Harlan Kredit
Encyclopedia
Harlan Kredit is a multiple award-winning Dutch-American high school teacher from Lynden, Washington
. He was the first Washingtonian teacher ever to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame
. He has spent the majority of his career at Lynden Christian High School
. Kredit is also a ranger at Yellowstone Park in Wyoming
during the summer and a prolific photographer for the National Park Service
.
Kredit has gained renown for his "investigative" approach to teaching secondary
biology and emphasis on leadership, and for his efforts in fish and wildlife conservation
, particularly along Whatcom County's Fishtrap Creek (which eventually dispenses into Puget Sound
). His students know him for his familiar exclamation of "It's a great day to be alive!"
Kredit graduated from Calvin College
in 1961 and taught high school science education in Hudsonville, Michigan
from 1962 to 1972. In 1967 he gained a master's degree in Science Teaching from the College of William and Mary
.
In the summer of 1972 he began working as a ranger
naturalist
and wildfire fighter
for Yellowstone National Park
(a job which he still holds today), and in 1973 he moved back to Whatcom County and began teaching at Lynden Christian High School
.
Upon his return to Whatcom County, he discovered that Fishtrap Creek had "hardly any fish left." He began a salmon restoration project in 1976 which continues to this day, hatching over 2 million salmon since its foundation.
In 1980 he earned a degree as an Emergency Medical Technician
from Calvin. In 1986, he also began teaching environmental education to teachers at the American Wilderness Leadership School in Jackson, Wyoming
. He has continued his education at Western Washington University
, Michigan State University
, Idaho State University
, and the University of Wyoming
.
Projects worked on in Kredit's classes include raising 50,000 Coho salmon
at the Lynden Christian Fish Hatchery every year, treeplanting
(over 18,000 as of 2007), restoration
, and litter disposal
around Whatcom County, raising awareness of contaminating river drainage
, channeling Fishtrap Creek for the safety of salmon, and mapping
Whatcom's drainage basin
.
In addition, Kredit served as Lynden Christian's athletic director and sat as a WIAA Executive Board Representative of the Northwest Interscholastic Activities Association. Kredit's hobbies include beekeeping
, mountaineering
, and repairing Ford Model T
's and player piano
s.
Kredit is a member of the National Science Teachers Association
, the Washington State Science Teachers Association, and the Nature Conservancy.
Kredit has also twice been awarded the Department of the Interior's Special Achievement Award for his work as a ranger at Yellowstone Park. All in all, Kredit has won at least 25 awards and honors for his work in conservation ecology
and secondary education
.
Lynden, Washington
Lynden is the second largest city in Whatcom County. Named and established in 1874 on the site of the Nooksack Indian village Squahalish , the town of Lynden began as a pioneer settlement headed by Holden and Phoebe Judson and is today home to one of the largest Dutch American communities in the...
. He was the first Washingtonian teacher ever to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame
National Teachers Hall of Fame
The National Teachers Hall of Fame is an American non-profit organization honoring exceptional school teachers. It was founded in 1989 by Emporia State University, the ESU Alumni Association, the City of Emporia, USD 253, and the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce...
. He has spent the majority of his career at Lynden Christian High School
Lynden Christian Schools
Lynden Christian Schools , often referred to as Lynden Christian , is a non-denominational private Christian school. The school educates 1200 students on two campuses in Whatcom County, Washington, USA....
. Kredit is also a ranger at Yellowstone Park in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
during the summer and a prolific photographer for the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.
Kredit has gained renown for his "investigative" approach to teaching secondary
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
biology and emphasis on leadership, and for his efforts in fish and wildlife conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
, particularly along Whatcom County's Fishtrap Creek (which eventually dispenses into Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
). His students know him for his familiar exclamation of "It's a great day to be alive!"
History and work
Harlan Kredit was born and raised in Lynden, Washington, alongside Fishtrap Creek, which contained "huge numbers of salmon each fall."Kredit graduated from Calvin College
Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
in 1961 and taught high school science education in Hudsonville, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
from 1962 to 1972. In 1967 he gained a master's degree in Science Teaching from the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
.
In the summer of 1972 he began working as a ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and wildfire fighter
Wildland fire suppression
Wildfire suppression refers to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wildland areas requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas...
for Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
(a job which he still holds today), and in 1973 he moved back to Whatcom County and began teaching at Lynden Christian High School
Lynden Christian Schools
Lynden Christian Schools , often referred to as Lynden Christian , is a non-denominational private Christian school. The school educates 1200 students on two campuses in Whatcom County, Washington, USA....
.
Upon his return to Whatcom County, he discovered that Fishtrap Creek had "hardly any fish left." He began a salmon restoration project in 1976 which continues to this day, hatching over 2 million salmon since its foundation.
In 1980 he earned a degree as an Emergency Medical Technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
from Calvin. In 1986, he also began teaching environmental education to teachers at the American Wilderness Leadership School in Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
. He has continued his education at Western Washington University
Western Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...
, Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, Idaho State University
Idaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
, and the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
.
Projects worked on in Kredit's classes include raising 50,000 Coho salmon
Coho salmon
The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...
at the Lynden Christian Fish Hatchery every year, treeplanting
Treeplanting
Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture, and from the lower cost but slower and less reliable distribution of tree seeds.In silviculture the...
(over 18,000 as of 2007), restoration
Restoration ecology
-Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
, and litter disposal
Adopt a Highway
The Adopt-a-Highway program, also known as Sponsor-a-Highway , is a promotional campaign undertaken by U.S. states, Provinces and Territories of Canada, and national governments outside North America to encourage volunteers to keep a section of a highway free from litter...
around Whatcom County, raising awareness of contaminating river drainage
Drainage system (Geomorphology)
In geomorphology, a drainage system is the pattern formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of the land, whether a particular region is dominated by hard or soft rocks, and the gradient of the land. Geomorphologists and...
, channeling Fishtrap Creek for the safety of salmon, and mapping
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
Whatcom's drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.
In addition, Kredit served as Lynden Christian's athletic director and sat as a WIAA Executive Board Representative of the Northwest Interscholastic Activities Association. Kredit's hobbies include beekeeping
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
, mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, and repairing Ford Model T
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
's and player piano
Player piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
s.
Kredit is a member of the National Science Teachers Association
National Science Teachers Association
The National Science Teachers Association , founded in 1944 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is an association of science teachers in the United States and is the largest organization of science teachers worldwide...
, the Washington State Science Teachers Association, and the Nature Conservancy.
Honors and awards
- Field & StreamField & StreamField & Stream is a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. Together with Sports Afield and Outdoor Life, it is considered one of the Big Three of American outdoor publishing....
Hero of Conservation (2007) - Lifetime Achievement Dribblie (2007)
- Washington's 2006 PDKPhi Delta KappaPhi Delta Kappa is an US professional organization for educators. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. It was founded on 24 January 1906. Phi Delta Kappa also had a youth organization, called Xinos, girls, and Kudos, guys.-Membership:Currently, membership consists of students,...
/Wal-MartWal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
Teacher of the Year (2006) - SeaWorldSeaWorldSeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
/Busch GardensBusch GardensBusch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of Blackstone Group. One of the parks is in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the other is in Tampa, Florida...
Educator of the Year (2006) - The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
Teacher Award (2005) - Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (2004)
- National Conservation Teacher of the Year (2004)
- Washington State Conservation Teacher of the Year (2004)
- Washington State Science Teacher of the Year (2004)
- WFISWashington Federation of Independent SchoolsThe Washington Federation of Independent Schools is an umbrella organization of private and independent schools in the U.S. state of Washington, informally representing Washington in the Office of Private Education.-Purpose:...
2004 Best of Washington Teacher's Award (2004) - Washington State Secondary Science Teacher of the Year (2003)
- Conservation FundLand and Water Conservation FundThe United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund is a Federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1964 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and easements on land and water, for the benefit of all...
National Environmental Education Award (2002) - Washington State Department of EcologyWashington Department of EcologyThe Washington Department of Ecology, or simply, Ecology, is an environmental regulatory agency for the State of Washington. The department administers laws and regulations pertaining to the areas of water quality, water rights and water resources, shoreline management, toxics clean-up, nuclear...
Environmental Excellence Award (2002) - International PaperInternational PaperInternational Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 59,500 employees, and it is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.-History:...
Environmental Education Award (2002) - Adopt-a-Stream: Streamkeeper of the Year (2000)
- Calvin CollegeCalvin CollegeCalvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
Distinguished Alumni Award (1997) - National Conservation Teacher of the Year (1995)
- Safari Club InternationalSafari Club InternationalSafari Club International is an international organization composed of hunters. SCI has more than 50,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI's website displays the bannertext "Safari Club International is the Leader in Protecting the Freedom to Hunt and Promoting Wildlife Conservation...
National Educator of the Year (1995) - Washington State Environmental Educator of the Year (1995)
- National Secondary Conservation Teacher of the Year (1994)
- Northwest State Regional Conservation Teacher of the Year (1994)
- Washington State Conservation Teacher of the Year (1994)
- Washington State Department of Fisheries Governors Award (1987)
Kredit has also twice been awarded the Department of the Interior's Special Achievement Award for his work as a ranger at Yellowstone Park. All in all, Kredit has won at least 25 awards and honors for his work in conservation ecology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
and secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
.