Sarah Fundraising for EEASC

My journey with environmental education (EE) started in the 4th grade at Rock Eage 4-H Center in Georgia. I attended an overnight field trip there and remember thinking that the people who worked there had the best job ever! As a teenager and college student I would never had guessed I would have ended up teaching.  Through a series of fortunate and some unfortunate events I ended up back at  Rock Eagle as a college graduate in need of a seasonal job. I've always loved animals and nature. Being able to teach kids about those things was perfection!  I fell in love with the people I was working with, the joy on the kids faces when they saw a real alligator up close, and the peacefulness of having a forest and 1,200 acres as my "office".  Fast forward 13 years and I have managed to make a career out it! 

Environmental Education should be an essential part of EVERY student's academic career. Here are a few of the many benefits children receive when they regularly participate in EE programs*:

1. Imagination and enthusiasm for learning are heightened. EE is a hands-on, interactive learning style which increases students enthusiasm and engagement in learning.
2. EE helps learners see the interconnectedness of social, ecological, economic, cultural, and political issues.
3. By exposing students to nature and allowing them to learn and play outside, EE fosters sensitivity, appreciation, and respect for the environment.  It combats “nature deficit disorder” … and it’s FUN!
4. EE gets kids outside and active!
5. EE promotes a sense of place and connection through community involvement. When students decide to learn more or take action to improve their environment, they reach out to community experts, donors, volunteers, and local facilities to help bring the community together to understand and address environmental issues impacting their neighborhood.
6. EE helps students understand how their decisions and actions affect the environment, builds knowledge and skills necessary to address complex environmental issues, as well as ways we can take action to keep our environment healthy and sustainable for the future.
7. EE empowers youth to share their voice and make a difference at their school and in their communities. EE helps teachers build their own environmental knowledge and teaching skills. 

I joined the Environmental Education of South Carolina (EEASC) board a few years ago because I wanted to be a part of an organization working to expand the reach of EE in South Carolina. EEASC exists to connect, support, and equip our community of SC educators to promote environmental stewardship. 

We need your help to!

Your contributions to our fall 2019 fundraiser will be used to build our organizational capacity to accomplish our mission. Specifically, we need to develop and improve our administrative infrastructure by investing in part-time staff support and software to assist with day-to-day communications management, event registration and logistics support, and financial operations. These investments will allow us to be more responsive to members' needs, provide better and faster customer service, and strengthen the professional development and networking opportunities we provide across the state. 

Our fundraiser goal is $4,000, and your contribution of ANY amount will help us reach this goal! Thank you in advance for your support for environmental education in SC.

*Benefits were taken and modified from https://www.plt.org/educator-tips/top-ten-benefits-environmental-education/