Save the Earth:it's the only planet with chocolate

When I was young, you would always find me outdoors. Exploring creeks and streams, climbing trees, looking in the seaweed for critters, hunting, fishing, flipping over logs to find salamanders, and everything in between. These early experiences inspired me from a young age, and I knew that I wanted a career where I didn't have to be in an office for 40 hours a week. Now, as an adult, I have an amazing career as an Environmental Educator, which allows me to share my love of our natural world with children and adults of all ages.

Now, imagine a world where children do not climb trees, build clubhouses, watch shooting stars, go fishing, or exploring in the woods. Or worse yet, imagine a world without backyard camping trips, searching for crawdads, or playing in the creek. Unfortunately, that is the future we are headed toward, and it's very different from the way you and I grew up. Our children are one of the first generations to grow up almost entirely indoors, spending up to 27% of their time indoors and only 1% outdoors. Our children suffer from increased obesity, asthma, ADD, and allergies more than any other generation. In addition, they are increasingly detached from the natural world; they do not understand how natural systems work or even where their food comes from. How can we expect them to inherit and address the vast issues facing our world today, if they cannot understand the importance of sustainably managing our resources?

I'm asking you to give to this fundraiser so we can imagine a world where our children are surrounded by environmental education. Help us to give today’s children those same experiences we had and help us to grow better stewards of the environment. If you have a past experience that helped shape your love for and commitment to protecting our world, please pay it forward by supporting our mission.

The funds raised will help:

• Position EENC at the forefront of the state's efforts to secure federal funds from the 'Every Student Succeeds Act', which provides support for environmental education and hands-on, field-based learning experiences.
• Compete in the ee360 grant program, enabling us to help bring additional high-quality environmental education to NC's educators in formal and non-formal settings, and
• Provide resources that will allow EENC to increase day-to-day operations to help us fulfill our mission of building connections, providing professional development, and promoting excellence in environmental education.