Skip to main content
NC DEQ logo NC DEQ

Topical Navigation

  • Home
  • Divisions
    Divisions
    • Air Quality
    • Coastal Management
    • Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
    • Environmental Assistance and Customer Service
    • Environmental Education and Public Affairs
    • Marine Fisheries
    • Mitigation Services
    • Waste Management
    • Water Infrastructure
    • Water Resources
  • Permits & Rules
    Permits & Rules
    • Permit Directory
    • State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
    • Express Permitting
    • DEQ Forms
    • Permit Assistance and Guidance
    • Rules & Regulations
    • Enforcement
    • NC DEQ ePayments
    • DEQ Permitting Transformation Program
    • Environmental Application Tracker
    • Pre-Regulatory Landfills Map
    • Title VI Compliance
    • Risk-Based Remediation
  • Outreach & Education
    Outreach & Education
    • N.C. Environmental Education
    • Distance Learning - Environmental Education
    • Environmental Justice
    • Educator Resources
    • Recognition Programs
    • Public Involvement Programs
    • Training
    • Recreation
    • Research
    • Grants
    • Conservation
    • Recycling
  • Energy & Climate
    Energy & Climate
    • Energy Group
    • Climate Change
    • Community Solar
    • Energy Assurance
    • Energy Efficiency and Weatherization
    • Energy Resilience
    • Transportation
    • Workforce Development
    • Offshore Wind Development
  • News
    News
    • Press Releases
    • Public Information Contacts
    • Environmentally Speaking Blog
    • Public Notices & Hearings
    • Events
    • Key Issues
    • DEQ Dashboard
    • Legislative Reports
    • Requesting Public Records
  • About
    About
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership
    • Boards and Commissions
    • Divisions
    • Green Square
    • Contact
    • Work at DEQ
  • NC.GOV
  • AGENCIES
  • JOBS
  • SERVICES
NC DEQ »   Home »   blog

Innovative Durham teacher turns environmental education into renewable energy

January 14, 2019

Aaron Sebens and his fourth grade class at Central Park School for Children in Durham, took their lessons on energy and the environment to the next level, by launching a crowd-funding campaign to add solar electricity to his classroom.

“It went viral and we ended up raising enough money to take our classroom completely off the grid,” Sebens said. “The U.S. Department of Energy made a video about the project  and then-President Barack Obama tweeted about it.”

Sebens is the school’s media specialist and technology director and also assists other teachers with environmental education projects. He earned his state Environmental Education Certification, a professional development program provided through the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. His favorite part of the program was learning outside and being exposed to many environmental science topics, including landfills, raptors, watersheds and even solar power.  

For his community partnership project, he worked with his students on the campaign to add solar to the classroom.  Sebens said the project taught the awareness and skills that future citizens will need to solve the problems our society will face.

“We are, for the most part, ignorant consumers of electricity,” Sebens said. “Students monitored the electricity we used in the classroom, at their house, and found out they can make do with a lot less. They learned the skills of organizing resources and developing a plan to make a big idea into a reality. This project is ongoing and last year we added a wind turbine to provide more and a different source of clean energy.”

Sebens immersed his students in the process of planning the system, raising the funds, and working with community partners to make the project work.

“Students need to become active participants in their understanding and consumption of electricity if we are going to have the innovators we will need to solve the problems that will arise in the next century,” he said.

When asked if the certification program changed his approach to teaching, Sebens said he now thinks about the relationship between formal and informal educational experiences in different ways and found new ways to remove obstacles to environmental education for students and teachers.

The N.C. Environmental Education Certification Program is administered by the Department of Environmental Quality's Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs. To learn more about the program, visit the office's website at www.eenorthcarolina.org.

This blog is related to:

  • News and Spotlights

Related Articles

  • How the Clean Smokestacks Act breathed new life into NC air quality 20 years ago 
  • How to Differentiate Pompano Dolphinfish from Common Dolphinfish
  • What Salamanders and Lichens Can Teach Us about Air Quality in North Carolina
  • Fisheries Director Catches Up with Anglers at Cape Point
  • A Ride on the Electric School Bus
  • POPS Goes the Cleaners
  • Viewing Climate Change through a Creative Lens
  • Winter Air Quality
  • Seasonal technicians needed at Wilmington Office
  • Modernizing the Hazardous Waste Billing Process
  • The Year in Review: DWR Water Education in 2021
  • Coastal research grants: Assemble and polish the application package
  • Coastal Research Grants: Prepare a budget and additional materials
  • Coastal Research Grants: write the project description
  • Coastal research grants: Draft an outline

Related Articles

  • Welcome to News and Spotlights
  • Spotlight: Fifth Third Bank
  • NC Cities & Towns to Meet on Climate Change
  • Experts Consider the Future and Security of our Coastal Regions
  • Spotlight: Bank of America
  • Classroom Lessons that Inspire Action on Climate Change
  • DEQ Comments on the EPA's proposed 'ACE' Rule
  • North Carolina's Pocosins: A Unique Carbon Sink
  • NC Experts Partner with State on Climate Science Assessment
  • SustainableNC: Spotlight on Atrium Health and Energy Management

Share this page:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

How can we make this page better for you?

Back to top

Contact Us

Physical Address
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
217 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27603 Map It
877-623-6748

Mailing Addresses

Work for Us

  • Job Opportunities at DEQ
  • For State Employees
  • DEQ Intranet

Twitter Feed

Tweets by NC DEQ

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • DEQ Employee Directory
  • Translation Disclaimer
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open Budget
NC DEQ
https://deq.nc.gov/blog/2018-10-15/innovative-durham-teacher-turns-environmental-education-renewable-energy