Sam Chattin

Sam Chattin is a middle school science teacher in Scottsburg, Indiana, who has earned international recognition as an environmental educator. He and his students have developed a wildlife rescue and care program, the A.R.K. Project (Animals Rehabilitating Kids), that has grown into one of the largest wildlife care centers in the Midwest. The A.R.K. Project, the only enterprise of its kind operated solely by students, has received more than 30 national and international awards and has been identified as one of the 10 best science programs in the U.S.

So that others may learn about their work with wildlife, Chattin and his students have presented more than 500 programs in 47 states and five foreign nations. In 1987 he was the only teacher in the world invited by the United Nations and the Soviet Union to participate in the Tblisi+10 International Congress on the Environment, held in Moscow.

At Lincoln High School Chattin was both student and teacher. As a student he was captain of the football team and also on the basketball and track teams. He was in student government, a member of Lincoln Play Shop, and vice-president of his senior class of 1959.
He returned to Lincoln in 1965 to begin four years as a biology teacher and assistant football coach. Scottsburg High School then recruited him for a similar teaching position and to inaugurate that school’s football program. Following success at this endeavor, he relinquished coaching duties and moved to Scottsburg Middle School as science teacher, a role he has continued for nearly 30 years.

Chattin holds a Bachelor’s degree in zoology and physical education, awarded by DePauw University in 1963. While an undergraduate he was on the football and track teams, most valuable player in football his junior year, and co-captain of the team as a senior. Following graduation while studying for an advanced degree, Chattin was DePauw’s freshmen football coach and held a teaching assistantship. He earned a Master’s degree in kinesiology and physical education from Indiana University in 1965.

Because of his experience, over the years Chattin has been a consultant for more than 40 scientific, educational, and environmental organizations. He also has been a director or member of several national and state education associations, and a participant on more than a dozen committees and task forces for the state of Indiana.

His published works include articles on ecology, animal behavior, and the education of young people. He is called upon as an expert witness in court cases involving animals and their treatment.

Chattin is married to the former Mary Lynn Nuckols, and they have three children.