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Tim Whitley
whitley@4j.lane.edu
Helen Haberman
haberman@4j.lane.edu
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I was born in Colorado and
developed a strong interest in the outdoors and the
natural environment as a child. Growing up in the
foothills of the Rocky Mountains, I spent many
weekends observing and enjoying my surroundings
while hiking and mountain climbing. I was an active
member of the Alpine Rescue Team throughout my high
school years. Because of my volunteer work with the
rescue team I was able to learn new outdoor skills,
spend lots more time outside in challenging
situations, and perform a valuable community
service all at once.
I continue to enjoy many outdoor
activities including backcountry skiing, climbing,
and whitewater kayaking. I have successfully
climbed all of Oregon's major Cascade peaks and
several in Washington, including Mt. Rainier. I
recently fulfilled a lifelong dream to climb Mt.
Hood by moonlight, spend the night on the summit
and enjoy the sunrise from this unobstructed
viewpoint. Also managed to reach a long time goal
of skiing around Creter Lake. I continue as well to
give to the community, serving on the board of
directors of WREN (a local nonprofit educational
group) working to build an Environmental education
Center in West Eugene.
After spending most of the last
20 years in Eugene, I was pleased to be offered a
part in developing and teaching in the Rachel
Carson Center for Natural Resources. Having been a
truck driver, professional tree climber, ski patrol
member, and college graduate with a Bachelor's
Degree in Geology and a Masters in Teaching, I
never really imagined how fulfilling and
challenging the life of a teacher could be. Now,
after 6 years of middle school science teaching, 1
year of teaching english in China, and 3 years as a
high school biology teacher, I have found the
ultimate job. This exciting program offers students
the opportunity to take on real world problems and
create and implement real solutions. My efforts are
concentrated on helping students explore and
understand concepts and issues related to our
natural environment. I am a big fan of helping
students learn by direct experience and strongly
advocate 'out of school' activities as a valuable
way of increasing awareness and retention of
relevant knowledge. I look forward to the first
years of a truly innovative program and hope we can
adequately reflect the teachings of our namesake,
Rachel Carson.
In addition to the challenges of
developing a new educational program, I am happy to
spend most of my time outside of school with my
wife Pam and two great kids, Haley and Skyler. Pam
works as an English tutor at the University of
Oregon and is a fine musician, playing marimba in
Kudana, a popular local band. Pam and I share many
outdoor activities in common, although her
upbringing in Hawaii hardly prepared her for winter
mountaineering. Haley recently graduated from
Seattle University with degrees in psychology and
Spanish. Skyler goes to South Eugene High School
and has a passion for basketball and
computers.
I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and in addition to an
unnatural love for Cornhusker football, my parents
instilled in me a strong curiosity in and
appreciation for the outdoors. By the time I
was in high school, I had driven through most of
the states in the U.S. and camped in and explored
many of our most beautiful forests, mountains,
lakes and rivers. When I was a junior in high
school, I landed the perfect job working at a lodge
in the Colorado Rockies where I spent the next four
summers hiking, backpacking and solidifying my love
of the natural world.
After driving through Oregon on
a road trip and immediately feeling drawn to its
beauty, I moved to Eugene in 1985 to attend the
University of Oregon. Following a summer in
Alaska on a fishing boat and several years of
managing a local business, I returned to school to
become a teacher in 1995. When I began a job
at Northwest Youth Corps leading high school
students in trail building and stream restoration
projects in the wilderness areas of Oregon and
Washington, I began to realize how fulfilling a
teaching job that combined hands-on field work with
environmental science classes could be. Who
knew I would be fortunate enough to find my ideal
teaching job in Churchill's Rachel Carson
program?
I often wow my friends with
stories of what a day as a Rachel Carson teacher is
like. "You mean you get paid to go watch
salmon spawn and to wade in rivers collecting water
and bug samples with students,?" they marvel.
I have to admit it astounds me too sometimes.
But it's not always glamorous; necessary wetlands
restoration work can often be tedious, and it does
rain quite a bit in Oregon in the winter. It
is, however, extremely rewarding to see students
apply what they learn in the classroom to the
outside field work they complete. Sharing in
students' excitement at seeing their first coyote
during a wildlife trekking fieldtrip or at
exploring their first cave or identifying their
first native Oregon conifer during an experiential
test isn't bad either.
Rachel Carson students are a
concerned, curious, enthusiastic group of young
people who are willing to take risks by learning
through experiencing the natural world. I
look forward to more great experiences with them in
the coming years. Feel free to stop by
anytime if you're curious about our program and
students.
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