The Office: A Note from Past-President Will Freund

To say that the last few months have not gone as we expected would be an understatement. For over 30 years, the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs has been a key partner in EENC's work since our founding in 1991. The story of the Office of EE has been shared by the News and Observer, the Coastal Review, and in the Public School Forum of North Carolina, covering a wide array of perspectives and highlighting the important work this office does for so many across our state. Now we embark on the journey of figuring out what is next.

First and foremost, our work continues. EENC's commitment to build connections, provide professional development, and promote excellence for North Carolina's community of environmental educators persists, and you can count on us to continue to support this community through this transition. While we are not sure where all of the pieces of the Office of EE will land, we are confident that every piece will find a home.

The staff and Board of Directors of EENC are in active discussions both internally and with various external stakeholders and partners to determine the best path forward for the resources, programs, and certification housed within the Office of EE. We recognize that hundreds of individuals across North Carolina are actively enrolled in the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification program and, as such, require both short-term and long-term solutions. In the immediate term, if you are enrolled and working on your certification, please continue to work on your projects, attend courses, and complete your hours. One of EENC's highest priorities is implementing a stopgap measure to ensure current enrollees can continue working on their certification.

When looking at the long-term plan for things, we want to make sure that we get things right, and that may take time and iteration. Right now, EENC does not have the staffing or capacity to take on everything that the Office of EE does, but that does not mean that we cannot get there. Funding plays a critical role in the capacity of work that EENC can take on, but so do strategic partnerships. We are so lucky to be in a state with one of the most robust environmental education networks in the country, which means that we are not in this work alone.

I am sorry that I cannot give you the clear, direct answers you want at this time, but that is because there are so many moving parts, and we want to be clear and consistent when we have updates and guidance on this and other situations. You all spoke up loud and clear that environmental education is central to who North Carolina is, and that is something that EENC is immensely proud of. Thank you for your continuous time, effort, and advocacy. The Office of EE, the people who made it great, and the impact it has had for so many years will be carried on by all of us. We are a national leader in environmental education because of what Lisa, Marty, and all other staff who have been a part of the Office have done, and we thank them for their many years of public service and deep partnership with EENC.

As we look toward EENC's conference in Raleigh next month, I know that this is a topic that will be weighing heavily on many of us, myself included. But one of the things that I hear year after year is that the EENC conference is a place of healing, growth, and rejuvenation for this community. Let this event be a time when we come together, mourn the loss of a friend, celebrate what we have accomplished, and use it as a springboard into the future. We have the responsibility to help write the next chapter of environmental education in North Carolina and not let the incredible work the Office of EE has done go to waste.

In Community,

Will Freund

EENC Board Past-President