The Estuary Partnership is pleased to announce Corlee Frederick as our 2023 Steward of the Year.
Corlee Frederick
Educator
From the beginning, she recognized the importance of outdoor learning to ignite a spark in young students. As a first-year teacher, when it was too difficult to get her kindergarten students out to explore the tidepools, she brought the tidepools to them in the form of a tank of aquatic creatures her students could explore. After student teaching, she and her husband moved to Rainier, where Corlee taught until her retirement in 2022.
As an educator, Corlee is always looking for the way to turn on a light within each student, and she says that often the best place for that to happen is when they get outdoors.
Over her career, Corlee worked with students of all ages, and has always been a strong proponent of teaching environmental literacy and outdoor lessons. When a group of teachers wanted to use the creek running through the elementary playground as an outdoor classroom, Corlee wrote the curriculum for K-1st graders. She was an active participant in the local Educational Service District’s STEM group, inspiring them to focus on the learning opportunities nature around campus provides, including several ponds where students can take water samples, among other activities. She also spearheaded an effort to restore a walking path along Rainier's campus, with students of all grades participating hands-on in the process. Corlee also developed a virtual nature and history map of the campus, with support from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to include the area’s Tribal history.
Though she retired from teaching last year, she continues to stay involved as an outdoor education champion in Rainier, acting as a volunteer field trip chaperone and advocating for nature-based education.
Corlee holds an A.A. from Olympic Community College, a B.A. in Education from Central Washington University, a Master of Education from Seattle Pacific University, and has earned more than 75 additional credits beyond her master’s degree.