In addition to the Surveys of the general public and K-12 teachers as proposed in this campaign, the Environmental Education Fund is pursuing developing qualitative measures of the effectiveness of environmental education programs. Initial steps through the contracted services of the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment provided a literature search, report and recommendations. Next steps are to conduct seminars with some of the intellectual leaders in environmental education to determine reliable measures and devise a strategy to employ those measures.

North Carolina is significantly ahead of other states in developing and collecting quantitative measures, i.e., number of environmental education workshops, numbers of educators reached, number of students, number of contact hours, and so forth. While tested within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, all environmental education providers will be encouraged to collect and report consistent quantitative data. The quality of environmental education programs is a more elusive measure and North Carolina is once again poised to chart this course for the most meaningful and effective environmental education experience possible.

Detailed Description of Program