06/30/2026
ACT NOW to Save Environmental Education in North Carolina!
North Carolinians,
Our state’s nationally recognized Office of Environmental Education — a vital, one-of-a-kind resource that supports thousands of teachers, students, and citizens every year — is on the chopping block again.
Environmental education empowers students to understand and address the pressing environmental challenges of our time. The Office of Environmental Education provides environmental education, professional training, national environmental literacy support, and connects schools and communities to the natural world. This Office oversees the widely successful and prestigious Environmental Education Certification. It’s a small investment with a massive impact. Eliminating this office would undermine decades of progress in fostering an informed and engaged citizenry.
Unless we speak up right now, this progress could be wiped out with a single vote.
Why this matters:
● This is one of the most highly respected state environmental education
offices in the country — it’s seen as a model by other states and nations.
● This office administers the NC Environmental Education Certification program, an
important program for the legitimacy of the field of environmental education.
● It was urged by Secretary Bill Cobey and founded by a Republican leader,
Governor Jim Martin, under the belief that “regulation must be balanced with a
strong public sense of stewardship.”
● In 2011, it was cut from 6 staff to 2 — and now, it’s at risk of being eliminated
entirely.
● No other agency or nonprofit in North Carolina can replace what this office
does.
What’s at stake:
● Future generations’ ability to understand and protect our natural resources
● Our capacity to prepare students and communities for disasters like Hurricane
Helene
● Critical support for teachers, nonprofits, and outdoor education across the state
● The legacy of bipartisan, forward-thinking leadership in conservation and
education
Here’s how YOU can help — right now:
✅ Contact the Appropriations Committee-Senator Phil Berger ([email protected]) and Representative Destin Hall ([email protected]) tell them to fully fund the N.C. Office of Environmental Education. See our Template below or write your own.
This isn’t about politics — it’s about priorities. If we don’t educate our children and
communities about the environment, who will protect it?
�� Make your voice heard. Forward this to your friends, neighbors, teachers, an
families.
North Carolina’s environmental future depends on what we do today.
TEMPLATE TO SEND TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
Subject Line: Don’t let North Carolina lose it’s environmental legacy-Act NOW
State legislators,
I understand the immense pressure you’re facing — a historic budget deficit, hurricane
recovery efforts, and the challenge of stretching limited resources. This is precisely why
we must not cut what little remains of one of North Carolina’s most strategic and cost-
effective assets: the Office of Environmental Education.
This is not just another line item. This is a nationally acclaimed, internationally emulated
model of what state-driven environmental education should look like. And unless you
act now, it could be dismantled quietly and permanently — with devastating long-term
consequences for our state’s resilience, economy, and natural legacy.
North Carolina is on the verge of eliminating one of the most recognized state-level
offices of environmental education in the entire country. An office that once had 10
staff now has 2 — and yet continues to support thousands of educators, schools,
nonprofits, and citizens across the state.
This office has done what no other agency in North Carolina can do:
● Deliver state-wide environmental literacy programming
● Train educators to prepare students for climate-related disasters like Hurricane
Helene
● Coordinate conservation messaging across government, schools, and the private
sector
● Cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards and informed voters
This is not charity. This is infrastructure. Environmental literacy is as fundamental to
our state’s long-term survival and competitiveness as roads, internet, and clean water.
What’s more — this office was established by Republicans, under Governor Jim
Martin, and Secretary Bill Cobey, who said:
“Regulation cannot and should not stand alone. It must be balanced with a
public sense of stewardship toward our state’s natural resources.”
We are on the brink of erasing this legacy. With one vote, you could undo 30 years
of progress, vision, and bipartisan commitment to education, resilience, and resource
protection. The North Carolina Environmental Education Act of 1993 will mean nothing if
this office is gutted.
Ask yourself — when our children ask what we did to prepare them for a future of
environmental uncertainty, what will your answer be?
We must not allow this office to disappear under the radar while legislators cast late-
night votes. If you believe in responsible governance, in legacy, in fiscal common sense,
then:
Vote to keep the NC Office of Environmental Education open and remind your
colleagues that education is prevention, and prevention is cheaper than disaster
relief. Environmental education is not optional. It is not expendable. It is a strategic
necessity.
Stand up before it’s too late. Your legacy — and North Carolina’s — depends on it.
