The water at the Benson Marina in central Cache Valley was murky and the day was overcast, but Jack Greene's spirits were high. The self-described "tree-hugger" was in his element.

"We'll begin by paddling across to the other side," Greene explained to about eight students from his Logan High School environmental science class. "There are some neat little wetlands things we can look at over there."Greene's passions are students and the outdoors, and combining the two enthusiasms is always a goal for this veteran science teacher.

"I'd rather be outside with the students by all means," Greene says. "We have a lot of great experiences in the classroom, but nothing compares to getting outdoors."

Greene's students agree. Trevor Timmons, a recent Logan High graduate who plans to attend the University of Utah in the fall, said he'd much rather learn outside.

"It's better being out there and learning hands-on instead of sitting in a class with a textbook," Timmons said.

After teaching environmental science, chemistry and earth science for nine months, Greene summers as a wilderness ranger for the Logan Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service.

Greene's environmental science students range from the environmentally conscious to those who just need a filler class in their schedules.

Timmons, who admitted he took Greene's class as a filler, said that he has become more aware of the environment because of the class, and that this awareness has changed some of his actions.

"It knocked my shower time down about five minutes," he said. "I'm down to about three minutes."

Heidi Ashton, a senior next year at Logan High, likes Greene's environmental science class because it helps her learn about the local environment.

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"He has us get really involved, write congressmen and stuff," she said. "We study a lot on environmental issues, at least once a day, and also local environment, just like the species around us like plants and animals."

Greene says that Logan High's administration is supportive of, though somewhat nervous about, his teaching style.

"Quite frankly, the administration has been very uneasy with me and my programs," he said, "because I like to try new things. I like to try to involve my students in decisionmaking. I really like to get the students out a lot.

"They always warn me that if something happens, we'll take a loss. Hey, I'll gladly take that risk. It's worth it a thousand times just to get my students involved in what I think are essentials - just getting them reconnected with what's out there, getting an emotional tie to the land, seeing how incredible it is, how essential it is to our well-being, spiritual as well as physical and temporal."

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