JAY — A Spruce Mountain High School junior has been named the Maine Environmental Education Association 2015 Student of the Year.

Amber Delaney lives in Livermore and her parents are Rick and Sarah Delaney. Amber has been active in the Spruce Mountain Envirothon team throughout high school. As a freshman, her team worked with the Androscoggin Land Trust to research the creation and development of the Androscoggin Greenway.

They also developed a forestry management plan for the French Falls Park, a section of the Greenway. Last year, her team used Amber’s grandfather’s farm in Bowdoin to create a sustainable agricultural plan.

Amber has also been involved in water testing at Moose Hill Pond, which is the primary source of water for the Livermore Falls Water District. The data collected were used by the water district and the Maine Volunteer Lakes Monitoring Program to help protect that resource.

She worked with the Livermore Falls Downtown Betterment Group to develop the area across from Cumberland Farms into a beautiful setting for the community to enjoy. She has served as an officer in Science Explorer Post 897, a co-ed program affiliated with Boy Scouts of America, and has helped plan trips to Acadia National Park with the post to explore the park’s geology, flora and fauna.

Amber is enrolled in an arboriculture class at the University of Maine. The class connects to the current issues part of the 2015 envirothon, which focuses on sustainable forestry. She is also involved in the development and maintenance of recreational trails in the Jay Recreation Area, a 180-acre municipal forest that abuts the Spruce Mountain school property.

Amber is taking AP environmental science at Spruce Mountain High School. She is involved with the school’s geodesic greenhouse and is helping to plan and construct a handicap-accessibility ramp. She also is helping to raise organic produce that is donated to local food pantries.

In announcing the award, the Maine Environmental Education Association said, “Amber is an incredible student leader who has exhibited a commitment to the environment and a love of learning about ecological concepts. Amber is an incredible example of a next-generation nature leader.”

After finishing high school, Amber plans to study environmental engineering.

Envirothon adviser Rob Taylor said, “I am very proud of Amber. I am looking forward to the day I see her working as an environmental leader.”

The award was presented during the association’s annual meeting section of the conference titled “Better Together Maine: Partnerships, Collaboration, Collective Impact” held last week in Wiscasset.

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