Education is a powerful tool in shaping generations of children about the world they live in. In the Missoula valley, Kathleen Kennedy has wielded that tool with passion, pragmatism for over twenty years now. Her career as a science teacher and trained facilitator is one that demonstrates the indomitable spirit needed to advocate for the natural world in a classroom setting.

Kathleen grew up watching tide pools along the coast in Oakland, California. Her love for the natural world and her knack for working with people led her into the education field. She’s worked primarily at Big Sky High School in Missoula for two decades, but her influence spans beyond just one classroom. In 2000, she was part of the Montana Teachers Investigate Ecology Project run by the University of Montana, where local high school teachers have the opportunity to engage with research scientists and learn valuable research skills to incorporate into their classrooms. She worked with Marilyn Marler on plant ecology and native plant restoration, studying whether weed control strategies were effective and resulted in an increase in native plant species.

She was also a Fulbright Japan-US Teacher in the Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development in 2011 and was an adult participant in the American Youth Leadership Program’s Trip to Thailand in 2015.

Kathleen’s tenacity revealed itself when, in 2009, she showed her class “The Story of Stuff,” a film exposing the environmental costs of consumerism. Complaints from a local parent that such material was irrelevant to her wildlife biology curriculum led to the school board admonishing her for this choice, but she stood firm in her belief that the film’s importance in linking consumerism with environmental impact. This act of resistance earned her the EcoDaredevil award, along with the Missoula Conservation Roundtable’s Burk-Brandborg Award, offered only on special occasions. Ten years later, during the international student walkout as a call of action towards climate change, Kathleen smartly took a “personal day” to show her support without violating school board policy that political actions were forbidden.

She is also involved with the Center for Ecological Teaching and Learning, a Maine-based nonprofit dedicated to stewarding the northeast state’s coastline, as president of its Board of Directors.

Hundreds of students have directly or indirectly benefitted from Kathleen’s teaching ability, and her role in raising the next generations of conservationists and climate change advocates will forever be a highlight in Missoula’s conservation history.

By Kalle Fox