Serving His Community, One Can at a Time
Jonathon Tuttle has taught agriculture for 17 years.
For 17 years, Jonathon Tuttle has been more than just an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at the Granite Technical Institute (GTI) in Salt Lake City, Utah. He’s been a mentor, innovator and community builder. Whether he’s teaching agricultural biology, aquaculture or natural resources, Tuttle brings passion and purpose to every lesson.
“A former teacher got me excited, and that’s why I wanted to be an agriculture teacher,” says Tuttle, who teaches students across all high school grade levels.
Tuttle takes the FFA motto of “Living to Serve” to heart — and then some. Throughout the GTI agricultural department, he’s placed bins specifically for aluminum cans. Once collected, he personally delivers them to a local recycling center, where cans fetch an average of $0.47 to $0.52 a piece in Utah.
Last year, Tuttle raised $416.50 through this initiative; so far this year, he’s collected $79.80. With the funds, he partners with Tree Utah to purchase trees, which he and his students plant in various locations around the community. Tree Utah matched the $400 spent on trees, and Tuttle planted nine trees last year with his students.
“It just came to me,” he says. “I wasn’t seeing it done anywhere else, and I figured, ‘Why not be the one to start?’”
Tuttle’s impact goes far beyond the classroom. Last year, he led a forestry team, which included students Tristan Unsworth and Jacob Jensen, to nationals in West Virginia. With his upcoming retirement, these students demonstrate the legacy he leaves behind.
“He was the advisor that showed me FFA, encouraged me to become an officer and compete in forestry and try out new career development events,” says Jensen, who’s currently serving as vice president of the Granite Mountain FFA Chapter. “He always made his classes fun and enjoyable. Thank you, Mr. Tuttle, for convincing me to do what I never thought I could and changing my world. You deserve the best.”
Unsworth, who’s serving as this year’s chapter secretary, credits Tuttle with inspiring him to pursue a career in natural resources. “He’s an inspiration for many students — students just like me,” he says.
As Tuttle prepares to retire, his students, colleagues and community reflect on a career defined by creativity, compassion and commitment. From recycling cans to planting trees, and from teaching aquaculture to mentoring future foresters, his work has planted seeds that will grow for generations.
