The Environmental Education Fund released the results of a North Carolina Environmental Education Survey of the General Public in August 2002. The results of a second survey directed to K-12 Teachers were released in November 2002.

The surveys show that the general public is not aware of the vast network of extraordinary environmental education resources in North Carolina - teacher training programs, 170 environmental education centers, publications and educational trips. The Environmental Education Fund designed these surveys to serve as a foundation for its mission to bring environmental education into the mainstream thinking of the general public, teachers, and education administrators.

The surveys were developed over a two-year period with input from non-profit organizations, state, federal and local government agencies, environmental educators, teachers, business and industry, and the state's environmental education centers. The primary purpose of conducting both surveys was to determine the general public's and teachers' awareness of environmental education resources, materials and facilities in North Carolina and to determine their use and demand for these services.

The surveys were made possible through a grant from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency. They were conducted by the Survey Research Laboratory at East Carolina University.