MDC's Marsh excited about connecting with teachers in southwest Missouri

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Marty Marsh hopes to combine his interest in outdoor recreational activities with a long career in state education to show teachers in southwest Missouri how conservation can provide innovative curriculum ideas.

In July, Marsh began his duties as Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Education District Supervisor for MDC’s 17-county Southwest Region. He will be working with superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, athletic directors, and teachers in southwest Missouri to help them work conservation-oriented themes into their curriculums.

Marsh may be new to MDC, but he is not new to Missouri’s education system. Prior to coming to MDC, he spent 31 years working in public education and in athletic/activity administration. This career includes 27 years in the Springfield Public Schools (SPS) system. The positions he held during this time include middle school principal, high school assistant principal, high school athletic/activities director, and coaching positions for several sports. Marsh also served eight years as the District Assistant Director of Athletics/Activities for SPS. Most recently, Marsh was assistant executive director for four years with the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA).

“As I begin my work with MDC, I feel confident that my 31 years of service in public education and athletic administration will provide a strong foundation for my work in my new position,” Marsh said. “I’m looking forward to working with schools to promote conservation education and other initiatives that will connect them with nature and the beauty of our statewide resources.”

Marsh is a Springfield native, a graduate of Springfield Greenwood High School, and Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University).

One of the programs Marsh will be promoting is MDC’s Discover Nature Schools (DNS) program. DNS is a state-wide conservation-based education program that incorporates outdoors learning into a variety of school subjects. DNS emphasizes hands-on learning, teaches problem-solving and provides teachers with innovative outdoors-based options to add variety to their curriculums. Information about the DNS program can be found at:

https://education.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature-schools

In addition to DNS, Marsh will help promote and coordinate hunter education in the classroom and the Missouri National Archery in the Schools Program (MoNASP). More than a decade ago, Marsh was instrumental in helping bring MoNASP to the SPS system. Today, more than 900 SPS students participate each year in MoNASP, making it the school district with the most MoNASP archers in the state.

Marsh will work out MDC’s Southwest Regional Office in Springfield and can be reached at Marty.Marsh@mdc.mo.gov. More information about MoNASP and hunter education programs can be found at the MDC Teacher Portal at https://education.mdc.mo.gov/.