EE Centers, Parks, Science Museums Dominate Carolina Publishing Associates "Most Visited" List

The numbers are in...Carolina Publishing Associates has released it's list of the top 30 most-visited attractions in North Carolina. Eighteen of them are listed as N.C. Environmental Education Centers on our list and offer some type of environmental education and/or natural sciences programming for the public. (Facilities in bold are listed as N.C. Environmental Education Centers on www.eenorthcarolina.org)

1. Biltmore, Asheville, 1,210,138. 

2. NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, 1,026,177.

3. North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, 739,943.

4. Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, 722,260.

5. Discovery Place, Charlotte, 705,845.

6. Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh. 648,450.

7. Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Kure Beach. 614,158.

8.Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, 489,123.

9. NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, 447,892.

10. Museum of Life and Science, Durham, 421,095.

11. NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, 389, 612.

12. Jennette's Pier, Nags Head, 308,786.

13. North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville. 332,748.

14. Greensboro Science Center, 325,536.

15. NC Maritime Museums (Beaufort, Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras, NC Maritime Museum at Southport), 325,921.

16. NC Museum of History, Raleigh. 288,800.

17. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 287,605.

18. NC Aquarium at Roanoke Island, Manteo, 275,141.

19. Fort Raleigh National Historic Park, Manteo, 264,942.

20. Grandfather Mountain, Linville, 314,127.

21. Battleship North Carolina, Wilmington, 211,724

22. Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock. 194,073.

23. Duke University Chapel, Durham, 182,215.

24. Tryon Palace, New Bern 181,350.

25. NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte, 173,024.

26. Linville Caverns, Marion, 170,689.

27. Old Salem Museums & Gardens, Winston-Salem, 146,900.

28. Cherokee Cultural Attractions, Cherokee, 145,778.

29. Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill, NC 142,135.

30. Mint Museums, Charlotte, 142,057.

Author, Educator Sobel to Keynote Southeastern EE Alliance Annual Conference in Asheboro

Exciting news! Our friends the Environmental Educators of North Carolina (EENC) will be hosting the Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance (SEEA) Annual Conference at Caraway Camp and Conference Center near Asheboro, North Carolina on Sept. 19-21. The SEEA is a network of state affiliates of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) located in the southeastern region of the U.S. Member states include AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, and TN. SEEA is one of only two regional affiliates of NAAEE. For more information on the conference, visit the EENC website. 

EENC is also proud to announce that well-known educator and author David Sobel will keynote the event! Sobel is Senior Faculty in the Education Department at Antioch University New England in Keene, NH and he consults and speaks widely on child development and place-based education. He has authored seven books and more than 60 articles focused on children and nature for educators, parents, environmentalists and school administrators in the last 25 years. In 2007, he was identified as one of the Daring Dozen educators in the United States by Edutopia magazine.

He has served on the editorial boards of Encounter, Community Works Journal and Orion and writes a regular column for Community Works Journal. His articles and essays have appeared in Orion, Encounter, Sierra, Sanctuary, Wondertime, Green Teacher, Play Rights, Harvard Education Letter and other publications. His articles and essays have been included in Father Nature, Education, Information and Transformation, Stories from Where We Live-The North Atlantic Coast; Place-based Education in a Global Age; and The Child: An Encyclopedic Companion published by The University of Chicago. His most recent books are Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators published by Stenhouse and Wild Play, Parenting Adventures in the Great Outdoors published by Sierra Books.

NC Beautiful Announces Windows of Opportunity Grant Recipients

NC Beautiful, a provider of environmental education and beautification opportunities that elevate the quality of life of North Carolinians, has announced this year’s recipients of the organization’s environmental education grants. Thirty schools were awarded Windows of Opportunity Grants that are available to certified, full-time K-12 teachers in the state of North Carolina.

Windows of Opportunity provides up to $1,000 grants to NC teachers to reward their creativity fostering environmental stewardship, leadership, and awareness and initiating a sense of community service. Since 1999, NC Beautiful has awarded tens of thousands of grant dollars to schools all across North Carolina—from the mountains to the coast. NC Beautiful Executive Director, Steve Vacendak, says that the goal of NC Beautiful is to annually offer a Windows of Opportunity grant in all 100 counties in North Carolina. “Promoting and fostering environmental stewardship is a state-wide commitment,” says Vacendak. “By rewarding our teachers throughout our state for their innovation and hard work, we can ensure that our children and grandchildren are participating in a project that sparks a lifelong interest in nature. They will appreciate this beautiful state even more for having had a teacher who went above and beyond to give them a hands-on, real world experience. We are proud to be a small part of that discovery.” 

The Windows of Opportunity Grants were created to cultivate an appreciation of natural environments by helping children get out of school and into natural settings. The grants also build leadership awareness, develop environmental educational mentors and ambassadors, create materials and resources that can be used by other K-12 students, and develop a sustainable, outdoor program, which will continue well after the grant period ends. 

Entries for next year’s Windows of Opportunity Grants will be accepted online starting July, 2014. For more information, visit www.ncbeautiful.org. 

NC Beautiful has been part of the state’s environmental preservation community for over 40 years—supporting awareness, education and beautification efforts that affect our quality of life. Today, NC Beautiful concentrates on hands-on and merit-based programs designed to empower citizens to preserve the natural beauty of the state of North Carolina. Whether it’s school children building outdoor classrooms, graduate students developing cutting edge research, or a Boy Scout troop planting azaleas at an elder care facility, NC Beautiful makes it possible for North Carolinians to keep NC Beautiful. 

Celeste Maus, teacher at Perquimans High School in Hertford, accepts her Windows of Opportunity Grant award from NC Beautiful board member Tim Aydlett and NC Beautiful Executive Director Steve Vacendak. 

Name	School	City
Nancy Bryant	Burlington Christian Academy	Burlington
Tyler Mitchell	Alexander Central	Taylorsville
Lee Ann Smith	Glen Arden Elementary	Arden
Britta Gramer	Morganton Day School	Morganton
Mark Patton	Terry Sanford High School	Fayetteville
Rebecca Johnson and Rodney Metters	North Davidson Middle School	Lexington
Keith Stanek	Tyro Middle School	Lexington
Jake Pittillo	Clear Creek Elementary	Hendersonville
Richele Dunavent and Courtney Ruiz	Sugarloaf Elementary	Hendersonville
Kathy Bosiak	Lincolnton High School	Lincolnton
Tracy Rettig/Kim Kelleher	New Hope Elementary School	Chapel Hill
Carla Wilkins	Helena Elementary	Timberlake
Nancy Pepper	Green Valley Elementary	Boone
Sherry Maines	Glade Creek School	Ennice
Tricia Gaible	Sparta Elementary	Sparta
Tiffany Mayo	West Carteret High School	Morehead City
Paul Gainey	ASPIRE Program	New Bern
Alison Edwards	School for Creative Studies	Durham
Bess C. Adcock	Granville Central High School	Stem
Richele Dunavent, Courtney Ruiz	Sugarloaf Elementary	Hendersonville
Lisa Chestnutt	Mattamuskeet Early College                     Swan Quarter
Debra H. Jones	Clayton High School	Kinston
Cliff Hudson	Contentnea/Savannah School	Williamston
Amy Alexander	Riverside High School	Elizabeth City
Stacey Pierce	Perquimans Central School	Hertford
Celeste Wescott Maus	Perquimans High School	Hertford
Catherine Rohrbaugh	Perquimans County High School	Raleigh
Jennifer E. Schwachenwald	Holly Grove Middle School	Wake Forest
Jason Hunning	Dillard Drive Middle School	Raleigh
Heather Hale	Wake Forest Elementary	Raleigh