Jobs Abound on N.C. Office of Environmental Education Web Site

Looking for an environmental education job or internship? The N.C. Office of Environmental Education can help.

Over the last few months, the Office has seen a large increase in the number of positions posted on its listserv and EE Jobs and Internships page. Jobs include environmental educator positions and a variety of positions in the environmental and conservation fields that require education and outreach skills.

Since 1996, the N.C. Office of Environmental Education has helped employers and potential employees connect through the North Carolina Environmental Education Listserv (NC-EE). Many environmental educators have related stories of finding great employment opportunities, and many employers have noted that they have found excellent candidates through the list. In a 2009 survey, 51 people out of the 395 that responded said they had found employment via the listserv, and 29 said they had hired someone that saw a job posting on the list. One respondent noted: "My career began from a posting I saw on the EE listserve. I have now been in that position for nine years and manage a national EE curriculum at the state level!"

In 2006, the Office expanded its job assistance role with their new Web site, http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/. This new site features a jobs and internships page that is constantly updated. The new site has been paying off for job-seekers and employers. The Office recently received this message from a major environmental education center's personnel department:

As someone who has recruited for many different types of jobs for the past 7 years, I am always on the lookout for sources of high-quality candidates. The NC-EE listserv and job site has proven many times to be the best resource for individuals who are knowledgeable and passionate about science education in North Carolina. I doubt I would see as many well-qualified candidates for education positions if I didn’t use the Office's resources. They really make my job easier!

For more information on the NC-EE listserv, visit the Office's subscription page. Employers are also free to post jobs on the listserv. Any jobs posted to the list are added to the EE Jobs and Internships listing, or employers can call 919-733-0711 or email Marty.Wiggins@ncdenr.gov for more information.

Presentations Posted from NC Outdoor Classroom Symposium

Many of the presentations and handouts from the First Annual NC Outdoor Classroom Symposium have now been posted. Just click here to take a look. The Symposium was a huge success, and we hope to host another one in Spring of 2011.

APNEP Demonstration Project Grants Open

The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program is seeking proposals for demonstration projects. Grants will be awarded by APNEP, which protects water quality and other natural resources in a 36-county area of northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Schools, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and institutions in the APNEP region are eligible to apply for grant money.

The projects must have a direct environmental benefit and occur on public lands in the APNEP region. They also must have a constructed component or vegetative planting on-site, feature a strong public outreach or education element, allow for permanent public access and have methods that may be applied in other locations. Past projects included outdoor classrooms, nature trails, rain gardens, green roofs and schoolyard wetlands.

Each project may receive up to $20,000 in funding from APNEP. The APNEP Citizen’s Advisory Committee will select the proposals to be funded and determine funding amounts. Prospective grant recipients are encouraged to partner with others to leverage additional funds. The application deadline is Dec. 31. Awards will be announced in January. All awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.

For more detailed information or to download an application, visit the APNEP Web site and click on “What's New - Request for Proposals.” If you have questions about the application or eligibility requirements, contact Lori Brinn, APNEP Community Specialist.

Not in the APNEP Region? Remember that more opportunities are listed on the Office of Environmental Education's Grants and Contests and Awards pages.

Register Now for the EENC Annual Conference, Nov. 5-8, 2009!

Green Spaces in Urban Places

19th Annual Conference of the
Environmental Educators of North Carolina
November 5-8, 2009 in Raleigh, NC

Environmental Education professional development at its finest! There are plenty of “mobile workshops,” workshops, and sessions to get you excited about this urban conference where we will explore Green Spaces in Urban Places. And if that’s not enough, the evening activities will be sure to impress! Come to Raleigh and explore environmental education opportunities in an urban setting!

For more information or to register, check out the EENC web site.

Update on the Office of Environmental Education

Gov. Perdue signed the state budget on Friday, August 7. The final budget includes the Office of Environmental Education; however, it eliminates the office’s administrative assistant, Sharon Springs. It also eliminates funding for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Library, which is housed within the office. This funding includes the department’s librarian, Mary Tucker. It directs the library collection to be transferred to the State Library.

These are dire economic times and though the office is devastated by the loss of these staff members, and of the library, we feel fortunate that the remaining staff and programs will stay intact.

There are no words to adequately express the thanks that we owe our constituency for your support during this budget crisis. Our office was overwhelmed by the outpouring of grassroots support from environmental educators, citizens and organizations throughout the state.

A recent op-ed piece in the New York Times eloquently addressed the lack of time Americans spend getting outside. The columnist wrote, “One problem may be that the American environmental movement has focused so much on preserving nature that it has neglected to do enough to preserve a constituency for nature.”

North Carolina is far from lacking a constituency for the environment. Along with the state’s diverse natural heritage, we have the strongest environmental education community in the country.

Our office looks forward to continuing its work for North Carolina’s environmental educators, programs, resources and facilities.Thank you for all you have done to support the N.C. Office of Environmental Education. We feel extremely fortunate that North Carolina has such a unique and dedicated environmental education community.

Sincerely,
The staff of the N.C. Office of Environmental Education
Lisa Tolley
Rachel Smith
Sarah Yelton
Marty Wiggins
Libby Wilcox

N.C. Outdoor Classroom Symposium

Please save the date for North Carolina’s first Outdoor Classroom Symposium to be held Friday, October 23, 2009 at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, NC!

The symposium will focus on techniques for creating, maintaining and using outdoor classrooms and strategies for integrating outdoor learning into the curriculum. It will feature sessions on how to create specific types of school gardens and natural areas, how to start farm-to-school programs, and how to design and use your school grounds to enhance learning across the curriculum.

Pre-symposium workshops will be offered on Thursday and mobile workshops on Saturday will give participants the opportunity to visit school and community gardens. Other highlights will include a Friday evening reception, educational exhibits and many opportunities for networking and learning!

Symposium registration is scheduled to open in August 2009. Sessions will be appropriate for educators who already have an outdoor classroom and for those who are just beginning to develop their schoolyard areas for outdoor environmental learning. Teachers can earn CEU credits and participants can earn credit towards their N.C. Environmental Education Certification.

The symposium is a partnership between the N.C. Botanical Garden, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program; the Environmental Education Fund; the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and the Natural Learning Initiative, N.C. State University.

This will be a great opportunity for classroom teachers, teacher assistants, school administrators, parent volunteers, and non-formal educators and those involved in design of outdoor play and learning areas from across the state!

Be Part of the New North Carolina EE Plan!

The N.C. Office of Environmental Education is pleased to announce the release of the DRAFT of the North Carolina Environmental Education Plan, and we would like your input. The staff in the office collaborated with members of the N.C. Environmental Education Advisory Council over a 16-month period to draft the goals and objectives for the plan. The N.C. Environmental Education Advisory Council is made up of representatives from the academic, business, cultural arts, agricultural and environmental communities.

We want to make sure that the state plan is representative of the entire environmental education community so we are providing the draft of the plan for review and comment. The final draft will include a table of contents, acknowledgements and an evaluation section. It will also have captions and credits on some of the photos. The plan is scheduled to be completed by June 30, and we hope to meet that deadline. We will be accepting comments until June 1.

If you would like to provide comments on the draft plan, please:

Review the draft and complete the online survey by June 1, 2009

Thank you in advance for your assistance in this process. Your participation is critical for the successful development of the plan. Please contact me directly if you have any questions about this process. A special thanks to the many people who provided photos!

Earth Day Photo Blog!

EE Week/Earth Day Photo Blog

There were a wealth of great Environmental Education Week and Earth Day events this April! To bring to attention to the great things happening in environmental education in North Carolina, the N.C. Office of Environmental Education has started this EE Week/Earth Day Photo Blog that features stories and photos from events around the state during the month of April, 2009. We'll be picking some winners to feature in the next edition of EE News Tips and may even have some prizes! Remember, you can find EE workshops, events and activities on the EE Calendar. And don't let the outdoor fun stop in April. Make it Earth Day everyday!

Highlights from the Office of Environmental Education!

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

National Environmental Education Week is April 12-18!

Be part of the nation's largest organized environmental education event...National Environmental Education Week! EE Week is meant as a way to get inspired by participating in environmental learning and service before Earth Day on April 22nd. EE Week runs from April 12th through the 18th, and you can join the thousands of schools, EE Centers, museums, zoos and aquariums who have made a commitment to participate this year. Educators and EE organizations can go to http://www.eeweek.org/ to register as a National EE Week Partner!

Looking for events and activities in your community? Check out the Office of Environmental Education's online calendar! As you know, in North Carolina we celebrate the entire month of April. The calendar is full of festivals, events, workshops, hikes and more, all of which will surely inspire you!

As always, our web site offers information on the more than 180 EE Centers across the state, resources for teaching, information on EE grants, tips for being an informed consumer, and much more. Visit http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/!

Register NOW for Summer Water Quality Teacher Institute - July 12-17

Environment & Health: Making Connections through Water Quality Investigations
July 12 – 17, 2009 at the Trinity Center in Salter Path, NC

If you are a science teacher in 8th-12th grades, then check out this FREE professional development experience! This week-long teacher institute will provide you with an in-depth investigation of the diverse environmental science, health and civics issues related to water quality in NC. By using the interdisciplinary approach of environmental education, you will learn how to address important water quality issues with your students both in the classroom and in outdoor wetland environments. Hands-on, real world experiences will be emphasized--be prepared to get wet, sandy and re-energized!

You'll have incredible experiences with a variety of outstanding environmental educators, researchers and scientists, come home with a wealth of new ideas and instructional resources including curriculum-related materials, enjoy excellent food and lodging at beautiful Trinity Center in Salter Path, NC, and complete CEU and Environmental Education Certification Credits. Content and activities are aligned with the NC Standard Course of Study for Earth/Environmental Science (Goals 1 and 4), AP Environmental Science (Goals 4 and 5) and 8th Grade Science (Goal 3).

You will be expected to commit to the entire institute, share your experiences and mentor other teachers in your school or system and incorporate learned skills and experiences into your lesson plans and teaching. Participants should be in good physical condition, as activities will include hiking, walking, wading and other activities in hot, humid conditions.

To apply, fill out the Online Application (www.eenorthcarolina.org/summer_form.html).

Please note: Because there are a limited number of seats available for this Institute, we require a $100 deposit to reserve your slot once your application has been accepted. Your check will not be deposited unless you cancel without a suitable replacement. It would then be considered a tax-deductible gift to the Environmental Education Fund. The check will be returned to you upon check-in at the Trinity Center on July 12.

The institute is made available by the Environmental Education Fund, with funding provided by the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program and the UNC Superfund Basic Research Program. Institute administration provided by the NC Office of Environmental Education.

For questions and additional information, contact Sarah.Yelton@ncmail.net, call 1-800-482-8724 or visit our web site at http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/.

Bulk Digital Subscriptions to Green Teacher Magazine

For eighteen years, Green Teacher magazine has provided teacher educators, teachers and other youth educators with the resources they need to enrich and enhance environmental learning. More than 15,000 educators across North America now read this award-winning, non-profit magazine. Green Teacher recently launched a digital edition of the magazine and inexpensive bulk subscriptions are now being offered to schools, school districts, and colleges and faculties of education. Green Teacher’s digital edition has several advantages over the print edition. Digital issues arrive earlier than the printed copies. The electronic format enables readers to search for key words. And every website listing in the magazine is hot-linked, providing quick access to additional information about a topic or a new educational resource.

To peruse a sample issue, visit http://www.greenteacher.com/.

Complete Details for Schools & School Districts

Complete Details for Colleges & Faculties of Education

Add Eco-Smart Consumer to Your Web Site!

Now you can add the Eco-Smart Consumer blog to your Web site through what's called a widget. It sounds complicated but couldn't be easier.

Just click on "Get Widget" on the bottom of the image you see here. You will be given some html code to copy and paste into your own Web site wherever you would like the Eco-Smart Consumer blog information to appear. It will look just like what you see here, and will automatically update each time a new blog post is added.

It's informative, it's fun, it's easy, it will spruce up your site...and you'll be totally techno-savvy!

U.S. House Passes No Child Left Inside Act

On September 18th, H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside of of 2008, passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 239 to 109! For more details visit the No Child Left Inside Coalition Web site.

Graduation Project SUPPORT!

Students: Find a Mentor for your Environmental Graduation Project!

Students and teachers interested in completing an environment-related graduation project should check out the NC Graduation Project Support page for a listing of potential mentors and project ideas, as well as information about interactive networking opportunities. Community members interested in becoming a mentor can also complete a short survey in order to have their information listed on the mentor pages.

N.C. State Parks Survey

The N.C. Department of Parks and Recreation wants to hear from you! In order to develop a new five-year system-wide plan, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking public input. The survey is open until November 7, 2008.

Let them know what you think...

Informed Consumer Update

Many of you have been using our Informed Consumer resources online. We're happy to announce that the Infomed Consumer sections have been given a makeover! They now are easier to navigate and have even more information to help you make informed consumer decisions. We will continue to add to these pages and welcome any comments you may have.

Explore the new Informed Consumer here!

Check out our RSS Feeds

We update several of our online news sections daily, but there was no way for us to let you know which sections had been updated except for occasional e-mails with huge lists of news items. That has all changed!

We have set up all of our news sections as RSS feeds, so now you can be alerted to new stories and resources as they are added. Also, now you can focus on the news sections that are of particular interest to you and won't have to sift through all of the other sections.

Go to http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/rssfeeds.html to get your environmental education and informed consumer news the new, easier way! Even if you do not have RSS feeds set up, you can still view current news stories for each topic by clicking the orange RSS button under each heading.

Never heard of RSS and not sure about this new-fangled technology? It's really EASY to use and can save you lots of time. Go to http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/rssfeeds.html for an explanation of RSS News Feeds and how to get started. There is even a 3-minute video that is free of geek speak to help you out.

Eco-Smart Parent Guide

Check out the new Eco-Smart Parent Guide from the NC Office of Environmental Education! It's a helpful brochure meant to highlight some of the environmental and health issues surrounding your choices as a parent. It provides a top-ten list of helpful resources to get you started learning about the issues and how we can make choices that we feel good about for ourselves and our families. Feel free to print the guide and distribute it wherever you think it may be helpful. As with any of our publications, we're open to feedback on the guide. Enjoy!

Get ’em Outside: A Celebration of Environmental Education

Get ’em Outside is a 5½-minute video that captures the joy and excitement of environmental education. Students, teachers and principals describe the value of learning outdoors, and vivid photography depicts kids leaning about everything from migrating butterflies to the path pollution takes into local waterways.

Get ’em Outside will appeal to students, teachers, parents, elected officials and anyone who cares about teaching young people about their natural world.
The video was commissioned by the No Child Left Inside Coalition, a coalition of hundreds of environmental, educational, public health, recreation and business organizations – all committed to expanding environmental education.

Click here to see the Get 'em Outside video.