2023 marks the fifth year of EENC’s mini-grant program, an innovative, equity-driven member benefit that promotes excellence in environmental education across North Carolina through direct financial support.
Mini-grants provide supplementary funding to EENC Member teachers, volunteers, and organizations to support their environmental education efforts, by allowing them to implement new projects, build infrastructure, purchase needed supplies, attend professional development training, and more.
It’s been an impactful first five years for the mini-grant program: since 2019, EENC has allocated almost $11,000 in grants to 37 environmental educators across the state. EENC mini-grants helped those educators reach over 10,000 learners in North Carolina with high-quality, meaningful environmental education experiences over the last five years, with direct impact in 28 counties spanning all four of EENC’s Regional Sections, including 12 counties that are classified as rural by the NC Rural Center. Awardees are uniformly satisfied with their participation in the mini-grant program, with 76% reporting that EENC’s support directly enabled them to take on and complete their project of choice, and 47% reporting that they had no other source of funding for their project.
“I decided to apply once I saw that funds could be used for professional development,” says 2023 Awardee Ginny Macon Paul of Beaufort County Schools. “I had heard of and researched the program STEAM in the PARKS but had put off applying due to the cost of the program and the lack of funds to support professional development in the school system I worked for. The mini-grant funding enabled me to attend this event!”
EENC would like to thank all of our community members who have volunteered their time to review mini-grant applications since 2019 – because of your generous contributions, our mini-grant program is by members, for members.
Below, find links to each annual celebratory recap blog post, an impact map displaying all project locations, and the complete list of all awardees and impacted counties to date.
Celebrating 2023's EENC Mini-Grant Awardees
All Mini-Grant Awardees to Date:
Beth Cranford, Durham Community Preschool, Durham, 2019
Diane Mason, ACE Education, Fuquay-Varina, 2019
Jamie Dunleavy, Union Academy Charter School, Monroe, 2019
Julie Hall, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, 2019
Katie Lockhart, White Deer Park, Garner, 2019
Leanna Staton, Clay County SWCD, Hayesville, 2019
Mir Youngquist-Thurow, ACE Education, Fuquay-Varina, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Shalyn Yost, Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County, Hendersonville, 2019, 2021
Shannon Unger, Cabarrus County Schools, Charlotte, 2019
Sandra Dixon, Pioneer Springs Community School, Charlotte, 2020
Jenna Hartley, NC State, Durham and Onslow Counties, 2020
Tatiana Height, UNCG Center for Housing and Community Studies, Greensboro, 2020
Marisa Sedlak, Town of Beech Mountain Parks & Recreation, Beech Mountain, 2020
Trent Stanforth, JCCC Howell Woods, Four Oaks, 2020
Willard Watson, Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, Blowing Rock, 2020
Wendy Wilson, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, Charlotte, 2020
Alayna Schmidt, WNC Nature Center, Asheville, 2021
Karen Chapmen, W.D. Williams Elementary School, Swannanoa, 2021
Jessica Metz, New Kituwah Academy, Cherokee, 2021
Lauren Gibson, NC State, Camden County High School, Pine Forest High School, Northwest Guilford High School, Tuscola High School, 2021
Lauren Green, NC Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, 2021
Marguerite Bishop, Nashville Elementary School, Nashville, 2021
Marilyn Jesrani, Carolina Outdoor Fun, Raleigh, 2021
Ranita Anderson, Book Harvest, Durham, 2021
Sarah Pursel, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, Highlands, 2021
Joanna Orozco, Raíces, Asheville, 2022
Katy Menne, NC Maritime Museum at Southport, Southport, 2022
Kayla Mounce McCoy, Wilkes County SWCD, Wilkesboro, 2022, 2023
Marissa Blackburn, Cape Fear River Watch, Wilmington, 2022
Meredith Katz, Shady Brook Elementary School, Kannapolis, 2022
Tallis Monterio, Asheville GreenWorks, Asheville, 2022
Tori Duval, Friends of the WNC Nature Center, Asheville, 2022
Renee Pagoota-Wight, Sherrills Ford Elementary School, Sherrills Ford, 2022
Ginny Paul, Beaufort County Schools, Washington, 2023
Jennie Emmons, Excelsior Classical Academy, Durham, 2023
Allison Murphy, Town of Garner/White Deer Park, Garner, 2023
Desirae Clodefleter, Winston-Salem-Forsyth County Schools, Winston-Salem, 2023
All NC Counties Directly Impacted by Mini-Grant Program to Date:
Avery (Western)
Beaufort (Eastern)
Brunswick (Eastern)
Buncombe (Western)
Cabarrus (Piedmont)
Caldwell (Western)
Camden (Eastern)
Catawba (Western)
Cherokee (Western)
Clay (Western)
Cumberland (Eastern)
Durham (Central)
Forsyth (Piedmont)
Guilford (Piedmont)
Haywood (Western)
Henderson (Western)
Johnston (Central)
Macon (Western)
Mecklenburg (Piedmont)
Nash (Central)
New Hanover (Eastern)
Onslow (Eastern)
Orange (Central)
Rowan (Piedmont)
Union (Piedmont)
Wake (Central)
Watauga (Western)
Wilkes (Western)