For one thing, the self-proclaimed “passionate environmentalist” is an avid biker, and her three children have biked, walked or longboarded (a skateboard meant for riding, not tricks) to school for years now, and Drucker worked hard to make this possible.
When the New Trier West campus opened eight years ago, there was no safe bike route from Wilmette to the school. So, Drucker got involved with the Wilmette Bicycle Task Force and lobbied to have shoulders and a sidewalk added to Hibbard Road. Now Drucker is still involved with the task force, promoting safe biking in the community and educating schoolchildren about biking. She leads “bike hikes” for fourth graders, helping them find safe routes to school and back.
Drucker is also president and a co-founder of Go Green Wilmette, a nonprofit that raises awareness for the environment in the Wilmette community. The group has led education campaigns to reduce energy use, encourage people to buy local and organic foods and enhance local habitats. Drucker and other members offer speaking engagements in public libraries and rotary clubs in hopes of inspiring other communities to “go green” as well.
In addition to educating adults, Drucker says “connecting children to nature” is a huge thrill for her. She’s deeply involved with the District 39 school gardens (every school now has one), and was particularly instrumental in developing the gardens at Highcrest Middle School and Wilmette Junior High. She encourages teachers to use the gardens as classrooms, to learn in, if not from, and she volunteers many hours of her time doing maintenance on the gardens with the kids and serving as a “resident naturalist.”
We hope she’ll keep leading by example for many years to come.
