Office of Environmental Education

If you are an educator interested in nature-based, hands-on and outdoor learning, then the Office of Environmental Education has resources that you need!

Resource Database

Great for one-stop shopping for environmental education resources in North Carolina. Here you can search a comprehensive database for the very best in environmental education curricula, field trips, outreach programs, contests and much more.

Grants

Find funding opportunities that will get your outdoor education programs and projects off the ground.

Environmental Education Centers

Did you know that there are more than 180 Environmental Education Centers across the state? These can be great places for field trips, or great community partners and resources.

Environmental Education School Directory

Do your students recycle, work to conserve water or protect air quality? Does your school have a pollinator garden, composting area, nature trail or other outdoor classroom features? The directory is a great way for schools interested in environmental education to network and learn from each other! Check out the great things schools in North Carolina are up to, or add your stellar school to the directory.

Other Sources

Environmental Educators of North Carolina

EENC’s mission is to promote excellence in professional development and facilitate networking opportunities, inspiring educators to create an environmentally literate citizenry.

EENC’s vision is to connect diverse professionals and organizations to each other and to high quality environmental education materials and programs, demonstrating leadership in North Carolina and beyond.

• Closing the Achievement Gap: using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning

National Wildlife Federation – Get Outside School and community program resources for students and teachers with publications such as “Ranger Rick”.

Natural Teacher’s Network

This site provides information for teachers to access valuable resources and share ideas with other teachers.  Becoming a member of the Natural Teachers Network will allow you to join a growing movement of thousands of existing members of the Children & Nature Network and gain access to regularly updated research, tools, activities and resources.

You will receive a personalized Certificate of Participation that states for all to see what it means to be a Natural Teacher, and an “I Am a Natural Teacher” badge that you can display. You are invited to join the Natural Teachers Network’s social networking site to share with your peers your ideas, successes, and challenges in taking your students outside. You are encouraged to invite other teachers of all disciplines to join the Natural Teachers Network. There is strength in numbers and incredible creativity in diverse points of view.

What Does Environmental Education Do For Children?

K-12 students participating in environmental education programs at school do better on standardized tests in math, reading, writing, and social studies.  Read more about the studies that have shown that students at schools using some kind of environment-based curriculum do better academically than their peers at traditional schools, or show improvement after the introduction of environment-based education.

North Carolina Outdoor Learning Environments Alliance

Working to improve the quality of children’s outdoor learning spaces throughout the state.  The resources they offer can help create engaging outdoor environments for young children.  Take a peek at these great ideas below!

• Getting Started: Ten Free and Inexpensive Ideas to Enrich Your Outdoor Learning Environment Today
• What’s in it for me?  What Teachers and Caregivers Can Expect from “Taking On” the Outdoors
• FAQ Related to Outdoor Learning Environments: What the Experts Say….Let’s Dig in the Dirt!

Music for your Classroom

Founder Jenny Morgan has recorded a CD of professionally produced music, some featuring local youth singers, that will get your students up, excited about nature, and ready to head outside!

Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s “Trail to Every Classroom” program

A place-based professional development workshop series connecting communities along the Appalachian Trail to promote resource stewardship, recreation, and community engagement.

The North Carolina Zoo

The Education Section of the North Carolina Zoo facilitates a wide variety of experiences and activities within the park and beyond to help people understand the natural world. Educators promote awareness and concern for nature, placing value upon conservation of plants and animals.

Educators: Regardless of your grade level, the Zoo can help you find ways to integrate the natural world into your classroom. Have a member of our staff visit your school or bring your students to Asheboro for a unique field study project. Become involved with conservation projects in far corners of the world while Zoo lesson plans and activities help you meet North Carolina curriculum objectives.

Field Trip Earth

A global resource for teachers, students, and proponents of wildlife conservation.

Teacher and Professional Development at the Zoo

Run through the N.C. Zoo, this workshop provides educators with resources, materials and strategies to improve their ability to facilitate inquiry based investigations.

Bring the Zoo to You

Outreach programs offered by the N.C. Zoo education staff.  Currently three programs are offered, click the link for details.

Keepers in the Classroom

A program offered by the N.C. Zoo that provides the opportunity for a keeper to engage students in discussions about environmental issues relative to their won lives and specific to animals and plants exhibited at the N.C. Zoo.

EDventures @ the Zoo

These are on site programs offered at the N.C. Zoo for Kindergardeners to 8th grade age children.  With eight different programs offered, your kid is sure to find one that enriches his/her desire to learn about animals and the need for health habitats.

Educator Resources

Resources collected by the N.C. Zoo for educators who are looking for new ways to inspire students.

UNITE

This program focuses on joining together students and teachers from schools in Uganada and North Carolina, to create partnerships that advance conservation education.

Homeschool Programs

Make the Zoo a part of your home school curriculum!  Zoo Club will offer a program package, specifically designed to provide an enriching and engaging experience for all participants.

Professional Development

Check out the Calendar of Events for other professional development opportunities across the state!

Heading Out! Discovering Nature’s Classroom Teacher Workshop

September 23-25, 2010 at First Environments Early Learning Center - Research Triangle Park, NC

A *FREE* Professional Development Workshop for North Carolina’s PreK-5th* Grade Teachers

This workshop will provide educators with strategies to easily incorporate outdoor experiences, gardening, storytelling and art into their curriculum in an effort to improve student health and learning. First Environments Early Learning Center provides the ideal site for educators to learn from a model facility that successfully incorporates outdoor learning into the curriculum. Hands-on, real world experiences will be emphasized! Content and activities are aligned with the NC Foundations for Early Learning and the NC Standard Course of Study for K-5 Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Mathematics and Healthy Living. Participants are expected commit to the entire institute and incorporate learned skills and experiences into their teaching in the classroom. In return, they will receive experiences with a variety of outstanding environmental educators and researchers, a wealth of new ideas and instructional resources to enhance classroom teaching, CEU and Environmental Education Certification Credits.

Open to North Carolina early childhood educators and administrators and public, private or charter school teachers or administrators of grades PreK-5. Multiple teachers from the same school or center are encouraged to apply.  Note: While the workshop is open to educators state-wide, preference will be given to applications from the 36-county Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program region

Cost: FREE

Note: Because a limited number of seats are available for this workshop, we require a $50 deposit to officially reserve your space when you receive notice that you have 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 arrival at the workshop. The workshop is made available by the Environmental Education Fund, with funding provided by the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program. Host site and facilitation provided by the First Environments Early Learning Center. The workshop is administered by the NC Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. Partners include the the NC Zoo, the Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World, the UNC-CH School of Information and Library Sciences, the Natural Learning Initiative at NC State University, NC Cooperative Extension Forestry , the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and others. For more information or to apply, click here.

Applications must be submitted by September 1, 2010. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance status no later than September 8, 2010.

For research information, please visit our research page.