K-12 Education and Community Initiatives

Students, Teachers, and Members of Your Local Community are Taking Action!

Actions big and small can make a difference and there efforts underway across the state to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy while creating good jobs and retaining our quality of life.  The N.C Department of Environmental Quality is dedicated to providing high-quality educational resources and curricula to the students, teachers, and educators of North Carolina to foster a more informed public and environmentally literate citizenry.  Content provided by our agency is the result of research and analysis from our scientists, as well as from our partnerships with scientific agencies, universities, educational groups, and others. 

DEQ Envisions:

• Providing students, teachers and community members with information and opportunities to learn about climate change and climate science
• Helping individuals find well-documented and researched content to learn about the topic
• Collaborating with and supporting local actions by students, teachers, and community members that aim to reduce pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improve our environment

K- 12 Education

In 2009, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an Endangerment Finding that greenhouse gas pollution contributes to climate change and threatens the health and welfare of future generations.  But learning about, and teaching, climate science can seem like a daunting task. Our goal is to support and collaborate with a wide variety of educators across the state to help make it a little easier. DEQ offers a wide variety of education and outreach programs, activities, and curriculum to support educators. Learn more about teaching your students about atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, combustion, clean energy solutions and more by exploring our education materials below. The Office of Environmental Education's online resource database has a wealth of curriculum materials and lesson plans.

Need help getting started? 

Try this North Carolina-specific Quick Reference Guide or email us at air.awareness@ncdenr.gov to learn more about activities related to climate change to try out in your classroom. 

Outreach and Education programs

Learn more about DEQ’s current outreach and education efforts below by clicking on water, air, or land. Several Divisions offer workshops, educator support, and curricula to help N.C teachers.

• Water Resources Programs     
• Air Quality Programs
• Coastal Reserve Programs       
• Geology Programs

Take Action

All of us have the power to impact air quality. Ozone and particle pollution, the two biggest criteria pollutant air quality concerns in North Carolina, come from many of the same sources, primarily motor vehicles, power plants, and other industry. These same sources also release pollution that causes climate change. So simple actions like driving less and using less electricity can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
Try some of these other actions.

Climate Change 101

Getting started with the basics? A great place to start learning is NASA's global climate change website: climate.nasa.gov
• Have questions about climate change vs global warming? Check out the frequently asked questions (FAQs)
• What is the scientific consensus about climate change?

Coastal Connections

N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences occasionally also holds community forums and events related to climate change.
 
Want to learn more about the research methods used by scientists to understand how and why the climate is changing? Sign up for a two-hour college-style lecture about climate change at the Museum of Natural Sciences. (Science Curriculum Correlation(s):7.E.1, 8.P.2, EEn.1.1, EEn.2.2, EEn.2.6, EEn.2.8, OA2.1, OA6.1 ).
 Learn more