JUNCTION CITY – Milford Nature Center Director Pat Silovsky was recently presented with the prestigious John K. Strickler Award by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE). Silovsky was recognized for the nearly 30 years she’s spent teaching nature center visitors about appreciating nature and wildlife conservation.

Named after one of KACEE’s founders and first executive director, John K. Strickler, this award honors the lifetime achievements, contributions, and leadership of individuals in the Kansas conservation and environmental education field.

Silovsky has spent most of her career running the nature center, which was built in 1988. She has been its only director and has developed the facility, displays and visitor experience. Today it is a full-service nature-learning site with dioramas and interactive learning displays that are the result of Silovsky’s imagination, creativity and dedication. Silovsky and her staff annually conduct more than 500 programs, impacting nearly 15,000 people. More than 21,000 visitors attend programs or tour the facility each year.

Silovsky has also played key roles in establishing and hosting annual events such as Eagle Days, kids’ fishing clinics, a Halloween Monster Myth program and the Kansas ECO-Meet. It’s appropriate for Silovsky to be chosen for this award because she has spent so much of her life promoting conservation and environmental education. However, she’s not through. She’s still the nature center’s director and is gearing up for a busy spring and summer.

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