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.

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/

Environmental Education Connections Newsletter

The fall 2008 edition of "Environmental Education Connections" is now available in PDF format. Use the link below to download and learn about environment education news, workshops, events, and conferences in Nebraska.

>Download (PDF, 600 kb)

2008 Annual NACEE Conference

Save the Date!
Oct. 24-25, 2008 (NOTE NEW DATES)
Ponca State Park

The 2008 NACEE Annual Conference will be held October 24-25 at Ponca State Park. Set aside the dates now and join us in the beautiful Missouri River valley in fall 2008!

Download a conference schedule (PDF, 306 kb) highlighting keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, field trips, and workshops.

Download the conference registration form and information on accomodations (PDF, 13 kb).

NACEE is also offering scholarships to the 2008 conference. Scholarship recipients will recieve a free conference registration and a 1-year membership to NACEE. Get the Scholarship Application here (PDF, 25 kb).

Check back here for updates as they become available.

Educator of the Year Nominations

The Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environment Education is now taking nominations for the "Environment Educator of the Year" Award. This award is given annually to a Nebraska educator who has demonstrated a commitment to enganging students in the environment and shows a true love of nature. Nominees can be formal or non-formal educators. For questions, please contact Lindsay Rogers at lindsayrogers@yahoo.com. Download the nomination form here (PDF, 26 kb)

NAAEE 2008 Conference

In addition to the annual NACEE conference, the Midwest is also hosting another national environmental education conference in 2008. The North American Association for Environmental Education annual conference will be held October 15-18, 2008 at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas. Download a flyer here (PDF, 234 kb) and watch www.naaee.org for more information on the 2008 conference.

"No Child Left Inside” Legislation

What is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2007?

The No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 (H.R. 3036 and S. 1981) is a bill aimed at increasing the awareness and funding for environmental education. The bill, introduced by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD), would provide much needed funding for states to train teachers in environmental concepts and issues, offer environmental education curriculum and field trips for students, and build capacity within states for increases in both quality and quantity of environmental education curriculums.

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Louv at the Lied

Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” and chairman of the Children & Nature Network, spoke at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, NE on February 19th. Video of his presentation is available on the Healthy Families Play Outside website.

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.

2007 Conference

NACEE held its annual conference at the Trails West YMCA Camp in Scottsbluff, NE on August 10-11th. The conference was filled with field trips to Brown Wool Sheep Factory and Wildcat Hills Nature Center. Concurrent sessions were both interesting and informative, and the Old West Cook-Out was a great chance for everyone to talk and network.

Photos:

Top:Gathering at the Old West Cook-out

Bottom: Birding in a Prairie Dog community

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.