EE Month...EE Week...Earth Day...

They are all just around the corner!

The growing trend in North Carolina has been to honor Earth Day by offering and partipating in environmental education experiences. The NC Office of Environmental Education has promoted Earth Day events for several years, but in 2006, the increase in Earth Day celebrations and the creation of National Environmental Education Week last year moved us to designate April as "Environmental Education Month." The 2007 EE Month page is already up, and there is a long list of opportunities, including festivals, workshops, tours, concerts and more. So get outside and celebrate!

http://www.eenorthcarolina.org/newsandevents/eemonth2007.html

National Environmental Education Week

There is still time to participate in National Environmental Education Week. National Environmental Education (EE) Week is a project of the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF). Its purpose is to increase the educational impact of Earth Day by creating a full week of educational preparation, learning and activities.

National EE Week will involve thousands of educators and millions of students, and NEETF wants your input! Many North Carolina Environmental Education Centers, schools and other agenices and organizations are already taking part. The EE Week Cooridinator estimates that they will reach 1,000 partners by April 1st, so please help them reach that goal. To participate, just register your organization on the EE Week Web site. There is also a list of suggested activities for individuals, schools, businesses or organizations.

Pat Curley Recieves 2006 Governor's Conservation Achievement Awards Environmental Educator of the Year

Winners have been announced for the 2006 Governor's Conservation Achievement Awards. These awards are the highest natural resource honors in the state, presented annually by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation and the Governor's Office to recognize those who have exhibited an unwavering commitment to conservation. Awards were presented at gala on February 10, where recipients were presented a statuette and a certificate.

Pat Curley, a teacher and North Carolina Certified Environmental Educator from Stella, NC, was awarded Environmental Educator of the Year. Pat teaches at the Onslow County Learning Center, a public alternative learning program for at risk youth in grades 6-12. Under his leadership the Onslow County Learning Center participated in the 2005 and 2006 Coastal and State Envirothons--the first school from Onslow County that has ever participated in this annual event. Currently, Pat leads a school aquaculture program, an oyster shell recycling program in partnership with Hammocks Beach State Park, and the school's biological survey of a nearby wetland. Pat's students evidence the positive impact environmental education has on academic performance and behavior.

Other winners included Wildlife Conservationist of the Year: Alvin Braswell, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles Research Laboratory Director at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and Water Conservationist of the Year, William (Bill) F. Hunt, Ph.D. Bill leads the Stormwater Engineering Group in the Department of Biological and Agriculural Engineering at NC State University.

Listing of all 2006 Award Winners

(Thanks to T. Edward Nickens, NCWF Governor's Awards chair, for his help with this story.)

Kathleen Clay Edwards Library wins Greenworks! Grant

Unique program will bring together local youth and seniors

The Kathleen Clay Edwards Library was one of 32 nationwide winners of a 2006 Project Learning Tree GreenWorks! Grant. The library, located in Greensboro, has an environmental education focus and is listed as a North Carolina Environmental Education Center. The Library is a "green" building with many sustainable design features. It is located in a 98-acre passive park which includes a native plant garden, rain garden, a bird and butterfly meadow and hiking trails.

The grant is for an intergenerational gardening project that will bring together the Library's Junior Master Gardeners (K-4th) and senior citizens from local retirement homes. The senior citizens had been coming on a regular basis to the Senior Strollers program, a combination walking and nature program. Melanie Buckingham, the Environmental Resource Librarian, thought it would be great to bring these two groups together since they shared a common interest in nature and appreciation for the Library and the park.

The project will include 3 raised beds--a pizza patch, a sunflower house and a story book garden. The children and seniors have already met twice and have chosen the plants for the gardens and worked on initial planning. The "Juniors and Seniors" will also learn together—they will have sessions that focus on seeds and planting, weeding, garden bugs, backyard wildlife and plant disease. Melanie notes that she has already seen more enthusiasm, interaction and participation from many of the seniors than she saw when they were in the Senior Strollers program.

GreenWorks! is PLT's service-learning community action program that engages PLT educators and their students with their local community in "learning-by-doing" neighborhood improvement projects.

Since 1992, Project Learning Tree has distributed approximately $375,000 to fund over 700 grant projects in communities across the country. This year elementary through college age students in 20 different states will design native plant gardens, preserve wetlands, construct hiking trails, start composting projects, and investigate alternative fuels. The grants are awarded in the preceding year, 2006, and projects are set for completion during 2007.

"kidZone" Interactive Children's Exhibit to Open at the NC Zoo

Former Residents "Tort and Retort" Return for a Visit!

ASHEBORO—The arrival of spring and a new visitor season always marks a special time at the North Carolina Zoo. But it’s even more significant this year with the unveiling of a new exhibit, the arrival of new animals and the launching of a new series of special events.

Beginning March 27, children will have their own special place at the zoo with the opening of the “kidZone,” an interactive exhibit designed to put small children in touch with wildlife and the natural world. The featured animals in the “kidZone” will be “Tort” and “Retort,” a pair of giant Galapagos tortoises. They were the first animals ever purchased by the zoo in 1973 and have returned for a six-month reunion visit.

Wrapped around these new attractions is “ZooFling,” a series of special events each Saturday in April that highlight the return of spring and the increased animal activity that comes as winter gives way to warmer weather.

Kids who enjoy looking for bugs, climbing, running or making mud pies will love the “kidZone.” Located in the former Australian exhibit in the zoo’s North American region, “kidZone” will allow children to explore animal homes, animal tracks and other signs of animal visitors. Hands-on activities will include digging, building and investigating close-up the life cycle of frogs, butterflies, bees and other small creatures.

Live animal encounters in the “kidZone” will get the little ones up-close and personal with reptiles, mammals and birds so they can discover the wonder of wildlife and learn how these animals live and survive in the wild. A new maze also invites children to follow the call of the wild in search of five mystery animal stations hidden deep within its twisting turns.

Other “kidZone” activities will encourage children to create art projects using natural materials and to construct enrichment items for the zoo’s animals. Youngsters can also discover what it’s like to be a zoo vet or keeper using costumes, tools and animal props.
“ZooFling” events, set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday in April, will reveal to visitors the secrets to animal appetites, creature comforts, and wild lifestyles.

--From NC Zoo Press Release, March 22, 2007. Special Thanks to Rod Hackney, Public Relations Manager. For more information about kidZone, ZooFling and other events, visit the NC Zoological Parks Web site, www.nczoo.org, or call 1-800-488-0444.

So Gary, how does it feel to have a column named after you?

Feels great, but of course there are also the banks, a few grocery stores and some other places. I don't know why, but they all misspell the name.

Seriously, many of our Western NC readers may be familiar with your work, but tell us what you do at US Fish and Wildlife for the folks out there that may not know you.

As an outreach specialist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, my work entails three large arenas - media relations, elected official relations, and of course, environmental education. Our office deals largely in endangered species conservation and federal project review -- when a federal highway gets built, we work to try to minimize impacts to wildlife.

Gary shows off his mussels.

Gary Peeples, US Fish & Wildlife
US Forest Service Archives www.forestryimages.org

The USFWS Asheville Field Office does a great deal of what is considered environmental management, such as habitat restoration and monitoring the Federal Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. But you have an education and outreach role there. What role do you think environmental education plays in environmental management?

Our office often gets involved in controversial issues where people think it's about deciding between economic growth and protecting an endangered animal. I just want people of all ages to understand that economic vitality, quality of life, and environmental protection are not opposing forces, but compliment and build on each other. If teaching a 10-year old
what a mayfly is and why we care about it gets me a step closer to that goal, then bring on the 10-year olds.

What did you do before you started at the Asheville Field Office?

I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, where I worked on reforestation and sustainable agriculture projects.

What's one unique fact about you that may surprise people you've worked with?

I love cities. Not a lot of people in our field have much affection for cities, but I love them. Good cities, not bad cities. Cities where you can leave your hotel and walk, bike or take a train or subway anywhere you want to go. Cities with good museums and restaurants with menus you can't pronounce. Cities where you can walk down the street and pass millionaires
and homeless people all converging on the sidewalk. Cities where people stand in the corner of the park and preach to you, or where Hare Krishnas are giving out pamphlets. I love going into a local coffee shop in a new city, picking up the alternative newpaper and learning
about what's going on.

If the "Environmental Education Genie" gave you one wish, what would it be?

Aside from free ice cream for life or a brand new Porsche 911 turbo (thought I'd settle for a Cayman)? I really think there's a lot we could do by tweaking our market to incorporate the full cost of a product into its price - so the consumer is paying for the environmental damage done by the production, use and disposal of a product. The price we pay for gasoline
reflects the cost of finding, transporting and refining the oil, but who pays the health costs associated with the exhaust that comes out our exhaust pipes? We, the exhaust producers, should, but we don't. Instead those costs are paid by those unlucky enough to suffer from lung diseases. A better understanding on all of our parts of economics and how our
consumer decisions influence the natural world would be a tremendous boon.

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2007 North American Assocation for Environmental Education Annual Conference and Research Symposium

Virginia Beach, Virginia November 13-17, 2007

The next NAAEE Conference will be "right next door" in Virginia, so we hope North Carolina can have an even better representation than ususal at this year's event.

Research Symposium: November 13-14, 2007
"Celebrating the diversity of our research methodologies: finding common ground"

Visit the NAAEE Conference pages for details and registration information.

NAAEE is the professional association for environmental education. Members promote professional excellence in nonformal organizations, K-12 classrooms, universities (both instructors and students), government agencies, and corporate settings throughout North America and in over 55 other countries. Since 1971, the Association has created opportunities for its members to improve their skills in creating and delivering programs and services that teach people how to think, not what to think.

Did you know that the Office of Environmental Education Web site also maintains several lists of updated news articles that either feature or relate to environmental education? Check them often for new stories:

EE News for Parents (and anyone interested in child rearing or preschool-secondary education)

News from the Farm (agriculture news from our Informed Consumer Section)

GrEEn Development (stories about green building, community development, etc.)

RecrEEation News (environmental education stories that involve trail development, outdoor recreation, and active activities such as bird watching and hiking)

Home Gardening News

Energy News

And many more!

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North Carolina's Environmental Education Centers often get state
and even national media attention. See what's been going on in our often updated and environmental education friendly
EE Centers in the News link.

NC Environmental Education Centers: Gateways to environmental literacy

October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
February 2007