WOODSTOCK – Jim Chandler of Bryant Pond has been named the “Outstanding Educator of the Year” by the American Forest Federation.

The award recognizes exceptional teachers who are committed to environmental education. Chandler has been involved in environmental education for more than 30 years, starting when he was the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District manager.

Chandler helped third-graders plant Christmas trees, caring for them and pruning them until their senior year when they cut and sold them. He also wrote a manual to help others start Kids For Trees programs. The program was duplicated in other schools in the state.

Chandler started the Agriculture Education Day at the Oxford County Fair, which now involves nearly 200 students each year. In 1992 he developed a forestry demonstration trail at the Maine Conservation School.

He has been an active board member and two- term past president of the Maine Environmental Education Association. In that role, he helped develop statewide workshops showing how environmental education can be used throughout the state.

Chandler is director of the Auburn Land Lab in the Auburn School Department, which also involves students from several Central Maine schools.

He received his award in Wichita, Kan., and is also invited to attend a workshop at the World Forestry Center’s International Educator’s Institute in Portland, Ore., in July.