Environmental Educators of North Carolina

Our membership base is divided into four different sections: Mountains, Piedmont, Central and Eastern. These sections hold events from bird walks, to site tours, to social events. EENC facilitates regional and statewide "EE summits" bringing together state offices and agencies, non-profits, and businesses for shared events, advocacy and initiatives.

Each year, EENC hosts a mini-conference, focuses on outdoor skills and learning; this event rotates between each of our four geographic regions. The 2019 Mini-conference was held at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, NC. This professional development and networking event was hosted in partnership with the NC Association of Environmental Education Centers. Across all three days served 158 educators and focused on hands-on learning in nature.

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 2021. 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.

Grants may be used 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.

Each year the Environmental Educators of North Carolina publicly recognizes environmental educators, EENC members, organizations, and partners for their valuable contributions to EENC, the North Carolina community, and to the field of environmental education.

We award the following awards:

MEMBERS ONLY AWARDS

Outstanding Newcomer recognizes an Environmental Educators of North Carolina member of five years or less who has made significant contributions to EENC during his or her short time with EENC.

Outstanding Practitioner recognizes a member of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina who works regularly as an environmental educator, lending their skills to the growing body of environmental education as a profession. The individual will have made significant contributions to the Environmental Educators of North Carolina through statewide participation, leadership in their region, and being an advocate for high quality education through how they teach, live, and do.

Outstanding Service recognizes an active member who has served in several key leadership roles making a significant contribution to further the mission of EENC. This individual has given many hours of dedicated service to help shape EENC into a viable statewide professional organization.

AWARDS OPEN TO EVERYONE

Melva Fager Okun Life Achievement recognizes an individual who has served EENC in key leadership roles for over three years on the Board of Directors. This individual has made very significant contributions in furthering EENC’s mission to serve as a leader in building a statewide network of EE practitioners, providing excellent professional development, strengthening EE throughout North Carolina, and serving as an active state affiliate to the North American Association for Environmental Education.

Environmental Educator of the Year recognizes an educator who stands out among environmental educators as a professional who exemplifies excellence in environmental education and lends credibility to the field. Through valuable contributions and professionalism, the environmental educator is regarded as an ideal example that other EE practitioners should strive to emulate.

Exceptional Environmental Education Program recognizes a program, education center, organization, partnership or educational system that exemplifies excellence in environmental education. The program reaches far beyond the usual magnitude and degree of scope and scale to create: a sustainable commitment to environmental education, a more environmentally literate public, a stronger profession for environmental educators, and otherwise supporting EENC’s mission and objectives.

Outstanding Partner recognizes a business, non-profit, or governmental agency that have partnered with EENC to support the mission and growth of EENC. This organization has made significant contributions to EENC by providing in-kind contributions; donations of employees’ time, talent, and materials; monetary support to the EENC Board or Board Training; or by providing significant funding or services to the annual conference, funding for EENC’s annual conference. This partnership enables EENC to experience a growth in professionalism and/or membership, which may not have been possible without this contribution.

Throughout the year and across the state, EENC hosts professional development workshops for educators on the "Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education" and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Guidelines for Excellence is a series of materials to help environmental educators hone their practice and programs to national standards for high-quality EE programming. EENC hosts general workshops and one “Train the Trainer” workshop on the Guidelines for Excellence to help educators incorporate best practices in Environmental Education for K-12 learners, nonformal educators, early childhood education, materials, professional development, and community engagement.

To ensure our members feel prepared to provide inclusive learning experiences for diverse audiences, EENC hosts diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings. In 2021, EENC will be launching a 10-hour online Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion course to help educators feel more prepared to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplace and more prepared to engage diverse learners and community members. We also coordinate 1-3 small-group workshops on this topic with expert facilitators each year.