For over 35 years, Discovery Southeast naturalists and Juneau educators have partnered to bring nature into classrooms and students outside. The Discovery Award honors a local K-12 teacher who goes the extra mile to bring learning outdoors and deepen students’ connection with nature.
This year, Discovery Southeast is proud to recognize Jessica Curry, a dedicated educator in the Juneau School District for the past 14 years and current 4th grade teacher at Harborview Elementary School.
Jessica has made outdoor learning and Nature Studies a priority for her students. Step into Jessica’s classroom, and you’re met with a vibrant environment filled with plants and animals — an invitation to learn about the world around us. Her teaching encourages curiosity, exploration, and connection.
Jessica’s students regularly visit Evergreen Cemetery, where they adopt a class tree to observe throughout the year. Planting trees there for Arbor Day has become a cherished tradition. Jessica leads her students outdoors (in all kinds of weather) to observe, sketch, and track seasonal changes in their year-long phenology wheels. Through detailed observations and thoughtful questions, students become deeply tuned in to their local environment.
Jessica credits Artful Teaching training, collaboration with colleagues, and partnerships with organizations like Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) for fueling her outdoor enthusiasm and providing tools to integrate nature into her teaching practice. She values inquiry-based projects, and her lessons often begin with thinking routines and investigations. She shares her students’ discoveries with the whole school through engaging hallway exhibits, displaying natural materials alongside student reflections and questions. Even familiar moments — like the annual leaf jump — become exciting, much-anticipated activities.
We are honored to celebrate Jessica and her place-based, culturally responsive teaching.
We would also like to express our deep gratitude for all the 2025 Discovery Award nominees. Juneau is fortunate to have these committed teachers who inspire their students every day to explore and learn outdoors:
- Jessica Curry
- Maryann Love
- Rick Bellagh
- Janette Gagnon
- Allie Smith
- Jessica Stanley
- Elizabeth Brennell
- Cheyenne Cueller
- Geoffrey Wyatt,
- Davin Savikko
- Monika Haygood
Please join us in honoring Jessica and all of our nominees at our Community Celebration on September 20. Learn more here.