The International Paper Foundation has again awarded $35,000 to North Carolina for the Love-A-Tree environmental education program. The check was presented to the Environmental Education Fund and its partner the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of Environmental Education in August of 2006.

The funds from International Paper will pay for 4,000 instructional packets that include activities gathered by staff in the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to educate students about the environment and the importance of conservation. The grant also will pay for the cost to mail the packets in the fall to 5th grade teachers throughout North Carolina.

This marks the 11th year the International Paper Foundation has granted funds to provide environmental education resources to North Carolina teachers. The grant is awarded by International Paper Foundation to the non-profit Environmental Education Fund for its partnership with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Office of Environmental Education.

“International Paper is impressed with the popularity of this program among the state’s teachers,” said Deano Orr, public affairs manager for International Paper. “We are pleased to be able to offer the program again this year and look forward to the continued partnership with the Office of Environmental Education.”

Marty Wiggins, who manages the Love-A-Tree program for the Office of Environmental Education, said the educational packets are correlated to the 5th grade standard course of study. Since the program’s inception, more than 1 million students have benefited from the Love-A-Tree program.

The program has a different theme each year. This year's theme, “North Carolina Naturally: One State, Many Habitats,” complements the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' One North Carolina Naturally initiative. The One North Carolina Naturally program promotes and coordinates the long-term conservation of North Carolina’s threatened land and water resources, and is managed by DENR’s Office of Conservation and Community Affairs. The theme is timely if you consider International Paper’s significant contributions to the state’s land conservation efforts.

“It has never been more important to get children active and outdoors," said Bill Ross, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “The Love-A-Tree program does this while also helping teachers meet their curriculum goals. I am especially pleased that this year’s program will also integrate the public awareness aspects of the One North Carolina Naturally initiative.”

The program includes classroom and outdoor learning activities provided by educational programs within DENR. DENR is the lead stewardship agency for the preservation and protection of North Carolina’s outstanding natural resources.

Several agencies in the department contributed to the packets that will be mailed to students. Those agencies include: the N.C. Division Soil and Water Conservation, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the N.C. Aquariums, the N.C. Division of Water Resources, the N.C. Division of Forest Resources, the N.C. Zoological Park and the N.C. Division of Coastal Management. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Division of Conservation Education is also a major partner and contributes activities, resources and advice on contents.

Teachers will be able to order Love-A-Tree packets from the Office of Environmental Education Web site, www.eenorthcarolina.org, in September. A kick-off event will be held at one of the participating schools in November.

For more information, contact Marty Wiggins at (919) 733-0711. You may also call Deano Orr at (919) 831-4764, or Anne Taylor, Executive Director with the Environmental Education Fund, at (919) 550-6186.