Secretary Regan Visits Environmental Education Class at Appalachian State University

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Michael Regan visited Tom Randolph’s environmental education class at Appalachian State University last week to talk about climate change, and how North Carolina is working to mitigate the impact, including supporting the transition to clean energy.

Randolph is a North Carolina Certified Environmental Educator through the DEQ administered program and serves as the Lead Education Ranger at Mt. Jefferson State Natural Area, a part of the North Carolina State Parks system located in West Jefferson in Ashe County. He is also an adjunct professor of interpretive methods at ASU where he teaches the class in environmental education.

Secretary Regan enjoyed hearing from students and was able to hand out certificates to students for completing their Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) Workshop, a national environmental education curriculum that is managed on the state level by the department. Students were interested in learning more about how they can engage the university, the local community and beyond to implement sustainable practices.

“It was such an honor to come to Appalachian State University and speak to a class of environmental education students who are passionate about the environment and looking for ways to protect what makes North Carolina special,” said Secretary Michael S. Regan. “The students raised some challenging questions about climate change and its impacts, but they also are actively engaged in being part of the solution.”