Jack Gramlich is passionate about preserving the environment and educating others about it. Gramlich is an educator, former nature center director and a member of the Central New York Land Trust.

Gramlich teaches an honors seminar course on the natural history of Onondaga County at Syracuse University, and is a long-standing member of the board of the Central New York Land Trust, which is dedicated to preserving natural areas for future generations to come.

“I teach about the great outdoors,” Gramlich said. “My classes vary depending on the grade level and season of the year — sometimes I’ll take my students to find tadpoles or take guided walks outside. It all depends on the environment around the school.”

Much of his career has revolved around environmental conservation and educating the community about how it’s essential to the earth’s future. Gramlich is a former director of a nature center in Baltimore, coming later to the central New York region to serve on the Board of Cooperative Educational Services until 2005. He has since retired and become a freelance contractor.

As a young adult, Gramlich lived in Nepal with the Peace Corps from 1967 to 1969, where he worked on community development and outreach projects. There he helped to build irrigation canals and local bridges, among many other facilities.

The nature activist emphasized the importance of spending time outdoors.

“I think people don’t go outside enough. I have grandchildren who would be very content to play with video games all day long,” said Gramlich. “People have to go outside and move more!”

Above all, Gramlich cannot stress enough the importance of protecting the environment.

“Our work in nature is certainly not done — we still have a lot more to do,” Gramlich said. “A lot of good has been happening with the Onondaga Lake, but there is a lot more we need to fix. But I’m optimistic.”

Published on August 30, 2016 at 11:15 pm

Contact Saniya: ssmore@syr.edu