Southern Regional Technical College’s (SRTC) Land, Forest, Wildlife (LFW) Management Program Chair Dr. Jeremy Green has been named the 2023 Georgia Hunter Education Instructor of the Year by the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA). Hunter safety, ethics and responsibility are key components of the LFW program as students prepare for careers with public and private wildlife preserves, hunting properties, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Southwest Georgia Hunting & Shooting Education Specialist Calvin Cole of the Georgia DNR nominated Dr. Green, citing his excellent work in promoting hunter education within the LFW program and beyond.
The IHEA website explains that with over 45,000 volunteer hunter educators in the United States vying for the award, this prestigious IHEA-USA Instructor of the Year Award presented by SIG SAUER honors only one hunter educator in each state for rising above and beyond their normal duties. Above and beyond means not only spending countless hours teaching, but also often includes personal hours mentoring, volunteering time to other outdoor programs, teaching additional clinics and classes, contributing valuable ideas to their state Hunter Education programs, and performing excessively more to create safe hunters and shooters than is expected of any volunteer.
Green teaches Hunter Education as part of his responsibilities as an instructor for the Land, Forest, Wildlife Management program at SRTC. Students are required to take and pass the Hunters Education course each year. Green incorporates new and innovative hands-on methods into each course, making the experience as immersive and applicable as possible. Together with his co-worker Elizabeth Harrell, and in partnership with Calvin Cole of the Georgia DNR, they are continually inventing new ways to teach technical students the importance of hunting safely, ethically, and responsibly.
“I'm extremely honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Green, before recounting one of his earliest memories of hunter education. “I remember being introduced to hunting by my father and attending my first hunter education course with him when I was 10 years old. Back in 1990, the national program was new. I really enjoyed that class, in particular the “final exam” which was a situational hunt walk-through, with scenarios based on hunting safety, rules and regulations. Participants had to decide whether shoot or not at each station. I vividly remember that my father did not see the hunting dummy hidden in the tree stand behind the deer target at one station, but I did. He decided to take the shot and I didn’t - when the presence of the dummy was revealed, it was shocking to him. It was a great learning experience for both of us, especially since he had been hunting for more than 40 years at that time.”
Green said that he and his team have incorporated similar lessons and demonstrations in their classes, which have become his favorite part of teaching hunters education. Each year, the class conducts a woods walk-through simulation without firearms, similar to the course he took in 1990. The last station always has a tree stand in the background with a hunter dummy in it. Often, the students do not spot the hunter, which can be an extremely important lesson for novice and veteran hunters alike.
“When I first started teaching Hunters Ed in 2019, my father volunteered to be the “dummy,” said Green. “Many of the students did not see the stand or the “dummy” behind the deer target and chose to take the shot. When Dad would reveal himself, there were gasps and groans and lots of remorse, signaling that a very important lesson had been learned, just like I experienced back in 1990. My father Lane Green passed away in 2021, but if he was still alive, he would be proud of this award. It was his passion and dedication to the sport of hunting that fueled my passion. I am proud to know that our shared passion is being passed on to my own students.”