Environmental Law Institute - National Wetlands Awards

Kathy Kramer has used her energy and enthusiasm to develop wetland and watershed education programs that have reached thousands of educators and members of the public and tens of thousands of students in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among her accomplishments are the innovative program for teachers “Kinds in Creeks” and “Kinds in Marshes,” which have inspired numerous school-based action projects. Through her Teacher Action Grants program, more than $50,000 has been distributed in small grants to help teachers develop wetland restoration and education projects. Each year, more than 200 teachers attend a conference Kathy organizes on teaching about creeks, wetlands, and watersheds that is now in its ninth year. In addition, she developed a computer program on the San Francisco Bay Estuary, which runs as a permanent exhibit in museums and visitor centers around the area and is used by hundreds of educators to teach wetland ecology.

In 1997, Kathy founded the Aquatic Outreach Institute, a nonprofit organization that seeks to inspire community involvement and action to protect the Bay Estuary and the watershed that surrounds it. Kathy is a major force behind aquatic conservation in the region, and her passion for environmental conservation has empowered people of all ages to view themselves as environmental stewards rather than indifferent bystanders.

— Rainer Hoenicke, Ph.D., San Francisco Estuary Institute