Office of EE and EENC Adopt National EE Guidelines (News Release)

February 20, 2006
NORTH CAROLINA’S LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AGENCIES ADOPT NATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
RALEIGH – In a joint announcement today, the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and the Environmental Educators of North Carolina formally adopted the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) national Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education. NAAEE is the country’s leading environmental education organization and boasts membership across North America and in 55 other countries. It has been actively supporting quality environmental education since 1971.

Through the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education, the NAAEE has taken the lead in establishing guidelines for the development of balanced, scientifically accurate and comprehensive environmental education programs. Quality environmental education programs facilitate the teaching of science, civics, social studies, mathematics, geography and language arts. These guidelines will help educators develop meaningful environmental education programs that integrate across and build upon the high standards set by the core disciplines.
By adopting the national guidelines, these organizations will apply the guidelines in the development of their organizational programs and services, promote the guidelines among members and constituents and support the implementation of the guidelines in the education field.

The guidelines provide a set of recommendations for developing and selecting environmental education materials, for the preparation and professional development of environmental educators and for developing and administering high quality nonformal environmental education programs. The public can view the guidelines on the NAAEE Web site (http://naaee.org) under “EE Guidelines.”

“For several years, our office has been employing the NAAEE guidelines when evaluating environmental education workshops for the North Carolina Certification Program,” said Lisa Tolley, director of the N.C. Office of Environmental Education. “We hope that formally adopting the guidelines will encourage other agencies and organizations to use the guidelines in developing and assessing their environmental education materials and programs.”

“Our members strive to uphold the highest standards in environmental education,” stated Laura Webb Smith, president of Environmental Educators of North Carolina. “The guidelines provide a comprehensive set of tools for our educators to use in crafting meaningful learning experiences.”
The North Carolina Association of Environmental Education Centers (NCAEEC), a volunteer organization that promotes and encourages cooperation among North Carolina’s 188 environmental education facilities, is taking this announcement as an opportunity to recognize the importance of the guidelines in designing quality environmental education programs and resources. “We have a diverse membership across the state of North Carolina that serves a wide variety of educational needs,” noted Amber Parker, NCAEEC president. “We hope this announcement by the Office and EENC will bring attention to the NAAEE guidelines as a development and assessment tool and we will encourage our member centers to consult them when developing their own environmental education programs.”

The N.C. Office of Environmental Education (www.eenorthcarolina.org) is a state office that serves as a clearinghouse for all the environmental education resources, programs, materials and facilities in North Carolina, and sponsors the work of the NCAEEC in its mission to promote environmental education facilities. Environmental Educators of North Carolina (www.eenc.org) is a volunteer-run, membership-based professional organization for environmental educators and the state affiliate of NAAEE.