EECapacity Seeks to Enhance Environmental Education in Urban Communities

A training focused on addressing environmental education in urban communities took place the week of May 15th in Washington, DC. This project stems from a five-year Environmental Protection Agency environmental education professional development program grant that was awarded to the Cornell University Civic Ecology Lab. The EE Capcity program "seeks to redefine environmental education practice within the context of an increasingly urban society" and will also research the role of new social networks in creating innovative educational practices.

Though the training has ended, the program continues and Twitter users can still continue the discussion with the hashtag #eecap. For a detailed story on the EE Capacity project, read this piece in the Cornell Chronicle. Photo from Cornell Chronicle.

Eleven N.C. Colleges Make Princeton Review's "Green Colleges" Guide

The Princeton Review, in collaboration with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, released its third annual edition of "The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition" in April. Eleven North Carolina colleges made the list this year!

Appalachian State University
Catawba College
Duke University
Elon University
Guilford College
North Carolina State University
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Western Carolina University

"The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition" profiles 322 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The 232-page book—the only free, comprehensive, annually updated guide to green colleges—can be downloaded at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide  and www.centerforgreenschools.org/greenguide. The Guide was developed with generous support from United Technologies Corp (www.utc.com), founding sponsor of the Center for Green Schools. (From the Princeton Review Press Release)

Congratulations again to the eleven, but we know many more North Carolina four-year, two-year and community colleges are doing great work in environmental education, sustainability and green-jobs workforce development. We'll try to feature more of those in EE News Tips and in the "EE College" tag on our Delicious feed.  

Two N.C. Schools Named U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

Congratulations to Evergreen Community Charter School in Asheville and American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro for being named two of the first U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools! Read more about this new program in the press release below:

Obama Administration Names 78 Schools in 29 States and D.C. as First-Ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

Winners Represent a Diverse Portfolio of Schools, Includes 66 Public and 12 Private Schools in Urban and Rural Communities

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was joined today by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to announce the first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools, a list including 78 schools that span 29 states and D.C.

The announcement was made during a visit to Stoddert Elementary School, one of D.C.’s two honorees.

“Science, environmental and outdoor education plays a central role in providing children with a well-rounded education, helping prepare them for the jobs of the future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools demonstrate compelling examples of the ways schools can help children build real-world skillsets, cut school costs, and provide healthy learning environments.”

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition program that opened in September 2011. Honored schools exercise a comprehensive approach to creating “green” environments through reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education to prepare students with the 21st century skills and sustainability concepts needed in the growing global economy.

"Schools that take a green approach cut costs on their utility bills, foster healthy and productive classrooms, and prepare students to thrive in the 21st century economy," said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "These Green Ribbon School award winners are taking outstanding steps to educate tomorrow's environmental leaders, and demonstrating how sustainability and environmental awareness make sense for the health of our students and our country."

The 78 awarded schools were named winners from among nearly 100 nominees submitted by 30 state education agencies, the District of Columbia and the Bureau of Indian Education. More than 350 schools completed applications to their state education agencies. Among the list of winners are 66 public schools including 8 charters, and 12 private schools composed of 43 elementary, 31 middle and 26 high schools with around 50 percent representing high poverty schools.

"These Green Ribbon Schools are giving students and educators what they need to maximize learning and minimize risks like asthma and other respiratory illnesses, ensuring that no child is burdened by pollution in or around their school," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Today's winners are protecting our children's health and opening up environmental education opportunities for students. The EPA is proud to help recognize the Green Ribbon award winners and will continue working to improve the environment of our nation’s schools and helping prepare students to succeed in the emerging green economy.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s “Green Ribbons” are one-year recognition awards. Next year’s competition will open in summer 2012. State agencies are encouraged to send their intents to submit nominees by June 15, 2012 via email to green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov .

Connect with more U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools resources.

Read all U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools blogs.
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EE Week 2012 Greening STEM Planning Toolkits Available

EE Week is coming soon! National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) is the nation's largest environmental education event held each year the week before Earth Day. EE Week inspires environmental learning and stewardship among students by connecting educators with environmental resources to promote K-12 students' understanding of the environment. EE Week is a program of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

EE Week's 2012 theme is Greening STEM: The Environment as Inspiration for 21st Century Learning. The environment is a compelling context for teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) as it provides educators with a diverse range of real-world challenges that engage students in hands-on opportunities to apply and reinforce STEM concepts across multiple subject areas.

EE Week "toolkits" lay out a set of activities and resources in five popular environmental topic areas that incorporate elements of STEM. Some activities and resources also include project-based learning, service-learning and citizen science components.

See the EE Week website for the toolkits and complete details. Be sure to register your organization or school for EE Week as well!

N.C. Environmental Literacy Plan Available for Public Input

The comment period has closed. The N.C. Office of Environmental Educationa and Public Affairs and the ELP Working Group are currently reviewing the public comments and feedback.

A copy of the most recent draft is available at http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/educators--literacy-plan.html

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and numerous partners have developed this plan for North Carolina to enhance environmental literacy among public school students. It will serve as a guiding document in integrating environmental education as a method of enhancing instruction across the curriculum. It addresses educational standards and measuring environmental literacy, teacher professional development opportunities and the importance of buildings and grounds as part of an effective learning experience. For more details on the history of the plan, see http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/educators--literacy-plan.html

The Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs would like to thank members of the Environmental Literacy Plan Working Group http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/ELP-members.html for their time and energy in developing this plan and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction for their partnership and support.

N.C. Environmental Education Centers Dominate Top 30 N.C. Attractions List. Again!

Not just a pretty face--Grandfather Mountain also provides a multitude of environmental education programs to the public, as do many of the other top 30 N.C. Attractions.

Each year, Carolina Publishing Associates, the Matthews-based publisher of the Carolina Heritage Guide, Carolina Field Trips Magazine and the African American Heritage and Visitor's Guide, releases its much-anticipated list of top North Carolina museums and historic attractions. Facilities that are also designated as North Carolina Environmental Education Centers have long dominated the list, and this year is no exception with 17 out of the top 30. These facilities are considered environmental education centers because they offer educational exhibits and programming about nature or other aspects of the environment. Learn more about N.C. Environmental Education Centers.

Facilities listed as N.C. Environmental Education Centers noted in bold.
Read the full story in PR Newswire

The Triangle Business Journal has a beautiful photo gallery of the attractions as well!

(Just a little side note--though not listed as an EE Center, Biltmore has a long history of fostering forestry education! Read more on the Biltmore Estate Forestry page.)
1. Biltmore, Asheville, 1,101,413.
2. Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, 757,700.
3. Discovery Place, Charlotte, 745,060.
4. NC Museum Of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, 712,313.
5. North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, 694,929.
6. Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Kure Beach, 601,366.
7. Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh, 546,799.
8. Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, 485,622.
9. Museum of Life and Science, Durham, 446,874.
10. North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, 411,487.
11. North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, 381,948.
12. North Carolina Arboretum, 367,083.
13. North Carolina Museum of Art, 363,246. (The Art Park trails and grounds)
14. Natural Science Center of Greensboro, 319,076.
15. North Carolina Museum of History, 292,789.
16. Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, 283,478.
17. North Carolina Maritime Museum, 292,789.
18. North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island, 256,186.
19. Grandfather Mountain, 245,000.
20. NASCAR Hall of Fame, 216,630.
21. Battleship North Carolina, 199,498.
22. Tryon Palace, 175,853.
23. Chimney Rock State Park, 170,994.
24. Linville Caverns, 169,830.
25. Cherokee Cultural District, 166,747.
26. The Billy Graham Library, 163,919.
27. The Mint Museum, 149,000.
28. Airborne and Special Operations Museum, 144,289.
29. Catawba Science Center, 141,969.
30. Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, 140,000.

Several New Grants Posted!

Several new grants have just been posted to the EE Grants page! There are a wide variety currently listed, including many that are related to school gardens, food programs and general outdoor learning environments.

PLT GreenSchools! Grant, one of many currently listed on our website.

EE Certification Community Partnership Helps Community Gardens Bloom

Over the years, several enrollees in the N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program have installed schoolyard and community gardens as their required community partnership projects. Gardens like these have become an increasingly popular way to provide environmental education, promote physical activity and increase the availability of fresh, locally grown food. However, good garden management and maintenance is essential to the success of this type of garden. Cindy Lincoln, an educator at the Walnut Creek Wetlands Center in Raleigh, saw this as an opportunity to to help her community as well as communities across the Triangle and possibly the entire state.

For her Environmental Education Certification Community Partnership Project, Cindy created comprehensive and easy-to-use garden maintenance training materials for local community gardeners. Her project required extensive research which included visits to several community gardens in the area to assess their training needs. She also partnered with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, which will be the first community garden to implement her training materials. Cindy plans to volunteer and assist other community gardens in the area with her resources.

The Environmental Education Community Partnership Project is one of five required criteria areas in the N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program, which is managed by the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. The purpose of the project is to provide EE Certification candidates with the opportunity to lead a partnership that has a positive effect on the community and increases environmental awareness and understanding.

Photo from Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Raleigh: http://www.foodshuttle.org/

UNCG Students' Environmental Education Certification Projects Teach Kids about Food, Health and Growing Things

Allyson Cates and Erin Hottle, both pre-service teachers at UNC Greensboro, were recently featured by the Guilford County Cooperative Extension School Garden Network and the North Carolina Community Garden Partners for their greenhouse and garden project at General Green Elementary. Cates and Hottle are also enrolled in the N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program. Different aspects of the greenhouse and garden project are serving as each of their community partnerships, which is a required critieria for the EE Certification Program. 

Their projects involve refurbishing an existing greenhouse at the school, growing and planting seedlings with the students and developing lessons and curricula the teachers can use with students when the project is complete. Project partners include the Guilford County Cooperative Extension School Garden Network and The Giving Seed Sustainable Farm, a nonprofit that connects young people with their environment through hands-on gardening and environmental education programs.

Several other UNCG pre-service teachers are participating in the N.C. EE Certification program as well. Other community projects include school gardens, nature trail restorations and projects that integrate language arts, math, science, art and other subjects with environmental education.

Prescribed Fire Awareness Week in North Carolina

Did you know it is Prescribed Fire Awareness Week in North Carolina? Governor Perdue has declared the second full week in February a time for citizens to “learn more about prescribed burning and the essential role fire plays.” Many government agencies and organizations in our state use "controlled burns" as an effective land and ecosystem management tool. As a matter of fact, several facilities listed as North Carolina Environmental Education Centers use prescribed fire as part of their land management strategies, and incorporate the concept into their environmental education programming.

Fire plays an important role in many of our state's natural ecosystems. According to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission:
Fire once occurred naturally across North Carolina. Low-intensity fires burned every few years, fueled by grass, leaves, pine straw and other forest debris. They kept the forest open, allowing sunlight to penetrate to its floor and reducing buildup of dangerous fuel loads. Fire suppression altered the landscape, allowing fuels to accumulate and putting people and communities in jeopardy.
There are many fire-dependent ecosystems across the state, from the mountains to the coast, including most oak and pine forests. Without fire, many native plants and animals will disappear due to lack of food, habitat and conditions needed for them to exist (NCWRC Press Release).

Read more about prescribed fires at the North Carolina Prescribed Fire Council website: http://ncprescribedfirecouncil.org/prescribed_fire_week.html You can also read respective press releases about the week and the importance of prescribed fires from the N.C. Forest Service, the N.C. Nature Conservancy and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

A recent prescribed burn at Goose Greek Game Land. Photo by Brent Wilson/NCWRC.

Photo from NCWRC Press Release.

EE Certification Community Partnership Wins N.C. DENR Sustainability Award

Jack Singley, a ranger at Eno River State Park, recently won the 2nd Place Individual Project Award in the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Sustainability Contest. The N.C. DENR Sustainability Awards are given annually to N.C. DENR employees, divisions and sections that excel in projects or solutions that save natural resources and increase efficiency in the workplace and community.

Jack's submission was also his Environmental Education Community Partnership, which is required for the completion of the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program. The purpose of the Community Partnership Project is to provide candidates with the opportunity to take on a leadership role in a partnership that will have a positive effect on the community and that will increase environmental awareness and understanding.

Jack's project tackled the problem of short cut trails at William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh. "Short cut trails" are unauthorized trails made by park visitors. They can be a safety hazard and can also cause serious damage to the natural ecosystems the parks preserve. Jack's project enlisted volunteers to restore native vegetation to areas that had been damaged by short cut trails. The volunteers also helped install educational signage about short cut trails to aid in preventing them in the future. The sign was made from an abandoned kiosk from another part of the park, which saved both money and resources.

Congratulations Jack!

All Certified Environmental Educators (and their communities) are winners in our book. See some of their projects at http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/certification--criteria5.html

Groundhog Day in North Carolina: The Results Are In!

Mortimer Groundhog from White Deer Park, Garner. Mortimer is one of many groundhogs

 that practiced their prognostication skills this week.

Update: Groundhog Day events were a hit across the state this year! The final North Carolina groundhog tally had three predicting early Spring and only two predicting six more weeks of winter! Of course, we use modern technology now to predict weather and climate trends, but Groundhog Day serves as a great teachable moment to learn more about folklore, animal behavior, weather and climate.

Here are the results by city:

Nibbles (Asheville): Spring
Mortimer (Garner): Spring
Woody (Greensboro): Spring
Sir Walter Wally (Raleigh): Winter
Queen Charlotte: Winter

If we've missed any other NC prognosticating woodchucks, land beavers or wistlepigs, let us know.

(See the EE Calendar for some of the major events that were offered during the week)

EE Certification in the News

The Chatham News and the Chatham County Schools website recently featured Sally Scholle, a North Carolina Certified Environmental Educator. Sally is a school social worker and also coordinates the school garden at Siler City Elementary.
Read the press release

Sally is one of hundreds of North Carolina Certified Environmental Educators. Learn more about his popular program on our website. If you know of any media coverage of Certified Environmental Educators, please forward to Marty.Wiggins@ncdenr.gov.

Johnston Community College Grows Orchard with help of Grant Resources from the Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs

This is a note we received from Leslie VanHoy, Grants Director at Johnston Community College.*

A simple Google search led me to your grants page, and thanks to the resources there Johnston Community College (JCC) planted 43 fruit trees to help feed the hungry in our area.

On Feb. 1 [2011], we read about the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation’s grant competition. We followed the links that you provided to the application guidelines and grant form. We applied and in less than a month we were accepted for the online voting campaign that began April 15. Every day until the end of August, the College competed in an online competition with more than 130 other organizations across the nation.

You can read the description of our project on our ballot by clicking on the “2011 Winners” tab on http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index  and then scrolling down to “The Arboretum at Johnston Community College.”

Read the official JCC Press Release

We are so happy JCC found this grant on our page, and especially glad they won the grant! The EE Grants page on our site is updated at least weekly (sometimes even daily) and lists grants chronologically by deadline. This means no sifting through grants that have expired. We also strive to make sure all the grants apply to projects in North Carolina. Our EE Contests page also has opportunities that often award cash or in-kind donations for projects. If you have applied for and/or benefited from a grant or contest listed on our site, please let us know. Email Marty.Wiggins@ncdenr.gov

Also note that the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation still has this grant, as well as the "Fruit Tree 101" program for schools, still open for 2012. Both are listed on the EE Grants page!

*Printed with her permission.

Center for Environment at Catawba Accepting Applications for National Environmental Summit

The Center for the Environment at Catawba College is now accepting applications for its 2012 National Environmental Summit for High School Students.

The event, “Redesigning Our Future,” is an intensive experience which is open to high school students who will be juniors and seniors in the 2012-2013 academic year.

Sustainability designers, scientists and engineers from the prestigious Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) of Colorado will collaborate with the Center and Catawba professors to provide the leadership and instruction for the summit.

Scheduled for July 9-14 with follow-up activities through May 2013, the summit will emphasize whole systems thinking, helping students become collaborative leaders and effective communicators. Summit leaders will provide knowledge and help the students hone analytical skills that will help them return to their schools and communities empowered to have a tangible impact.

A hallmark of the summit is its involvement of multiple disciplines. Students will explore the concept of environmental leadership through the perspective of their own skills and interest in the arts, humanities, education, history, business, science and technology. They will learn how essential elements of these varied disciplines – creativity, expression, innovation, observation, experimentation and teamwork – are critical to their effectiveness as leaders.

The summit will take place on the Catawba College campus. Many sessions will be held in the Center for the Environment facility –one of the first green facilities on a college campus in the nation – and on its 189-acre ecological preserve. Participants will stay in gender specific, LEED-certified residence halls.

The cost is $300, which includes all meals, lodging and interactive instruction. A limited number of full and partial cholarships are avalaible.

The Center for the Environment has been conducting community outreach on multiple environmental topics since 1996. RMI is an international leader in research on sustainable designs, practices and policies.

For more information, contact Cathy Holladay  704.637.4791 chollada@catawba.edu                              

The Center for the Environment at Catawba College was founded in 1996 to provide education and outreach centered on prevalent environmental challenges and to foster community-oriented sustainable solutions that can serve as a model for programs throughout the country. For more information, visit www.centerfortheenvironment.org or www.campaignforcleanair.org.

Evolving EE Practices in Urban Communities Webinar: Learn More About the Urban EE Collective Professional Learning Community

Webinar title: Evolving EE Practices in Urban Communities
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19TH, 2012
4:00 PM TO 5:30 PM EASTERN, 1:00 PM TO 2:30 PM PACIFIC

This webinar has passed and was extremely popular. Many people were not able to get in. But do not dismay! It's available online at  http://breeze.cce.cornell.edu/p3rrft4mu2f/

 You can also join the Urban EE Collective Facebook group and ask to be added as a member of the Urban EE Collective's Professional Learning Group (See below).

Join the EE Capacity Project for the launch of the Urban EE Collective’s Professional Learning Community (PLC), a space for the sharing of ideas and experiences and the building of knowledge through a collaborative and democratic process that promotes equity and respect. This PLC is presented by the EECapacity Project, which supports environmental education and youth and community development in the US, Canada, and Mexico. (Click here for more information on how to connect with the PLC).


The Urban EE Collective Facebook Group was created by the EECapacity project four months ago and now boasts more than 230 active members, who are sharing ideas, resources, and contacts. Seeing an immediate need for more collaboration among the community, the Urban EE Collective sees that online Professional Learning Community as a natural step forward to continue advancing the field of urban environmental education. Through chast, wikis, blogs and webinars, they plan to grow as practitioners and members of thier own urban communities, while helping increase the capacity of their network. For more information, send an email to Jose "Pepe" Marcos-Iga
pepe@eeexchange.org

EE Centers Featured on "Get Going NC"

 Author and outdoor recreation enthusiast Joe Miller recently did a nice feature on North Carolina Environmental Education Centers as part of a series on outdoor activities during the holidays. The holidays are over, but it's still an enjoyable and educational read. Thanks Joe!

Holiday Escapes: An Educated Walk

Green Schools Webinar Series

Update: These webinars have passed, but are archived on the ClassroomEarth website.

Don't let this opportunity pass you by! The National Environmental Education Foundation  in partnership with the National Education Association Foundation  and Green Schools National Conference is hosting its third webinar to help educators around the country learn from experts and peers how to green their schools and curriculum.

This final webinar is Wednesday January, 18, 2012 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST. It will feature well-known academic and author David Sobel from Antioch University New England; Gerald Lieberman, the director of the State Education and Environment Roundtable (SEER); and Jennifer Seydel, School Designer at Expeditionary Learning.

The webinar is free, but you must register. Registered participants will receive webinar login information via email prior to the webinar. Registered participants who complete the webinar are eligible for a special discounted registration rate for the National Green Schools Conference on February 27-29, 2012 in Denver, CO.

Register at http://www.classroomearth.org/gswebinars

N.C. State Parks Host First Day Hikes

Update: The First Day hikes were a big success. Read a great story and view the photo gallery from the outing at William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh.

Start the New Year right with a hike at one of North Carolina's state parks. State parks in North Carolina are creating a new tradition for New Year’s Day, offering First Day Hikes on trails across the state.

First Day Hikes guided by rangers and volunteers will be held at 27 state parks. All state parks and state recreation areas will be open on the holiday with cold-weather recreation opportunities as well as warm visitor centers with exhibit halls presenting cultural and natural history.

Detailed information about scheduled hikes in North Carolina’s state parks can be found under “Education” on the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation website, http://www.ncparks.gov/ or by going to http://www.americasstateparks.org/

"First Day Hikes" are being promoted in North Carolina in concert with a national effort by America’s State Parks and the National Association of State Park Directors. News about hiking opportunities in all 50 states along with tips on winter hiking can be found on the America’s State Parks website, www.americasstateparks.org . The effort promotes a healthy lifestyle as well as appreciation of natural resources.

Here it is! EEnorthcarolina.org Launches New Site

Let us know what you think! We launched our new website today at 2:00 p.m. (December 19, 2011). We think you will find the new site leaner, more visually appealing and more user-friendly. If you have questions or comments, please direct them to Tracey.Ritchie@ncdenr.gov.