Over the last three years, EENC has been recognized as a leader in the field of environmental education within North Carolina, the southeast, and the nation through our participation in the ee360 Leadership Clinic. Past President Shannon Culpepper, Partnership Chair Brad Daniel, and Executive Director Lauren Pyle spent the last week of June in Monterey, California presenting on our state's successes, getting to know other state leaders, and learning through collaboration.
Through our participation in ee360, in 2017 EENC board members took the plunge to develop our first staff position. In 2018, we sought to professionalize the field of EE by growing a stronger board and membership; this included providing diversity, equity and inclusion trainings to our memberships and partners. In 2019, we will build on the past by continuing to improve our board operations and providing another diversity, equity, and inclusion training in the Asheville area in November.
EENC has come a long way in the last three years. We've gone from being the state with the most questions to one that can share our results and experiences to help others. We all still have a lot to learn and much to do in order to grow, but we should all celebrate just how far our state has come.
Thinking of joining us at the 2019 conference at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia September 19-21? Registration is now open for #EENC2019, MemorEEs Make Us!
Register by July 19 for the best rate as rates will increase on July 20. Members receive an additional discount! Be sure to login to your EENC account during registration and you'll see an option to select the member rate.
Conference Lodging
We have a block of rooms available at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gastonia, about 2 miles from the Schiele. Instructions for how to contact the hotel to receive the group rate are available though the lodging section of the conference webpage. For the more budget minded conference attendee, or for anyone who simply enjoys camping, we also have two camping options this year, listed on the website under the hotel information.
Schedule
Want to see what's happening at this year's conference before you register? The preliminary conference schedule is available online now! On the conference schedule page, you'll find a general outline of the conference and the title of the presentations that will be offered each day.
We hope you'll join us for this conference full of networking, learning, and fun!
My name is Trent Stanforth and I am an environmental educator. I’ve been an advocate for the environment my whole life, but only decided to teach about it around a decade ago. My journey to EE started back in 2009-10, which is right after I graduated from NC State with a degree in Natural Resources and had no idea what career I wanted, just as long as it had something to do with the outdoors. This was also a tough time period for new graduates, as the economy was recovering from the recent housing market crash and jobs were incredibly limited. This, however, was an opportunity in disguise, and gave me the chance to reflect on what my passions were and how to utilize them in a career.
I mentally listed my passions, starting with my love of the outdoors. Looking back at my youth, my fondest memories were connected with being outside; whether it was visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains in the fall or climbing trees with my friends after school. I then progressed to more recent memories of pure joy; recalling recent college courses I took, particularly Dendrology and Forest Science. I’ve always enjoyed trees and knew of their importance, but after studying them in depth, I came through on the other side with a deeper sense of stewardship and appreciation. And then it hit me. That’s what I want to do; teach the importance of the environment and stir that sense of protection and stewardship within others. So I did some research.
A simple Google search brought me along something I had never heard of; the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification program. I was ecstatic to see that anyone can sign up, even someone that’s never taught anything to anyone in their life. I dove head-first into the program, signing up for the next available Methods of Teaching EE course, collecting workshop hours along the way, and at the same time searching for a way to truly get into the EE field with some hands-on work and teaching opportunities. Fortunately, a new City of Raleigh park opened recently and was looking for part-time staff members. I applied and found myself working at Wilkerson Nature Preserve Park; maintaining trails, participating in various citizen science projects, and eventually getting my first taste of teaching. My first ever program was a Tree Walk tailored toward family audiences. Only a father and daughter showed up, but we had a blast, walking along the trail and looking for oaks, pines, and tulip trees. Despite my nerves, I knew then that this was a thrill that will never go away, and I was hooked for life.
During my time at Wilkerson, I completed my certification, and also started volunteering at the Museum of Natural Sciences teaching to school groups through their Curiosity Classroom. However, my next goal was to do this full-time, which became quite a journey of itself. My first break was working at Imagination Station Science & History Museum as their Education Programmer. Working at a small non-profit museum, staff was limited, which led me to be exposed to teaching different subjects to different audiences in different settings, which in hindsight was exactly what I was looking for. That exposure sculpted my teaching methods and created confidence in my teaching ability. However, after 2 years there, I had limited opportunities to teach outdoor and environmental education, which led me searching for other job openings.
At this point in my journey, I relocated back to the Triangle and started working at the Museum of Life + Science. As a program facilitator, I taught school programs to school groups, with more chances to teach subjects I was passionate about. At the same time, I started working at Prairie Ridge Ecostation as one of their Natural Science Education Specialists, working weekends and developing and teaching my own environmental education programs. With a need of giving back to the EE field, I joined the EENC board in 2017 as Membership Chair, a volunteer position that started (and has continued) that need to this day. Even though both positions gave me ample experience and confidence, I still pursued that dream of full-time work. That opportunity came earlier this year, as I applied and was given the role of Environmental Education Manager at Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center. With this new position, I am able to pull together all of my previous experiences and skills and manage all facets of education within a true EE center.
It has been a long road to where I am today, but it is one I would not change for anything. I have created friendships and contacts along the way that I treasure dearly. To the readers that are new in this field, I will tell you this: don’t get discouraged. Being an environmental educator isn’t easy and the road to being one can be full of frustration and disappointment, but if this is where your passions lie, go after it no matter what. Keep this quote in mind by Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” I’ve found that through environmental education, and if you have too; welcome. You’re gonna like it here.
EENC has developed a resource detailing how funding from the federal “Every Student Succeeds Act” can be used to support environmental education as part of a well-rounded education. EENC developed the document in partnership with the NC Office of Environmental Education and many of the state’s environmental education program facilitators to highlight how funds can be used by local education agencies for field trips, after-school programming, professional development; citizen science in the classroom and more! We are thrilled to share that the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has posted the resource to on their website under the Federal Program and Monitoring Support section. EENC and the office are working with DPI on an official plan to share this news with school district officials, but we're pleased to be able to provide this resource to school districts who will be working on how to budget funds in their ESSA plans. Stay tuned for more updates! Find the "Environmental Science using ESSA Funding" document online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/program-monitoring/resources/
The Guidelines for Excellence describe best practices in Environmental Education for K-12 learners, nonformal educators, early childhood education, materials, professional development, and community engagement. More than just another set of standards, these resources can help improve your teaching and programs.
Previously, all training about the Guidelines for Excellence was managed at the national level. EENC is one of four state selected to pilot a new state-level program. What does this mean? You can expect more Guidelines workshops, for sure! Later this year, EENC will be hosting one workshop for those interested in becoming trainers and at least one additional workshop for educators interested in learning how the Guidelines can help.
We'll post details on EENC's web page once we finalize dates, but we're excited to be able to offer these additional professional development opportunities to support North Carolina's EE community!
After a detailed review by a committee of EENC life members and board members, we are proud to announce the recipients of EENC's inaugural mini-grant! These educators are taking on projects ranging from outdoor classrooms to gardens to tools for outdoor learning to racial equity training.
Congratulations to the awardees:
As our grant recipients finish their projects through the year, we'll be sharing more details and photos of their work. Stay tuned to see how these EENC members are promoting excellence in environmental education!
That's the one of the questions your EENC board and staff are trying to address this year. NC State Parks has designated 2019 the "year of the snake" - but EENC is taking on 2019 as the "year of the member."
Beginning in January, the board made a plan to re-evaluate our current member structure and benefits to ensure what we're providing meets the needs of current members as well as like-minded individuals and organizations who are not members yet. After all, we exist to support you - so we want to make sure we're on target!
We're working with researchers Dr. Kathryn Stevenson and Dr. K.C. Busch from NC State for a formal assessment of what people in our EE community actually value in a professional organization.
And we want to increase our active member community by engaging new partners, individuals, and organizations. We'll have more to come on this - but as the author Richard Louv said at the 2016 EENC conference, to make an impact, "We're gonna need a bigger boat." (Yes, it was a JAWS reference). There is strength in numbers, and environmental education needs all the support it can get.
Thanks to the Pisces Foundation who is funding a lot of this work and research via a grant to the Southeastern EE Alliance.
Have suggestions or want to get more involved in this? Contact Lauren Pyle at eencexecdirector@gmail.com
Time and again, we've heard EENC members ask for more opportunities to connect beyond our conferences and events. New for 2019, we're introducing digital round-tables to keep conversations flowing. Each month around the 15th, we'll post a new topic for conversation in our members-only forum.
Topics will change from month to month. Have a topic you think we should be talking about? Feel free to email it to us or post it yourself in the forum.
To kick start this program, we're leading with a prompt that our board and staff have been talking a lot about lately:
What do you think it will take to diversify the field of environmental education - for facilities, staff, volunteers, and participants? Are there resources about this that you think EENC members should know about? Have you/your facility implemented any strategies that have helped make a difference?
Want to respond or see what others are saying? Log into your account at the top right corner of this page and then click on the "Forum" tab in the menu bar. Not a member? Join online today to take a more active role in our community.
What difference would $250 make for your teaching? Could it pay for that workshop you’ve been dreaming of taking? Materials for a professional development course you want to facilitate? Resources for an environmental education project in your community?
The Environmental Educators of North Carolina (EENC) recognizes that in our field, sometimes a little bit goes a long way in making a difference for the teachers, non-formal educators, government employees, students and volunteers we work with. EENC is pleased to announce the inaugural year of our mini-grant program. Open to student, professional, senior, life, and organizational members of EENC, the goal of this grant is to provide support to promote excellence in environmental education across North Carolina.
EENC will award $2500 in mini-grants in 2019. Accepted proposals can range from $50 to $250. Each member can submit one proposal per year, either on their own behalf or on behalf of an organization or school. Funding will be distributed on a reimbursement basis to awardees after their projects are completed.
Grant Timeline:
February 11: RFP Opens
March 11: Application Deadline
April 1: All applicants notified of status via email
April 15-December 1, 2019: Eligible project dates
December 14: Final deadline for project reports
Eligibility Criteria:
Who may apply: student, professional, senior, life, and organizational members of EENC. Honorary members are not eligible.
Preference may be given to applicants who were EENC members prior to January 1, 2019, but all eligible members are welcome to apply.
What you can apply for: Anything that would promote excellence for environmental education in NC, including but not limited to: professional development course fees, substitute teacher fees to allow professional development attendance, student field trip fees, educational books or materials for facility/classroom/workshop, garden resources, etc.
Ineligible requests include: food purchases for any reason and anything related to EENC’s conference, mini-conference, events and workshops (please see our other scholarship applications for those events).
Location: Projects must occur in NC and recipient must live in NC
Project time frame: Proposed projects must start on/after April 15, 2019 and be completed by December 1, 2019.
To Apply:
https://eenc.wildapricot.org/mini-grant .
Apply online by 5 pm, March 11, 2019.
Not a member? Join online at http://eenc.org/membership and start your application today!
Questions? Contact Lauren Pyle at eencexecdirector@gmail.com
You can register for any or all of these events, with discounts offered for attending all events, EENC members, and students.
Visit the meeting page for more information about the meeting, including hotel information, a complete schedule, and information about the keynote speakers.
Hope to see you there!
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