The Office of Environmental Education has continually provided quality environmental education resources, materials and services to North Carolinians since it's creation in 1993. 2008 was no exception, and we're excited to share our accomplishments!BY THE NUMBERS...
North Carolina Office of Environmental Education Web site
- 385,822 Visitor Sessions in 2008, a 20% increase from 2007
- Over 1.7 million Page Views in 2008
North Carolina Environmental Education Email Listserv (NC-EE)
An email list moderated by the Office that serves as the primary means of communication for the NC environmental education community. Membership has increased over 30% since 2006, to a current total of 1,727. All subscriptions are by the individual's request.
North Carolina Environmental Education News Tips
A combination newsletter and press release with environmental education news, events and grant information. Published online once each month and distributed to all NC-EE listserv members and 541 additional subscribers and media contacts.
North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program
832 certified environmental educators and 766 currently enrolled in the program.
North Carolina Environmental Education Center Partners
A wide variety of environmental education facilities have been identified by the Office and have agreed to be listed on the Office Web site. These “EE Centers” work together as the NC Association of EE Centers and support and utilize Office of EE programs and resources.
- 187 EE Centers identified
- 20 million people visit NC EE Centers each year - a conservative estimate
Adult Education Materials
The following publications have been requested and distributed over the course of the Office of EE's Adult Education Program:
- More than 950,000 river basin publications
- More than 85,000 pet waste postcards, 17,000 ordered by vet clinics
- More than 32,000 local produce postcard
- More than 55,000 Discover Your World Outside postcards
Environmental Education Teacher Institute
A partnership with the non-profit Environmental Education Fund, Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program, UNC Superfund Basic Research Program and numerous other partners to provide a week-long professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers supporting their efforts to integrate environmental education into the curriculum.
- 228 K-12 teachers served in 60 North Carolina counties since 2002
- More than 111,000 students reached since 2002
Love-A-Tree Program
A partnership with the International Paper Foundation and the non-profit Environmental Education Fund that offers free learning resource packets to teachers.
- 3,500 resource packets were ordered and mailed in 2007
- 50,000 teachers served and more than 1 million students reached since 1996
- Students and teachers in all 100 counties have been served by the LAT program
Number of Office of Environmental Education Staff
7
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...
About the River Basin Materials
- "As science department chair, I have found the River Basin materials to be indispensible!!! It is a required portion of the 8th grade curriculum and there is virtually zero material for us to teach local river basins with in our textbooks. Having this material has provided our kids with a wonderful tool that helps them to become more aware of the natural resources that North Carolina has to offer. The kids love this project, and it is funny…ask them about river basins before the project and they are clueless…after the project, they come to you and say “Hey guess what? We went to the mountains this weekend and I passed through 3 river basins” and then they list them for you! On my knees, I beg you all to keep these free materials coming. They are an incredible asset and are well used in my school.
NC Middle School Teacher and Science Department Chair
- "As a water quality educator and watershed manager, I would like to express the great value and importance of the NC River Basin packets that have been provided in the past by the NC Office of Environmental Education. These river basin packets provide information, maps, statistics, and photos in an engaging and easy-to-understand format that make them a terrific resource for a variety of audiences. I have suggested them to school teachers, non-profit groups, homeowners' associations, etc. As a watershed manager striving to motivate citizens from various walks of life to adopt Best Management Practices both at home and in their workplaces to improve and protect water quality, the first step is to improve citizens' fundamental understanding of watersheds -- the important connection between land and water. These resource materials have been a tremendous help in the past in communicating this important concept and in stimulating learners' interest in finding out more and feeling some responsibility for their local watershed. Having these resources available for free from the Office of Environmental Education is an important contribution to my local water quality protection efforts."
NC Watershed Coordinator
- "Because my school has such limited resources, the River Basin Map is the only large map of NC I have in my classroom! I don't know what I'd do without this!"
NC Elementary School Teacher
- "The River Basin Materials from the Office of Environmental Education have been fun to use, easy to understand, and immediately accessible. One of my river basin maps is permanently displayed, and the other is at hand to examine more closely when needed. I have class packs for the basins in which most of us live (Cape Fear and Neuse), and a few packs with all the basins, so I can pull out individual basin materials when we take a field trip or when an individual is traveling elsewhere in the state. My students know they are always in a river basin. My school could never afford to pay the retail value for these beautiful materials, and we are extremely grateful to have gotten them for free from the Office. Our students will graduate high school with this knowledge engrained.Thank you very much for providing these materials for our school."
NC High School Teacher
About the Love-A-Tree Program:
- I was able to use parts of this wonderful packet to go along with Earth Day activities that I had planned for my 4th and 5th grade science classes. I like the Lesson Plan Book because of all the info in it. I do like getting the package mailed directly to me. I hope this program continues!
- I used it this past week with Earth Day. The children loved it, especially the game on the handkerchief. We went outside and they had to collect the items like a scavenger hunt. Thank you again.
- We found them very helpful and were even able to share some of the information with the 2nd & 3rd grades who also study trees & plant parts. Thank you sooo much for this wonderful tool!
- The kit is wonderful!! I am using it with my gifted students. The vast amount of material in the packet is amazing. I am impressed with the level of critical thinking skills students get and also the joy of learning about their environment. I like the idea of the packet being aligned with the NC Standard Course of Study. The kids are learning a lot.
- I liked how perfectly it matched with the curriculum. I didn't feel like I was teaching something "extra." Also that it was meaningful to the students.
- [T]he lesson plan book was very beneficial. Most of the lessons fit my state objectives perfectly and those that didn't were great jumping off points for the needed objectives.
I love the packet and have used all the materials in our classroom. - Thank you so very much for the free materials. They were very useful and were wonderful teaching aids.
- Do you have ideas for next year's program? How can we improve it? Teacher: If you keep doing what you are doing that would be great.
About the Summer Teacher Institute
- “In July, I attended the Water Quality Institute led by the NC Office of Environmental Education. The educational opportunities offered during the institute were phenomenal. I learned more in one week than I could have learned in years on my own. Not only do I now feel much more confident with the content I am teaching, but I now have a plethora of activities and hands-on lessons to use in class. The activities that we performed are very easily adaptable to the 8th grade classroom environment, and my students are really enjoying learning science. The people that I met at the institute have been wonderful networking resources. The staff at the Office of Environmental Education is now familiar to me, and I have continued to call on them with questions or requests as necessary throughout the academic year. Not only has the institute proved invaluable in my classroom, but it has also encouraged me to pursue my Environmental Education Certification. I have continued to attend environmental education workshops that I have learned about through the institute, and I am beginning to see the “domino effect.” I now know how to find the information I need to better the learning experience for all of my students.” -8th Grade Science Teacher
- “By the end of the week, we, as teachers, felt empowered to return to our classrooms armed with the knowledge and experience we had gained through the week to make a difference in our classrooms; to relay the sense of empowerment on to our students; and to be an instrument of change. Seeing the broad spectrum of issues for water quality in NC showed me the importance of my position as a science teacher in teaching future citizens the science behind the issues. I’m planning to get students excited about water quality issues and then encourage them to gather and interpret data for graduation projects. I am excited for school to start! Finally, it wouldn’t have been possible but for the careful planning and orchestration of speakers and events by Sarah Yelton, Rachel Smith, and Libby Wilcox. They did an extraordinary job all week and should be commended for the best teacher workshop I’ve ever attended!” -High School Science Teacher
- “It provided me with a wealth of resources that are thought-provoking for my students. They get us "out of a textbook" and into the real world.”- Middle School Science Teacher “This institute was better in providing environmental knowledge than any college course taken.” -High School Science Teacher
- “We were taught (and engaged in) a huge variety of learning experiences that included investigation, analysis, assessment and a great deal of interaction - perfect recipe for thorough learning that we may now share with others.”-Middle School Science Teacher
