Now that many of us have reached adulthood, at least in legal terms, there are times we think of our journey in life and those certain individuals who made an impact. The people who believed in our dreams and pushed us – maybe sometimes with a bit of tough love.

These people are often teachers. George Potts has been that teacher.

LEANING INTO LEGACY

Originally from Wichita, George, who is a spry and humorous 84-year-old, got his undergraduate degree from Friends University in biology, then attended medical school for a couple years before deciding it wasn’t for him.

“I just wanted to teach,” he says.

Once he was certified to teach, he went to Los Angeles for three years and taught biology in a South Central LA school that was 95 percent Black students.

“I was there from 1964 to 1967,” George says. “I loved teaching there. It was fun.”

George has fond memories of his time teaching in LA, but his second year of teaching there commenced just after the Watts riots of August 1965 when 34 people died because of civil unrest between Black community members and the police. This seven-day rebellion was the city’s worst unrest until the Rodney King riots in 1992.

“I spent a lot of time with my kids [students] to reassure them that things were going to be OK,” George remembers. “They were scared, they were angry. I felt so bad about what was happening, and I wondered what I was going to do to help facilitate their anger in a positive way. So, I put a slit in a shoe box and let my students write anything they wanted. They didn’t put their names on it, so we put them on a bulletin board to show solidarity and after a couple of weeks, that really helped.”

George returned to Kansas and taught at Wichita North for seven years while also working on his master’s degree. He then attended Kansas State University to earn his doctoral degree in environmental education.

While at Wichita North, George developed the energy education curriculum and in 1973, he was awarded the U.S. President’s Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Protection Services for his work with the Ecology Club at Wichita North.

LOVE OF NATURE

A book titled, “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson made a colossal impact on George. For him, it started an environmental movement and brought to light issues in pollution. His Ecology Club had more than 100 members and won two national awards for their projects.

“One of the projects was a pollution survey of Wichita where the students identified backyard burn pits, which cause air pollution,” George says. “The results found 10,000 backyard incinerators and within six months, they were deemed illegal and shut down.”

From 1976 to 1991, George was a science professor at Friends University where he hosted a radio show called “Science Scene,” and innovated the Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoo Science.

After 15 years at Friends, he founded his own consulting firm and coordinated the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites (OWLS) program for 24 years.

“I’ve been concerned about the environment all my life,” George says. “Ever since I was in the park catching snakes and gophers as a little kid. But I want to keep that kind of experience for my grandkids’ kids.”

ENERGY GREEN GRANDPA

George is passionate about teaching and the environment, that’s clear. He is also technologically savvy, using an iPad and embracing social media.

His YouTube channel features an innovative way to share tips on conserving energy in a fun, lighthearted tone.

Energy Green Grandpa features George in a green button-down shirt and a yellow hat donning an “energy green community” logo. He opens each segment with a cheery, “Hello there! I’m Energy Green Grandpa!”

With filming and direction help from his son, Rolf, the videos feature topics on ways people can save energy to reduce their carbon footprint, including opting for LED lightbulbs, tips on heating and cooling your home, laundry and dishwasher best practices and more. There’s even an episode that features an “energy-gobblin’ Goblin” who turns on every light in the house. Energy Green Grandpa comes in and saves the day (or rather, the energy bill).

“We have three basic goals with the videos,” George says. “Teach people how to save energy, save money and reduce their carbon footprint.”

George is being honored this year by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) with the John K. Strickler Award for his more than 60 years of dedication to teaching about conservation.

A FAMILY OF TRAILBLAZERS

George isn’t the only impressive person in the Potts family. His wife, Alice, was instrumental in facilitating a campaign to get the barred tiger salamander declared the Kansas State amphibian while she was a teacher. In 1994, her students from OK Elementary in Wichita attended a special ceremony where Gov. Joan Finney signed the salamander into law.

The project allowed students to learn about government processes, letter writing and science. Alice was named Conservationist of the Year in 1994 for her work.

George and Alice have been married for 56 years and George’s secret to a long marriage is to do everything his wife says.

“When we met, I asked her why she wasn’t married yet and she said she was waiting for the perfect man,” George says. “When I asked her to marry me and she said yes, I said, ‘I must be perfect!’” Three months later and we were married.”

The Potts family has a lot to be proud of, but George says he’s most proud of two things: his grandsons. He wouldn’t be Energy Green Grandpa without them.

GEORGE’S KIDS

The impact George has left on his students has lasted several decades. Some of his students, he says, got degrees and became teachers, professors, engineers and lawyers.

Rolf served as George’s proxy for a 50-year reunion of one of the classes George taught in Los Angeles. George had recently had eye surgery and couldn’t fly.

“The people I met who had dad as a teacher had fond memories of him,” Rolf says. “My dad still calls them his ‘kids’ even though many of them are now in their ‘70s.”

Teachers everywhere know their kids aren’t only the ones they raise at home, but also the ones they foster in classrooms.

Learn more about Energy Green Grandpa here.

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