For Educators
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To promote stewardship of the Albemarle-Pamlico region's natural resources, APNEP supports a variety of educational programs and initiatives in our region. The region's inhabitants and visitors recognize its beauty and rich natural resources. Through targeted education and communications efforts, APNEP and its partners encourage citizens to reduce their environmental impacts and provide meaningful opportunities to restore the ecosystem.
APNEP is committed to educating children and adults about the rich natural resources found throughout the Albemarle-Pamlico ecosystem, with the purpose of increasing knowledge of the ecosystem and equipping the region's citizens with the skills to effectively approach environmental issues.
NC Office of Environmental Education
The North Carolina Office of Environmental Education, part of the NC Department of Environmental Quality, maintains a comprehensive database of the environmental education centers, initiatives, and resources in the state, as well as offering formal and nonformal educators professional development opportunities through their Environmental Education Certification program.
Educator Links
Tab/Accordion Items
| Resource | Who is it for? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Formal educators (K-12, Targeted grade level varies each year) | Multi-day professional development workshop to introduce educators to hands-on, inquiry-based, and outdoor methods of teaching about North Carolina's natural resources. | |
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Environmental Education Certification; N.C. Office of Environmental Education |
Formal and informal educators. | Encourages professional development in environmental education and acknowledges educators committed to environmental stewardship. |
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N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching Professional Development Programs; NCCAT |
Formal educators (K-12) | NCCAT's instructional programs reflect the broad range of unique professional development topics for public school teachers and other educators. Challenging formats, combined with professional learning communities, shape the NCCAT offerings. |
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Wildlife & Educator Workshops; N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission |
Formal and informal educators. | These programs are led by staff instructors with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and are generally open to the public, free or for a nominal fee. They satisfy requirements for N.C. Environmental Education Certification. |
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Virginia Water Educators; VA Water Resources Research Center |
Formal educators (K-12) | This directory was assembled to strengthen and build the network of highly-trained educators throughout Virginia who support formal classroom teachers conducting successful Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. |
| Formal and informal educators. | Get in the field and explore remarkable natural places across North Carolina and beyond, or join us for a workshop onsite. Return to your classroom with a sense of renewal and with practical ways to integrate the natural sciences into your teaching. | |
| Formal educators. | Learn how to enhance the outdoor learning resources on your school grounds and how to incorporate them into all areas of your curriculum through one or more workshops held at your site. | |
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Educators of Excellence Institutes; N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences |
Educators (K-12) currently teaching science in North Carolina, or administrators, environmental educators, and university professors who work with these teachers. |
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences created the Educators of Excellence Institutes to enable exemplary educators to experience the natural world in selected outstanding environments; increase the use of reflection and direct environmental experience in teaching; become inspired and recommitted to the teaching profession; and become a part of a statewide network of exceptional educators for continued support and learning. |
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Project-Based Learning Fellowship; N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences |
K-8 Teachers | The Project Based Learning (PBL) Fellowship provides a transformative experience for educators through immersive field work, ongoing mentoring, and gritty experiments with PBL best practices. Join the Museum and experienced PBL practitioners for a year-long fellowship or visit their blog to access PBL units created by Fellows. |
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N.C. Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve Event Calendar; NCCR & NERR (Eastern NC) |
Formal and informal educators (K-12). | Event calendar includes teacher workshops and public events located at and around the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort, NC. |
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Sustainable Forestry Teacher's Experience; North Carolina Forestry Assocation |
Formal educators (preK-12). Preference will be given to those that are involved with a science curriculum or demonstrate that subject matter is applicable to their students. | Multi-day residential professional development workshop that demonstrates all elements of forestry in North Carolina. This program is designed to educate participants about forestry through presentations, tours, and hands on lesson plans. Educators are also provided the Project Learning Tree Curriculum; an award winning, multi-disciplinary environmental education program. |
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Science House at CMAST; NC State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology |
Formal educators (K-12). | The Science House enhances K-12 STEAM education through hands-on, inquiry-based learning. Educational programs for teachers are provided, including: GLOBE Training/Certification, KidWind Training, Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle Training, Teacher Expeditions, Makey Makey Training, Vernier Probeware, Science and Literacy, Customized Local Workshops, Project-Based Education, Place-Based Education, and Citizen Science. |
| Resource | Who is it for? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Formal educators (5-12) | Through the Shad in the Classroom Project, both teachers and students embark on a wonderful adventure in conservation science! Participating classrooms construct a tank, monitor water quality, and raise and release tiny fry (juvenile fish) in partnership with real fisheries biologists from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. | |
| NWF Schoolyard Habitats; National Wildlife Federation | Formal educators (K-12) | Since 1996, the National Wildlife Federation has worked to assist schools in the creation of Schoolyard Habitats®, which create and restore wildlife habitat on school grounds while providing outdoor classrooms for learning across the curriculum. There are currently over 5,000 schools and counting that have been certified through this program. |
| A Time for Science Field Trip Programs; A Time for Science Nature and Science Learning Center (Grifton - Eastern NC) | Formal educators (preK - 8) | Field trip programs offer students a chance to move through the trails of the park led by highly trained educators for a hands-on learning experience that reinforces and brings to life the concepts that are taught in the classrooms. Field trips feature four distinct habitats – stream, forest, swamp and ponds – that are ideally suited to enhance the fundamentals of environmental science in a controlled setting. |
| Youth In Parks - Environmental Education; Friends of NC State Parks | Formal educators (K-8) | Grants available to fund transportation and support costs for field trips to NC State Parks. |
| Every Kid in a Park; National Park Foundation | 4th graders and their families | Free passes to National Parks for 4th graders and their families. |
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Field Trips; N.C. Aquariums (Eastern NC) |
Formal and informal educators. | Field trips to N.C. Aquarium locations explore exhibits and educational programs. |
| Sound Rivers Teacher Training & Partnerships; Sound Rivers | Formal educators (K-12). | Sound Rivers welcomes opportunities to serve as a resource with teachers to provide programs tailored to lesson plans. They've worked within schools throughout the basin, supporting science and math curricula and inspiring young minds to connect concept to reality through water science. |
| Teacher Partnerships; River Guardian Foundation, Inc. | Formal educators (K-12). | Opportunities to partner with classrooms to host field trips and volunteer events. |
| Field Trip Programs; N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences | K-12 Teachers | The Museum has three different locations for field trips: the Museum in downtown Raleigh, the Museum at Whiteville (Columbus County, NC), and the Prairie Ridge Ecostation. |
| N.C. Estuarium Field Trips; Partnership for the Sounds (Eastern NC) | Formal educators (K-12). | The Partnership for the Sounds offers class outings and special programming for groups at the Estuarium, an environmental center that celebrates North Carolina's estuaries and coastal rivers. |
| School and Group Field Trips; N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve (Eastern NC) | Formal educators (K-12). | The Reserve's Education Coordinator leads two different types of field trips on the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort. They offer a 2-hour guided nature hike across the western end of the island and a 2-hour boat ride with a short visit to our boardwalk at the east end of the island. |
| K-12 Field Trips; University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute (Wanchese) | Formal educators (K-12). | UNC CSI offers a variety of engaging K-12 programs that align with NC Essential Standards. The educational programs are hands-on, engaging real-world experiences for students that compliment the concepts taught in their classrooms. UNC CSI also offers Distance Education Programs for classes that cannot visit UNC CSI. |
| Resource | Who is it for? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| APNEP Lesson Plan Database; Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership | Formal educators (K-12) | To foster education about the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary and the watershed that supports it, APNEP provides a database of lesson plans and educational resources tailored to our region. |
| ExPLORE NC Resources; ExPLORE NC Teacher Professional Development Program, UNC Institute for the Environment | Formal educators (K-12). | Curriculum and activity ideas, environmental education centers, and additional resources focused on the Tar-Pamlico River Basin in North Carolina. |
| Curriculum Guides; N.C. State Parks | Formal and informal educators (K-12). | Each program includes pre-visit, on-site and post-visit student activities that have measurable objectives, background information, vocabulary, references and step-by-step activity instructions. |
| Something Fishy about Estuarine Habitats; N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries - Coastal Recreational Fishing License Grants Program and UNC Institute of Marine Science | Formal educators (6-12). | Saltmarsh, oyster reef and seagrass serve as important fish habitats in estuaries along the North Carolina coast and have experienced a sharp decline in areal extent, principally due to human impacts. The goal of this project is to enhance public education of the function and conservation of these habitats through interactive, multimedia educational materials and lesson plans. |
| Lesson Plan Database; N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve | Formal educators (K-12). | Lesson plans and resources from the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. |
| SciREN Portal; The Scientific Research and Education Network | Formal educators (K-12) | The SciREN Portal is an exciting, new online network, similar to LinkedIn, where SciREN researchers and educators can sustain connections made at SciREN events by building personal member profiles, uploading and downloading lesson plans, and engaging in discussion forums. Educators who attend a SciREN event will have access to all of the lesson plans on the Portal. |
| Resource | Who is it for? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| River Basin Booklets;Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, N.C. Office of Environmental Education, and others. | Formal and informal educators (K-12). | The Office of EE, in partnership with other DEQ divisions including the Division of Water Resources and the Wildlife Resources Commission, has created informative river basin education materials that can be ordered free of charge. |
| Educator Resources; N.C. Office of Environmental Education | Formal and informal educators (K-12). | Huge database of resources, including curriculums, field trips, grants & contests, professional development opportunities, publications, and lesson plans for environmental educators. |
| NC Wetlands Website; NC Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | This website focused on everything about North Carolina wetlands, including an interactive map, downloadable materials with curriculum connections for teachers, raw wetland research data, summaries of past NC DEQ wetland projects, ways you can help wetlands, general information about NC wetlands, and more. |
| Datastreme Ocean; American Meteorological Society | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | Collection of ocean, atmospheric, and environmental data sources (sea surface temperature, ice extent, ocean currents, earthquake activity, etc.) available for viewing and download. |
| NOAA’s Tides and Currents Webpage; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | Real-time tide data and predictions at sites across the United States. |
| Biomeviewer; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Biointeractive | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | BiomeViewer lets you explore and discover Earth’s ecosystems with a tap of your finger! Drop a pin to see historic climate data, wildlife, stunning pictures, and more for any terrestrial location on the planet. Discover how patterns of human settlement and agriculture have changed the planet since 1700. Also available as an app for iOS. |
| Global Shark Tracker; OCEARCH | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | Real-time global shark location data from tagged sharks. |
| U.S. EPA EnviroAtlas; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | EnviroAtlas provides interactive resources that allow users to discover, analyze, and download data, maps, and other information. Our resources are organized around the benefits people receive from nature or "ecosystem services". |
| ESRI Story Maps; ESRI | Formal and informal educators (K-12), general public. | Esri Story Maps let you combine authoritative maps with narrative text, images, and multimedia content. They make it easy to harness the power of maps and geography to tell your story. A database of created Story Maps on a variety of topics is also available. |
| Marine Ecosystems and Management: Coastal and Marine Conservation Online Games | General public. | A collection of role-playing/simulation games designed to educate stakeholders, professionals, students, and the general public about aspects of coastal and marine conservation, management, and adaptation. These serious games allow players to experiment with coastal and marine conservation, management, and adaptation actions (or inaction) to help players, researchers, and policymakers better understand how coastal and marine ecosystems (including resource users and human communities) work. |
| Resource | Who is it for? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Envirothon; N.C. Cooperative Extension | Formal educators (6-12). | The Envirothon is a fun, hands-on, natural science academic competition for teams of middle and high school students sponsored by the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts with help in organization and implementation from the division. |
| Blue Heron Bowl; National Ocean Sciences Bowl | Formal educators (9-12). | The Blue Heron Bowl is North Carolina’s state-wide National Ocean Sciences Bowl competition, a competition for high school students that tests ocean sciences knowledge. The winning team from the Blue Heron Bowl advances to the national competition. |
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Classroom Visits; N.C. Aquariums |
Formal and informal educators (K-12). | Classroom visits and programs from the N.C. Aquariums on various topics, including live animals, games, and hands-on learning. |
| Park Ranger Visits; N.C. State Parks | Formal and informal educators (K-12). | Park rangers are often available to come to your location to present educational programs for classes or organized groups. There is no charge for these programs. |
| Community Outreach Programs; N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences | Formal and informal educators (K-12). | The Museum comes to you with interactive programs that incorporate live animals and natural objects to teach participants about the natural sciences. |