National Science Teachers Association Journal
Recognizes the Importance of Environmental Education

One of the unexpected highlights of "Environmental Education Month" was the arrival of the April/May issue of Science and Children, the National Science Teachers Association peer-reviewed journal for elementary school teachers.

The entire issue is dedicated to environmental education and its increasing importance in today's society (see the Illustrated Table of Contents). The issue is filled with activities that link science and environmental education and features a powerful piece by editor Chris Ohana. Ohana notes that as environmental and "green" issues have come more into the public view, people are confronted daily with new environmental choices and decisions. According to Ohana, environmental education is the key to making the most appropriate choices. Ohana also addresses past tensions between science education and environmental education, and sees the interdisciplinary nature of environmental educaton as a way of enhancing both disciplines, as well as ensuring an environmentally and scientifically literate society.

Below is an excerpt from Chris Ohana's Editor's Note "Looking at Environmental Education." The complete piece is available on the NSTA Web site.

In the past, there’s been some tension between environmental education and science education. Environmental education includes social sciences, natural sciences, as well as emotions involved in making decisions. As the first Earth Days were germinating, there tended to be a tendency for action before knowledge. Some extremists even blamed science and technology as the agent of environmental destruction. Science educators misunderstood the inherently interdisciplinary nature of environmental education and accused it of being “fluffy.” But the times for polarity are over. We can no longer afford to be ignorant of the consequences of our actions. This issue pays tribute to our acknowledgement of the importance of environmental education and its role in helping us develop our students into caring, knowledgeable citizens.

Prairie Ridge expands its reach to the public with new weekend hours, workshops and community events

The general public is invited to explore nature like never before at Prairie Ridge Ecostation for Wildlife and Learning, the outdoor field station of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Prairie Ridge is now open to the public on the weekends, 12:00 pm to 4:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday, in addition to its Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm hours.

Prairie Ridge kicked off its extended hours on Earth Day weekend and has been providing the public with many natural science and environmental education opportunities, including an International Migratory Bird Day Celebration and a very "hands-on" Eradication Extravaganza to remove invasive plants. Visit the Prairie Ridge Web site for more information on programs for all ages.

Located at 4301 Reedy Creek Road next to the National Guard armory in west Raleigh, Prairie Ridge's 38 acres consist of an outdoor classroom, amphitheater and walking trails with access to a variety of habitats, including prairie, pond and lowland forest. It was established by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for research and educational purposes and to promote respect for natural resources.

Because of the Museum's commitment to "green" technology, Prairie Ridge showcases an array of sustainable design strategies and conservation features, including a cistern that collects rainwater that comes off of the classroom's roof during storms. That rainwater is used to flush the toilets, which minimized the impact on local fresh water sources. The outdoor classroom was also designed with the environment in mind. Its heavy south-facing overhang maximizes sun exposure in the winter and shade in the summer.

Solar photovoltaic panels have been installed thanks to a grant from the State Energy Office of the N.C. Department of Administration. The installation of these panels eliminates the use of fossil fuel-based energy at the site and allows the facility to generate its own power to the existing classroom and a planned residential center. For more information on Prairie Ridge and a complete list of visitor rules and regulations, log on to http://naturalsciences.org/prairieridge/visinfo.html or contact Mary Ann Brittain at 919-733-7450, ext. 675 or Mary.Ann.Brittain "at" ncmail.net.

(Thanks to Emelia Cowans, Assistant Communications Director at the NCMNS, and the "Prairie Ridge Crew" for their help with this article.)

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 West Jones St., Raleigh, documents and interprets natural history of the state of North Carolina through exhibits, research, collections, publications and educational programming. Hours: Mon-Sat., 9am – 5pm and Sun., Noon – 5pm. Admission is free. Find more information on the web at www.naturalsciences.org. The Museum is an agency of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross, Secretary.

Natural Science Center of Greensboro Opens New Animal Discovery Zoological Park

The Natural Science Center of Greensboro recently opened its Animal Discovery Zoological Park to overflowing crowds of visitors. People that visit the Park become immersed in a world of up-close creature encounters, featuring tigers, gibbons, wallabies, coatimundis, meerkats, howler monkeys, crocodiles and many, many others.

Themed on the ‘Science of Survival,’ Animal Discovery focuses on the unique and fascinating adaptations of diverse species, while also engaging visitors with the following attractions:


The Family Farm - Focuses on agricultural science and hands-on encounters with
alpacas, sheep, goats, ponies and donkeys


Kavanagh Discovery House - Focuses on a young child’s first exposure to pets and backyard wildlife. Home to 18 tractable animals and Bug Discovery exhibit.


Davis Kelly Fountain of Youth and Discovery - A 900-square foot interactive fountain


Junior League’s Discovery Gardens - A botanical wonderland of native and exotic
plant-life


Novartis Animal Health and Husbandry Center - An interactive (window-viewing)
animal diet kitchen and veterinary clinic

Glenn Dobrogosz, Executive Director, commented, "So much community patience and passion has finally paid off! The first phase of Animal Discovery is ready to be explored by kids and creatures alike. We are also excited that Animal Discovery expansion is already in the works. Construction on the Brooks Family Maned Wolf Conservation Center, a green and sustainable habitat, is set to begin July 1st. Thanks to so many, Greensboro will soon be home to its firstever
nationally accredited zoological park."

(Thanks to Roxanna W. Burkhart, Director of Marketing, for sharing this information.)

The Natural Science Center of Greensboro is located at 4301 Lawndale Drive. Zoo hours are 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Admission: $8 adults, $7 children/seniors, under age 2 free. Open 7 days a week! For additional information, please call (336) 288-3769.

Hey! They mentioned Environmental Education!

Ok, we couldn't think of a catchy name for this new section, but we thought it would be good for our readers to see how environmental education is covered in the media. From time to time we will reprint an article (with permission of course) that addresses environmental education.

Environmental education is certainly about teaching kids and adults about the world around them, but as this article shows, it is also becoming an element of public policy and is being recognized as a part of sound environmental management.

This month's article first appeared in The Smoky Mountain News, a regional weekly newspaper based in Waynesvile and Sylva. The Naturalist's Corner Columnist Don Hendershot fills us in on the Town of Waynesville's first Watershed Apprecation Month. Please take note of Don's last line! We hope more towns will follow Waynesville's example. Thanks to Scott McLeod, Publisher, for allowing us to reprint.

A peek at the watershed

by Don Hendershot

One hundred and twenty people or so took advantage of Waynesville’s first Watershed Appreciation Month to see and learn more about the town’s 8,600-acre watershed. The program ran the last three Saturdays in April and included hikes and presentations in the watershed plus programs at town hall.

Program participants got watershed mud on their boots during a water quality monitoring hike, forest conditions hike, and birding and natural history hikes. The Haywood Waterways Association presented programs on site and at town hall and Christie Fulcher, a graduate student at Western Carolina University, presented a program on Quinlantown — a small logging community deep-sixed now beneath the town’s reservoir.

Ron Moser of Haywood Waterways presented a program at the watershed on April 21 and Gordon Small, a member of Haywood Waterways board of directors, gave a presentation at town hall on April 28.

Dr. Peter Bates and Dr. Jerry Miller of WCU led the water quality and forest conditions hikes. Yours truly led the birding hikes and, with help from Peter Bates on the 21st and Ed Kelley on the 28th, facilitated the nature hikes. Rusty Painter, land protection director for The Conservation Trust for North Carolina, which oversees the watershed’s conservation easement, joined us on the 28th.

The Easter cold snap slowed migration this spring and on our first birding walk (21st) we had as many winter residents as we did spring arrivals. Those winter residents included white-throated sparrow, golden-crowned kinglet, ruby-crowned kinglet, yellow-rumped warbler and red-breasted nuthatch. Spring migrants on the 21st included black-and-white warbler, black-throated green warbler, black-throated blue warbler, ovenbird and blue-headed vireo. By the 28th, blackburnian warblers, hooded warblers, yellow-throated vireos and red-eyed vireos had joined the crowd.

The cold snap also put a damper on the spring wildflower show, doing in many of the early bloomers like bloodroot and spring beauty and delaying others. Blooms were really scarce on the 21st. We discovered one bloodroot, a few violets some toothwort, a couple of wild oats, a jack-in-the-pulpit and some creeping phlox. The 28th was a little better with wild geraniums, showy orchis, a few trilliums, some anemones and mandarin among others added to the mix. We took a couple of minutes to turn stones in the creek and came up with a seal salamander on the 21st and a mountain dusky on the 28th.

Hikers experienced different habitats depending on which hike they took. Some of the ecosystems explored included white pine and mixed hardwoods, Appalachian cove forest and montane oak-hickory forest.

A great big thank you to Alison Melnikova of the town of Waynesville for orchestrating Watershed Appreciation Month. Bates, who is also part of the watershed management team, was pleased with the turnout and I think the two may have their heads together making plans for more public outings in the watershed.

The possibilities for environmental education in the watershed are boundless, and the town appears to be working in the direction of more public access and outreach. As part of the management team, Bates was happy to see so many citizens eager to learn more about their watershed. “It helps take the mystique of the watershed away,” he said. The more people learn about the watershed and its resources the easier it will be for the town and the management team to come up with good stewardship policies.

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? These article posts are part of our Informed Consumer intiative.

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

EE Schools in the News (stories about North Carolina Schools that are incorporating environmental education into their curriculum, school yards and design. Also includes stories about national and international trends).

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 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

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