EE Jobs and Internships: NC's "Go To" Site for Jobs in the Environmental Education Field

 

Did you know that part of the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs Environmental Education Certification Program is to serve as a clearinghouse for environmental education and related jobs? Both job-seekers and potential employers use the NC-EE listserv and the EE Jobs and Internships page to post and find positions in the field. The office recently received three messages from people employed in positions they found on the eenorthcarolina.org website:

If I had not seen the listing for my current position on the EE listserv email, I would have never even known about the job. Now I am serving in the job of my dreams, the one I hope to retire in, and I owe so much to the Office of Environmental Education for this privilege. The Office has immeasurable value in my eyes but the jobs listing and listservs are definitely two of their biggest strengths. Thank you so very much for all you do!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm now employed in Wake County as an environmental education program aide, a position I found listed on the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs website. Thank you and everyone else involved for curating such a wonderful resource.

…thanks so much for maintaining your site. I found my current position with a state park on this posting board as well as a previous position I held at non-profit environmental education center. I would be less employed without your work!

Environmental education program providers, don’t hesitate to share your own job postings with us to share. Also, if you found your job or have hired great employees through our EE jobs listings or the NC-EE listserv, please let us know!

Durham Public Schools Developing "Hub" Farm for Environmental Education

Durham Public Schools is excited to announce the "vine-cutting" ceremony to kick of their new facility dedicated to hands-on environmental education. The current plans are to use land around Eno Valley Elementary School as a community farm and outdoor learning environment for the public school system and the greater Durham community. Learn more about this project on their Facebook page and this story from the Durham Herald Sun. Better yet, join them on October 20th!

 

There are numerous peer-reviewed studies that show that outdoor experiential learning has direct academic benefits. Read some of them on our EE Research page and on our eeResearch and eeSchools news feeds.  

 

 

 

 

Montreat College Preparing for 4th Cohort of Master of Science in Environmental Education Students

Montreat College is again offering its Master of Science in Environmental Education (MSEE) degree. This will be the fourth cohort of students in this unique graduate program. The Montreat MSEE is not online, but is considered is low-residency and aimed at working environmental education professionals. Students come to campus only on weekends once a month during spring and fall semesters. Students then come to campus for a two-week summer intensive during the first summer, and then travel for two-weeks during our second summer—the past two cohorts have elected to go to Hawaii and Alaska. More information is available at www.montreat.edu/MSEE and in the video below--you may recognize some familiar faces!

North Carolinians Present Research at North American Association for Environmental Education Conference

 

The 41st Annual North American Association for Environmental Education Conference recently ended in Oakland, CA (October 9-13, 2012). More than 1,000 environmental education professionals from around the world gathered to build capacity, increase their knowledge base and promote the environmental education profession.

The program is still available at http://www.naaee.net/conference, and you can also find reports and photos from the conference on social media. NAAEE has a Facebook page, and on Twitter, follow or (or just view the links if you are not a Twitter user) @NAAEEstaff and the #NAAEE2012 hashtag.

Faculty and students from two North Carolina universities, N.C. State and UNC Greensboro, presented at the NAAEE Research Symposium which is held the two days prior to the conference:

Identifying and Evaluating Drivers of Environmental Literacy in North Carolina
Do outdoor and environmental education work? We will discuss results from a study in support of North Carolina's ELP. Topics include how teacher environmental attitudes, use of environmental education, and time spent outside predict environmental literacy levels in North Carolina.
Presenters: Kathryn Stevenson and Renee Strnad, N.C. State University

"I'm not a snake person": Student's identity boundary work
In an ethnographic study of diverse high school students’ identity boundary work in a summer herpetology research experience, students, over time, engaged with nature and animals in ways that surprised themselves. We examined what promoted these kinds of identity boundary shifts (i.e. moving from I am not a "snake person" to I am a "snake person").
Presenter: Lacey D. Huffling, UNCG
Collaborators:  Heidi B. Carlone, Theresa Hegedus, Terry Tomasek, Catherine E. Matthews, Melony Allen, Mary Ash, Aerin Benavides

Identity-related motivations of vistors at EE events: Can snakes see science?
In this study, we researched what motivated visitors to attend community events focused on environmental education, specifically herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians). We examined the identity-related motivations of visitors with the goal of learning what sparks interest, emotion, and engagement in science.
Presenter: Lacey D. Huffling, UNCG
Collaborators:  Theresa Hegedus, Heidi B. Carlone, Terry Tomasek, Catherine E. Matthews, Melony Allen, Aerin Benavides

Using animals that slither, slide, run, and hide for education
Participants learned how to use snakes, salamander, turtles, and frogs for conservation education. They also experienced and discovered activities that engage students in authentic science while also teaching conservation.
Presenter(s): Lacey D. Huffling, Aerin Benavides, UNCG
Collaborators: Catherine E. Matthews, Heidi B. Carlone, Terry Tomasek, Melony Allen, Theresa Hegedus, Mary Ash, Lynn Sametz, Ann Somers, Andy Ash

City of Greensboro to Offer Mobile Environmental Education Classroom

The city of Greensboro Library and Parks and Recreation departments are repurposing the city's current Reading Railroad service to become an environmental education mobile classroom that will help the city’s efforts to package and extend its educational resources to students throughout the community.

"We are excited about this new partnership opportunity with the Greensboro Public Library," said Chris Wilson, interim director for the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department. "Our staff will collaborate with their environmental education librarian to ensure that programs are readily available in underserved neighborhoods throughout our community. In addition, this gives us a great resource to take on the road to provide edutainment opportunities for local schools."

 

The exterior of the bus will be rewrapped and the interior redesigned to accommodate the mobile classroom. It will feature live animals and environmental displays, and a collection of resources, books and DVDs will be available to be checked out. The city’s environmental education librarian and the Parks and Recreation’s environmental education staff will collaborate on the programs offered. This initiative will ensure that environmental education programs are readily available to underserved residents throughout the community.

The Reading Railroad is currently parked at Lake Brandt, serving the residents of Lake Jeanette and northeast Greensboro on Thursdays from 9 am to 5 pm through October 25.

 

Greensboro is also home to the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library. This facility serves as a regular library, but also has an environmental education focus and offers a number of general public and professional development environmental education programs. It is also listed as a North Carolina Environmental Education Center by the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. The library is located in the 98-acre Price Park which includes a bird and butterfly meadow, reading garden, walking trails, ponds, and wetlands. In addition to popular collections, the library also has an extensive collection of nature, gardening, and environmental resources for children and adults. Price Park backpacks are available for adults and children to explore nature along the trails and in their own backyard. (Photo from KCE Library)