205)387-1806 or email Maggie@campmcdowell.com

W. Peter Conroy Director, Environmental Policy & Information Center Pete Conroy is the Director of Jacksonville State University's Environmental Policy and Information Center (EPIC). Trained as a biologist, Mr. Conroy moved to Alabama in 1985 to work as the curator of the Anniston Museum of Natural History. Since then, he has received appointments from Alabama Governors Don Siegelman (D), Fob James (R), Jim Folsom (D) and Guy Hunt (R). In 2002 he was selected by Governor Siegelman to Chair the Alabama Commission on Environmental Initiatives and later the Alabama Geographic Information Council. Retained by President George Bush, Pete received White House appointments by President Bill Clinton in early 1999 to serve as Alternate U.S. Federal Commissioner of the Tri-State (ACT/ACF) Water Compacts. He was also selected by the Office of the Secretary of the Army to serve on an Operational Assessment Team to review safety measures relating to the destruction of chemical warfare materials in Alabama.

Additionally and through his appointments, Pete leads a number of projects related to conservation and economic development. Examples include the establishment and operation of the Little River Canyon Field School, the reuse of the former Fort McClellan, the Chief Ladiga Rail-Trail, and several Alabama-based initiatives promoting smart growth, environmental education, the arts, conservation, ecotourism and water policy.

Born in Pennsylvania, Pete moved to Asheville, North Carolina with his family in 1970. He later received his Bachelor's degree in biology from Furman University in South Carolina and his Master's degree in zoology from the University of Georgia.

With his wife Roxana and daughter Haley, Pete lives in Jacksonville, Alabama. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. David J. Conroy of Asheville, NC.