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.

NACEE Annual Conference

“Coming into Focus: Conservation and Environmental Education in Nebraska”

September 9-12, 2010

The Annual NACEE Conference is an amazing opportunity for Nebraska’s educators, resource professionals, and citizens to network and share ideas.

The 2010 Conference is filled with fantastic speakers for early childhood educators, elementary and high school educators. Additionally, outstanding keynote speakers include wildlife photographer Michael Forsberg and climatologist Ken Dewey.
Come to the NACEE Conference to learn from the experts. Come to hear about the latest environmental education resources. Come for the workshops, networking, learning and fun!

Download the conference schedule and registration packet here.
Register for the conference with your PayPal account here.
Check out the 2010 NACEE Conference Location - Camp Carol Joy Holling Conference and Retreat Center.

An Evening with Michael Forsberg:
NACEE Fundraising Event

On Friday, September 10, 2010, the Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and Environment Education will be having a special fundraising event with world-renown wildlife photographer Michael Forsberg. The evening will include an amazing dinner, presentation by Forsberg and a live fundraising auction.

The Event will take place at the Camp Carol Joy Holling Conference and Retreat Center in Ashland, Nebraska.

To reserve your spot, please contact Lindsay Rogers at (402) 471-5581 or lindsay.rogers@nebraska.gov by September 3, 2010.

We’ll see you there!

Conference Scholarships Applications Now Being Accepted

NACEE is pleased to offer a scholarship for Nebraska in-service and pre-service educators. The scholarship is designed to help educators from Nebraska attend the NACEE Annual Conference. Applications are due by August 20, 2010.

Scholarship recipients will receive:

Full conference registration
1-year membership for NACEE

>Download the conference scholarship application here.

Nebraska Environmental Literacy Plan Complete

Over the past 12 months, NACEE has coordinated stakeholder meetings across the state of Nebraska to create a comprehensive Environmental Literacy Plan for the State of Nebraska. Through these input sessions, feedback from more than 110 individuals representing: classroom educators; nature centers; government agencies; non profits; environmental, conservation and agricultural organizations was obtained.
On August 11, 2010, the Nebraska Environmental Literacy Plan was presented to the Nebraska Board of Education. The plan was well received by the Commissioners. As we look forward to dedicated environmental education funding from the No Child Left Inside Legislation, NACEE will continue to build support for the Nebraska Environmental Literacy Plan.

What is the Purpose of an ELP?

The purpose of the Nebraska Environmental Literacy Plan is to develop a comprehensive strategy, linked with state educational standards and curricula, to ensure that Nebraska’s children have the opportunity to connect with nature and grow to become informed and responsible stewards of the environment. States with certified environmental literacy plans will be eligible for federal funding to support outdoor learning activities and environmental education.

Environmental Education Connections Newsletter

The Summer 2010 edition of the EE Connections newsletter is now available. Learn aboutthe Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan, free online resources, environmental education grant opportunities, 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)

Environmental Educator of the Year 2010 Nominations Now Being Accepted

Each year, the Nebraska Alliance for Conservaiton and Environment Education awards one Nebraska educator as the Environmental Educator of the Year. This award aims to highlight the amazing efforts by Nebraska’s formal and non-formal educators. Know someone who is doing innovative environmental education with students? Have a colleague who passionately engages students in nature and the environment? Nominate them today for the NACEE 2010 Environmental Educator of the Year Award.

>Download the nomination form here (PDF)

NACEE Receives Grant to Create Searchable Database of EE Resources, Opportunities, and Events

In March 2010, NACEE received a grant from the Nebraska Academy of Sciences to create a comprehensive online database of environmental education resources, events, opportunities, workshops, and festivals which occur throughout the state.
NACEE will be working with the Nebraska Master Naturalist Program, who also sought to create a database, to develop the database. Look for the searchable database to be up and running in summer 2011.

National Environmental Education Act (NEEA)

The National Environmental Education Act (NEEA) is a federal program providing funding for numerous programs and projects including the EPA’s Environmental Education grants, the Environmental Education & Training Partnership (EETAP), and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).

Last re-authorized in 1990, a new re-authorization bill for the NEEA is currently scheduled to be introduced in both the House (sponsored by Congressmen Castle and Sarbanes) and in the Senate (sponsored by Senator Jillibrandt). Both the House and Senate bills are looking for cosponsors.

This is an important act for environmental education across the country – including Nebraska. Many Nebraska projects have been funded through the EPA Environmental Education Grants Program. Additionally, numerous Nebraskans have participated in workshops and classes provided by EETAP – both funded from NEEA.

What can you do?

Contact your Senator or Congressperson today and encourage them to sign-on as a co-sponsor of the NEEA re-authorization bill.

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

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

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.