Environmental Education

North Carolina is a diverse land with natural beauty that appeals to residents and visitors alike.

It is also a land experiencing competition for natural resources that are under stress and that could be lost to us in the absence of a widespread awareness of their existence, their significance and their value.

Natural resources are not isolated from each other or from our people; each element is an integral part of the ecosystem. When one part of the system is affected, other parts feel the impact. It is environmental education that provides the knowledge, understanding and awareness of this interconnectedness of all things and gives us the ability to make more informed environmental decisions.

The more we understand and respect our own community, the more capable we are of being good stewards of the environment. If you have ever visited one of North Carolina's many Environmental Education Centers--nature centers, parks, aquariums, museums, the zoo, public gardens--then you have already begun appreciating natural systems. And you and your family had fun while learning.

Environmental education is not issue advocacy or a biased point of view. Environmental education enables communities to care for their own environment. Living within the limits set by the environment depends on the beliefs and commitment of individuals. However, as a community, individuals have more power to promote practices that can nourish rather than cripple their natural life-support systems.

This web site explores one element of your Ecological Address—your river basin—and links you to educational resources about all 17 river basins in the state.

In the 1990s, several crises elevated rivers in the public consciousness. First came Pfiesteria, a lethal organism that killed millions of fish in coastal waters. Then a battery of hurricanes brought rivers and development issues into our backyards. How we treat rivers and the land around them has a direct relationship to our quality of life. The purpose of this information is to describe how river basins function and how humans and rivers are connected. It demonstrates how decisions we make as homeowners and citizens affect the quality of the water we drink, swim in and fish from. With this knowledge, individuals can make more informed decisions regarding their environment.