Welcome to NACEE

Our Mission: To facilitate and promote conservation and environment education for all Nebraska.

Our Vision: To foster an environmentally literate citizenry in Nebraska and serve as a leader in conservation and environment education.

NACEE is a coalition of Nebraska organizations and individuals with an interest in conservation and environment education.

Nebraska Environmental Literacy Plan Draft for Review

Work on Nebraska’s Environmental Literacy Plan has begun! Twelve individuals from Nebraska, representing a wide breadth of backgrounds and experiences, met for two intensive days resulting in a draft Environmental Literacy Plan (ELP) document. To view the latest version of the draft document, click HERE.

What is an ELP?
Environmental Literacy Plans will create a framework for Nebraska educators to use when teaching about the environment. It will help Nebraska’s students be knowledgeable and proactive in dealing with the conservation and environmental issues that will face them in the future.

Why is Nebraska developing an ELP?
The No Child Left Inside Act will provide new federal funding for outdoor learning activities and high-quality environmental education to states that have a certified Environmental Literacy Plan. To be eligible for these federal funds, Nebraska must have an ELP.

How is Nebraska developing an ELP?
To make sure Nebraska’s ELP is as inclusive as possible, several input sessions have been held with a few more planned this spring. Workshops have been or will be held at the following locations:

Scottsbluff: August 19, 2009
North Platte: October 19, 2009
Grand Island: November 16, 2009
Lincoln: January 12, 2010
Omaha: February 11, 2010, Papio-Missouri River NRD Office
Norfolk: February 15, 2010, Lifelong Learning Center on the Northeast Community College campus at 601 E Benjamin Avenue, and;
Valentine: March 22, 2010, Mid-Plains Community College, 113 N. Hall Street

All meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Light snacks and drinks are provided. Please RSVP to one of the persons listed below for any of these meetings at least two days prior to the scheduled date.

You are encouraged to attend one of the stakeholder meetings to provide input.

You are also encouraged to e-mail your suggestions or comments regarding Nebraska’s ELP to hheafer@lincoln.ne.gov or ksgbkathy@yahoo.com. To view a copy of the draft ELP, click HERE.

This is an exciting time! With the development of a state Environmental Literacy Plan, Nebraska will be well on its way to creating a new generation of environmentally literate citizens.

Environmental Education Connections Newsletter

The Winter-Spring 2010 edition of the EE Connections newsletter is now available. Learn about the No Child Left Inside Legislation, Project BEAK, and more. Filled with six pages of new resources and opportunities and an additional four pages of workshops, events, and conferences. If you are looking for information on Environmental Education in Nebraska, this is the place to start!

>Download (PDF)

"No Child Left Inside” Legislation Update

As many environmental educators and concerned citizens are aware, the No Child Left Inside Act (H.R. 3036 and S.1981) passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last September. This huge victory is proof that Americans both want and need environmental education in their schools. Unfortunately, the victory of the Act passing in the House was short lived. Because there is a new Congress, the bill must now pass the House again, and pass the Senate.

On April 26, 2009, Earth Day, the No Child Left Inside Act was introduced into both the Senate and the House by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD). The bi-partisan legislation, if passed, would make the first environmental education legislation to pass Congress in more than 25 years. At its core, the No Child Left Inside Legislation (H.R. 2054 and S. 866) aims to increase awareness and funding for environmental education.

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2009 NACEE Conference a Success!

The 2009 NACEE Conference, “Location, Location, Location: Exploring Nature in your Neighborhood,” was a huge success! Attendees 2009 Conference discovered amazing service learning projects going on right here in Nebraska, toured outdoor classrooms, and learned about Nebraska’s Master Naturalist Program. In addition, attendees visited the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary where they learned about the Platte River and efforts to maintain the river channel for wildlife.

Photo:

Conference attendees (left to right) Keanna Leonard, Jolin Morelock, Andrea Faas, and Jamie Backmann explore the Platte River while visiting the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary.

2009 Environmental Educator of the Year Named

The Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environment Education is pleased to announce the 2009 Environmental Educator of the Year: Jeanine Lackey.

Jeanine is a Wildlife Education Specialist for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. She has devoted herself to educating Nebraskans about Nebraska's natural resources, wildlife, and ecology. Through her work at NGPC, Jeanine leads Project WILD, Aquatic Project WILD, Flying WILD, and numerous other advanced workshops for educators and resource professionals across the state. "Jeanine does a fantastic job of creating a fun, hands-on, educational atmosphere at workshops... it is impossible to leave feeling anything less that excited and re-energized" said Michelle Koch.

In addition to leading workshops, Jeanine provides education presentations to students of all ages. "Whether it's a class full of 1st graders Jeanine Lackey building nests or educators eager to participate in a workshop, Jeanine knows how to captivate an audience and connect them with the natural world.... She is an excellent educator" Koch wrote.

Additionally, Jeanine chairs education workgroups for the Nebraska Partnership for All Bird Conservation and the Nebraska Chapter of the Wildlife Society; she has also served as a board member for NACEE.

Jeanine was presented with a Michael Forsberg framed image of a Western Meadowlark.

Congratulations, Jeanine!

Photo:

Jeanine Lackey with 2009 EE of the Year Award. Thank you to Michael Forsberg Gallery for their help in presenting Jeanine with this gift.

New Board Elected

A new NACEE Board of Directors was named at the Annual Conference in May. In addition to retaining several key board members, a few new faces have been added. Harry Heafer of the Lincoln/Lancaster Health Department will take the reigns as President. For a complete list of NACEE board members, please visit the About NACEE page.

Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines

In early August 2008, the NACEE board voted to adopt the national Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines for Learning. These guidelines, established by the North American Association for Environmental Education, provide students, parents, educators, policy makers, and the public a set of common, voluntary guidelines for environmental education. The guidelines support state and local environmental education efforts by:

Setting expectations for performance and achievement in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades;
Suggesting a framework for effective and comprehensive environmental education programs and curricula;
Demonstrating how environmental education can be used to meet standards set by the traditional disciplines and to give students opportunities to synthesize knowledge and experience across disciplines; and
Defining the aims of environmental education.

To view the Guidelines, visit http://www.naaee.org/programs-and-initiatives/guidelines-for-excellence/

NAAEE

Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environment Education is the Nebraska state affiliate for the North American Association for Environmental Education. NAAEE is the professional association for environmental education. NAAEE members promote professional excellence in non-formal organizations, K-12 classrooms, universities (both instructors and students), government agencies, and corporate settings throughout North America and in over 55 other countries. While NAAEE strives to promote environmental education across the country, NACEE strives to promote environment education across Nebraska. Visit the NAAEE website here.

Nebraska Environmental Education Master Plan Now Available

In 2005, Nebraska’s conservation and education community completed the state’s first Environmental Education Master Plan – a historic achievement. The Master Plan was developed from input received from over 185 Nebraskans who attended more than a dozen public input meetings, participated in personal interviews, and completed surveys. The planning process spanned nearly four years and was coordinated by the Nebraska Alliance of Conservation and Environment Education (NACEE). The resulting Master Plan provides a visionary and far-reaching blueprint for Nebraska that can be used by organizations, agencies, policy makers, and the public to better focus and coordinate environmental education efforts.

Environmental Literacy Survey Released

Literacy Survey The Nebraska Conservation and Environment Literacy and Awareness Survey has been released and is now available for download in PDF format. The survey was conducted by the Bureau of Sociological Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and funded through the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.

Both the complete Literacy Survey and the Executive Summary (a 4-page overview of the survey results) are available for download. A comparison of the survey results to national surveys is also available. To download the documents, click on the links below (requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader):

For more information about the survey, please contact us.