Becca Hatheway and UCAR SciEd recognized for excellence in environmental education
Hatheway and UCAR SciEd receive Advancing Environmental Literacy Award
Sep 22, 2026 - by Audrey Merket
The Advancing Environmental Literacy Award acknowledges efforts by Hatheway and UCAR SciEd to advance environmental education across Colorado and beyond.
On September 17, the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE) presented Becca Hatheway and the UCAR Center for Science Education (UCAR SciEd) with the 2026 Advancing Environmental Literacy Award. The award acknowledges the outstanding efforts by Hatheway and SciEd to advance environmental education across Colorado and beyond.
UCAR SciEd provides educational programs and experiences that complement the work of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages NSF NCAR. Hatheway has served as the director of UCAR SciEd since 2023, and her career as an educator at UCAR has spanned more than 20 years.
“Becca is an outstanding leader whose passion for environmental education and commitment to people have made a tremendous difference in our community. She brings vision, empathy, and a collaborative spirit to everything she does,” said Christine Wiedinmyer, Director of UCAR Community Programs. “Becca's leadership has helped expand the reach and impact of UCAR SciEd’s innovative programs, strengthening environmental literacy and inspiring learners across diverse communities. I’m thrilled to see her receive this well-deserved recognition.”
Hatheway is the co-author of the award-winning Elementary GLOBE children's science storybook series, which has been translated into multiple languages and downloaded tens of thousands of times worldwide. Her work has earned her four UCAR Outstanding Accomplishment Awards in Education and Outreach, reflecting her deep commitment to community co-design and her role as a mentor to future leaders in the field.
Under Hatheway’s leadership, UCAR SciEd has engaged learners from early childhood through postgraduate levels across classrooms, science labs, visitor centers, and virtual environments. The NSF NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center welcomes roughly 90,000 visitors annually, providing unique opportunities for the public to explore science exhibits, walk an outdoor weather trail, and interact directly with scientists. In an effort to increase the public’s knowledge of atmospheric and Earth system science, SciEd also provides teacher professional development workshops, designs curriculum that encourage students to implement real-world solutions in their own communities, and creates hands-on learning experiences that are accessible to all.
