Two exceptional U.S Fish and Wildlife Service environmental educators have received national recognition for their commitment to nurturing a curiosity for nature in America’s youth.
Named for a memorable quote by renowned naturalist and former Service employee Rachel Carson, the Sense of Wonder Awards honor employees who have shown creativity, dedication and visionary leadership in interpretation and environmental education.
This national distinction features two categories. The Impact Award is a career recognition for an employee with five or more years of service advancing interpretation and environmental education. The Spark Award recognizes an employee whose innovative program, project or partnership demonstrates excellence in interpretation and environmental education. The winners were formally recognized at the 2026 Visitor and Community Engagement Workshop at the National Conservation Training Center in August.
Get to know them and how their excellent work brought both awards to the Northeast region.
Impact Award winner: David Stoughton, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum
With more than 24 years in federal service, David Stoughton is no stranger to making an impact through environmental education.
After completing military service with the Navy and graduating from Michigan State University, Stoughton began his conservation career with the National Park Service at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In 2010, he relocated to New Orleans to work with New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. Two years later, he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the visitor services manager at Southeast Louisiana Refuge Complex. In 2017, Stoughton joined the team at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia where he currently serves as visitor services manager.
When speaking on what he considers his most impactful work at Heinz, Stoughton immediately points to Philly Nature Kids, a fourth-grade environmental education partnership with two schools in the city. Each month, refuge staff members visit the school to lead one lesson and conduct another at the refuge. Students study plants, animals, water, and habitats. The program is in its 12th year, nine under Stoughton’s leadership.
He has enjoyed seeing the students learn the importance of conservation and become stewards for public lands.
“The long-term goal is mentoring young people,” Stoughton says. “The fact that many youth crew members or Philly Nature Kids students are now college-aged adults that understand that public lands belong to them is so crucial to the long-term success of conservation.”
Spark Award winner: Erica Ryder, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
According to Erica Ryder, her award-winning work that has educated more than 2,100 Virginia students began through small conversations with partners about finding innovative ways to engage local students. In other words, it began with a spark.
One of these sparks came in the form of a conversation with Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge Society President Chris Freeman. Freeman is also coordinator of the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) at Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
It was through this collaboration that Ryder created the Back Bay Ambassadors, a program where high school students gain environmental education experience by designing and delivering lessons for local fourth graders. By the end of the fall semester, the students create three lesson plans —all tying in to Back Bay and its unique value in Virginia Beach.
After spending so much time with the Ambassadors as they complete their high school journeys, Ryder says the real-world experience they receive is very impactful.
She also enjoys seeing the connections made between the fourth-graders and seniors.
“It’s really cute to see how the younger students hang on to the seniors’ every word,” Ryder says. “The fourth-graders end up coming away with a much more fulfilling experience than a normal field trip.”
The Ambassadors program usually works with four to five different elementary schools throughout the year. The way each participating school is chosen is one of Ryder’s favorite things about coordinating this program: The district’s science coordinator identifies the schools where the program can make the biggest impact academically.
And it’s not just the Ambassadors program that has earned Ryder the Spark Award. Under her leadership, the refuge distributed more Every Kid Outdoors passes to fourth-graders than any other Service site in 2023. Her partnership with Virginia Beach City Public Schools helped the Friends group raise $180,000 for a community outdoor classroom which has served as the home base for field trips since its opening in March 2026.
Rachel Carson felt that for children to retain their innate sense of wonder, they needed guides to share in and nurture it. That impact is apparent through guides like Stoughton and Ryder, who have committed their careers to continually rediscovering "the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in" to help keep this spark alive in young people.
