Nebraska Conservation Educational Fund

NCEF focuses on environmental issues such as water, renewable energy, land and habitat stewardship, and sustainable communities.

 

Nebraska is a state with incredible natural resources. Yet, by and large, we do not have substantial policies in place to protect these resources, and our public officials do not prioritize environmental protection. As we move into a future where we feel the impacts of climate change and increased stress on our water resources and food production systems, it is critical that Nebraska begins to place a greater emphasis on environmental protection.

 

NCEF improves environmental conservation by educating Nebraskans about important environmental issues, increasing public participation in the democratic process, and mobilizing a diverse network of people to engage in public policy. Increasing civic engagement in Nebraska provides a unique opportunity to achieve victories in clean air and reduced carbon emissions, as well as protect national treasures like the Ogallala Aquifer and Central Flyway. This is because, with our non-partisan Unicameral, Public Power Districts, and Natural Resource Districts, people in Nebraska have more control over the way their natural resources are governed than residents of most other states.

 

Our work is important because we empower Nebraskans to engage in the democratic process in order to benefit environmental conservation and protection. According to the Nebraska Civic Health Index, Nebraska ranks in the bottom half of states in voting, registration, and contacting public officials. In fact, our state’s worst ranking in civic health is in this area of democratic participation. Not only is NCEF focused on giving Nebraskans the tools they need to become civically engaged, but we are building leadership capacity in communities across the state.

 

How We Have Been Making A Difference:

NCEF holds monthly educational events in our two largest cities as part of our Conservation Education Series. We open the events with a brief presentation on a salient conservation issue, then delve into a discussion about how the people in the room can have an impact. So far, these events have grown each month, and we have engaged a total of 261 people over the course of six events.

 

In order to build the capacity of local communities to address environmental concerns, we launched the Common Ground Program in January of 2016. We are currently piloting this program in six communities across the state, in towns ranging in population from 2,000 to 35,000. Common Ground focuses on educating the public about environmental issues through civil discourse and civic engagement, with the ultimate goal being behavioral change in the way that people see and interact with their environment. To do this, NCEF has recruited a “Community Coordinator” for each pilot community. Community Coordinators are local leaders who NCEF trained in facilitation and community organizing. Coordinators facilitate discussions about issues impacting the environment, with the goal being to increase concern for its protection.  They start by holding one-on-ones and small group discussions, and then expand their audience by hosting community town-halls and forums featuring local conservation experts. Over the course of 2016, each Coordinator is expected to reach 200 unique individuals, for a total of 1,200 Nebraskans by the end of the year. This program is set up to inherently build upon itself and expand year after year, ever strengthening the network of environmental educators, and those they reach, across the state. Ultimately, these communities will implement local solutions to their locally-identified environmental problems. These solutions will include (but are not limited to) creating edible landscapes, building community solar gardens, and improving local water quality.

 

NCEF also conducts non-partisan voter registration and Get Out the Vote activities, and is partnering with a coalition of groups on an effort to permit wind energy development in Lancaster County. You can find out more about our efforts to support wind energy in our local community by going to lancasterwind.org. 

 

When factoring in all of our programs, NCEF will directly educate, engage, and empower 7,580 Nebraskans in 2016.