Legendary Environmentalist Visits Washington School
Famed Long Island environmentalist John Turner visited with Washington Primary School third graders, reading from his book about the water cycle and captivating the youngsters for a full hour on a recent morning.
As an 18 year old, Mr. Turner co-founded the Long Island Pine Barrens Society and served as its first president. Today he is the Town of Brookhaven’s director of environmental protection. He graduated from Smithtown High School and studied at SUNY Stony Brook before earning a degree at Empire State College.
Washington’s special guest wrote the non-fiction book, Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island as well as Waylon’s Wandering Water Drop, which helps children understand the water cycle. Mr. Turner’s sister, Susan is a longtime teacher at Washington Primary School and she organized his visit. “The kids loved it,” she said about her brother’s presentation.
Mr. Turner’s bona fides in the world of environmentalism are well established. He has served in a number of positions, including as conservation chair of the Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society, director of conservation programs for the Long Island chapter of The Nature Conservancy and for 26 years on the board of the LI Pine Barrens Society.
Washington students, teachers and aides crowded into the school library to listen to Mr. Turner read from his book, explain in layman’s terms complicated information about the environment and engage in a lively discussion about an assortment of science related topics.
“It’s hard to keep third graders interested in the same topic for an hour, but he did it,” Ms. Turner said. “They asked him questions and he gave them answers they could readily understand.”
Mr. Turner, who lives with his wife and child in Massapequa Park, has also worked for Defenders of Wildlife and as an adjunct professor in the Natural Sciences department of SUNY Stony Brook at Southampton, teaching ornithology courses.
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