Durham County Government - Environmental Education

Because the District works hard to protect Durham County’s natural resources, we know that without educating the public about their environment, our other programs and projects would be for naught. That’s why the District is dedicated to encouraging and sponsoring a strong and active Environmental Education Program for all age groups.

Students and Teachers -We offer a number of educational opportunities and events throughout the school year for pre-K – 12^th grade students. Contests, events, presentations, activities, camps and more are an ongoing part of the whole year. Teacher’s can find information on all programs and happenings in the Annual Teacher’s Newsletter [pdf]

Adults - Environmental Education doesn't stop at graduations...we offer a number of adult environmental education learning opportunities throughout the year.

Below is a listing of our major environmental education programs

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student/Teacher Programs and Resources:

Teacher's Newsletter : Our annual newsletter for teachers and parents will guide them through the different programs, projects and events happening during the school year. To join our teacher newsletter mailing list, please email jbrooks@durhamcountync.gov

2011-2012 Environmental Education Teacher's Newsletter [pdf]

Classroom Presentations : Available for pre K - 12th grade classes and age groups. We have activities and lesson topics for a variety of natural resource topics. Popular presentations include; soils/erosion, watershed models, wildlife, water quality and more... Please contact us at 919-560-0558 to learn more.

District Environmental Education Learning Library : Thanks to a generous grant from Target, the District has started a Environmental Education Learning Library for pre-K - 3rd graders. Books can be checked out by local educators for use in the classroom. For more information and a list of book available, please visit our Learning Library webpage here.

Conservation Contests : Annual conservation themed contests that will promote students' attitude of stewardship for our natural resources. For information detailing the current year theme, rules, tips and more, please click on the links below for the contest you are interested in.

**New for the 2012 contest season is the Computer Designed Slide Show contest for 6th grade and the Computer Designed Conservation Poster contest for 9th grade.

Poster Contest - 3rd-6th grade [pdf]

Essay Contest - 6th grade [pdf

Computer Designed Slide Show Contest - 6th grade [pdf] NEW

Public Speaking Contest - 7th & 8th grades [pdf]

Computer Designed Conservation Poster Contest - 9th grade [pdf] NEW

To see our County winners from the past, please check out the following links:

2011 Conservation Contest Winners! [pdf]

2010 Conservation Contest Winners! [pdf]

Envirothon : The Envirothon program is a hands-on environmental science and natural resources competition for middle school and high school students. 5 member teams of students complete training and testing in 5 subject areas: Aquatics, Soils, Wildlife, Forestry and Current Environmental Issues. For more information on Durham County's Envirothon Program, please visit our Envirothon webpage here.

NC Resource Conservation Workshop : Weeklong camp for high school students interested in conservation and natural resources. Students will spend the week at NCSU learning about a wide range of conservation areas of study for college and careers for after graduation. *Scholarships available for student delegates* For information on the RCW and an application to be a student delegate from Durham County please click on the link below;

NC Resource Conservation Workshop application [pdf]

Durham County Big Sweep : Big Sweep is an annual clean-up event held each fall targeting trash in our waterways and watersheds. Classes and Schools are encouraged to participate to clean up their campus and beyond to help the environment. Students can earn community service hours by participating. For more information on Durham County's Big Sweep, please visit our Big Sweep webpage here.

Teacher's Workshops : The District staff are registered facilitators of the Project Food, Land & People (FLP) teacher's curriculum. Project FLP is a 55 lesson plan curriculum for pre-K to 12th grade that promotes approaches to learning to help students understand the interrelationships among agriculture, the environment and people around the world. Teachers interested in participating in an upcoming FLP workshop are encouraged to call us at 919-560-0558 to learn more.

Teacher of the Year Award : In recognition of outstanding conservation educator in Durham County. Open to all Elementary, Middle and High School teachers in Durham County who have incorporated conservation and environmental education into their classroom curriculum. Nominate yourself or an outstanding teacher you know. Applications are due to the Durham SWCD by 5pm on May 6, 2011. For complete rules and application please click the below link.

Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award application [pdf] Coming Soon!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adult Education Resources and Awards:

Annual Durham Pond Clinic : Each spring the Durham District sponsors an Annual Pond Clinic for the public. Topics Covered include pond construction, pond management, weed control, pond wildlife and more. For more information on this year's Pond Clinic, please click the below link.

Conservation Awards : The District recognizes outstanding Durham County citizens each year with the following awards;

District Urban Conservationist of the Year Application [pdf]

Big Sweep Group of the Year Award

Gold Star Achievement Award

Durham County Farm Family of the Year Award

Durham County Forester of the Year Award

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interested in joining e-mailing list:

Student & teacher education activities - email jbrooks@durhamcountync.gov

Adult education activities - email lmarochak@durhamcountync.gov

Last updated: December 5, 2011