CPES News

IE makes hands-on geoscience learning possible for Northeastern NC’s students and teachers

The UNC Institute for the Environment recently received $319,000 to connect students and teachers in Northeastern North Carolina with field-based geoscience learning opportunities. Geoscience Teaching Outdoors in NC, also known as GET OUT in NC, will take advantage of the … Continued

As IDEA program for underrepresented students concludes, new program funded and in development

The UNC Institute for the Environment hosted its final cohort of six IDEA (Increasing Diversity and Enhancing Academia) students this summer, matching a total of 78 students with geoscience internships between 2012 and 2020. IDEA, which has been funded by … Continued

Energy LEAP summer program still meaningful during time of social distancing

Each summer, IE’s Center for Public Engagement with Science (CPES) hosts a week-long camp for high school students interested in science. Amid the global pandemic, Energy LEAP (Literacy, Engagement and Action Program) was held remotely this summer during the last … Continued

Landing the Best Fish Consumption Advisory Signs for Sport and Subsistence Anglers (Applied Ecology News | Sep.9, 2020)

New research finds that simpler is better when it comes to letting people know which fish are contaminated with harmful pollutants and unsafe to eat. Where and how to communicate fish consumption advisories is complicated. Advisories can be specific to … Continued

How much geoscience can fit in a box?

This summer, the Center for Public Engagement with Science (CPES) launched a new K-12 initiative called “STEM Experiences in the Lab and Field (SELF)” for high school students in Robeson County, NC. Originally intended to take place in Robeson County … Continued

IE, NCMNS youth program on climate resilience to begin Aug. 29 virtually

On Aug. 29, 37 youth from North Carolina will begin the Youth Engaged in the Science of Resilience (YES-Resilience) Teen Climate Ambassadors program hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Center for Public Engagement with Science and the NC … Continued

NC Energy Literacy Fellow receives fellowship award to study grid resilience at home and abroad

Denise Renfro, a CTE teacher and Director of the Academy of Green Technology at Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, NC, and participant in the UNC Institute for the Environment’s 2019 NC Energy Literacy Fellows Program, received a Fund For … Continued

UNC IE’s Center for Public Engagement with Science recognized with a 2020 Best of Green Schools Award from the U.S. Green Building Council

The UNC Institute for the Environment’s Center for Public Engagement with Science (CPES) was recognized this year with the 2020 Best of Green Schools Award for Higher Education for their Outdoor Wonder and Learning (OWL) Initiative at Northside Elementary in … Continued

Dana Haine – Mixing Research with Creativity to Appeal to Learners (NIH News | Mar. 12)

Dana Haine works with researchers, K-12 teachers, and students to make the newest scientific research digestible for classrooms and communities. As the K-12 science education manager for the Center for Public Engagement with Science within the University of North Carolina … Continued

Have an internship or research project opportunity? EcoStudio has students!

EcoStudio pairs outstanding undergraduate students with faculty advisors for environmentally-focused internships, client-based research and applied learning projects. Students not only gain real-world experience, but they also can earn academic credit. Here’s how it works: 1) EcoStudio solicits internship opportunities and independent … Continued

At Water’s Edge, NC teachers explore watershed management along state’s coast

Click image for slideshow. Packing plenty of sunblock and extra pairs of shoes, nearly twenty middle- and high-school science teachers, primarily from the coastal and piedmont regions of North Carolina, set out on an interactive four-day professional development program, known … Continued

We’re hiring! Research Associate

The Research Associate is a permanent position in the Center for Public Engagement with Science (CPES), the informal science education and community engagement unit of the UNC Institute for the Environment (IE). This position will be responsible for designing, implementing, … Continued

Preparing the next generation of energy leaders

  The Duke Energy Foundation funds UNC-Chapel Hill programs that prepare future leaders for the energy workforce. Transitioning to a low-carbon economy is not only changing the energy landscape in North Carolina and beyond. It also requires preparing the future … Continued

Recently-renewed funding from NASA expands lake level project worldwide

Continuing its pursuit of understanding water volume fluctuations in Earth’s natural lakes, the Lake Observations by Citizen Scientists and Satellites (LOCSS) project is finishing its first year of worldwide data collection following its recent funding renewal from the National Aeronautics … Continued

IE, NC Museum of Natural Sciences receive National Science Foundation funding to engage youth in learning about climate resilience

Responding to the challenge of developing resilient communities as the world faces more frequent and severe extreme weather events, Kathleen Gray and Dana Haine of the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Center for Public Engagement with Science were recently awarded … Continued

IE, North Carolina State Parks host teacher training institutes

During their summer break, elementary school teachers from across the state braved the rain and the heat to learn environmental education techniques from specialists with the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation and the Institute for the Environment’s (IE) … Continued

IE, Northside Elementary Create Hands-On, Nature-Based Curriculum

View slideshow Over the past year, the Institute for the Environment’s Center for Public Engagement with Science (CPES) has teamed up with teachers from Northside Elementary School to create a curriculum that will engage third through fifth grade students with … Continued

Geoscience students embark on retreat through coastal NC

On May 22, nine undergraduate students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University set out on a three-day retreat to explore the coast of North Carolina and broaden their knowledge and appreciation of … Continued

Phillips selected for 2019 NC Energy Literacy Fellows (The Times-News | June 30, 2019)

Donna Phillips, an eighth-grade science teacher at Woodlawn Middle School, was selected earlier this year to participate in the 2019 N.C. Energy Literacy Fellows Program, yearlong professional development combining hands-on STEM activity, study of relevant careers, and visits to energy … Continued

Eastern N.C. teachers explore animal waste-to-energy trend in their own backyard (EducationNC | June 25, 2019)

“I didn’t know much about this technology even though I live in this county!” exclaimed one teacher as she stepped onto covered swine waste on a Smithfield Farm in Duplin County. This sentiment was felt by a number of teachers … Continued

NC Energy Literacy Fellow leads student team to National KidWind Competition

View slideshow An Onslow County science teacher led a team of students from Dixon High School to a first-place win in the wind energy competition at the North Carolina Renewable Energy Challenge held on April 6, 2019. JD Jorgensen, a … Continued

In Iredell County, tests show high percentage of wells contain Chromimum 6 (NC Policy Watch | Apr. 22, 2019)

More than three-quarters of private drinking water wells tested in Iredell County had levels of Chromium 6 above the state health screening level, but the source of the compound is unknown. Scientists from UNC Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech, who conducted … Continued

Bringing environmental science to the people, IE launches Center for Public Engagement with Science

For the last 34 years, the UNC Institute for the Environment’s outreach unit, the Environmental Resource Program (ERP), has been committed to connecting environmental researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with communities in North Carolina. Now, … Continued

IE continues to enhance energy literacy among NC students and teachers with grant from Duke Energy

In 2019, the Duke Energy Foundation will continue to support IE’s efforts to promote energy literacy among teachers and students in North Carolina, through a yearlong teacher professional development program and a yearlong science enrichment program for high school students. … Continued

UNC scientists partner with Virginia Tech on National Science Foundation RAPID grant to study well contamination in aftermath of Hurricane Florence

A team of scientists from the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Environmental Resource Program (ERP) and Virginia Tech has been awarded a National Science Foundation RAPID grant to quickly mobilize a study of private well contamination in New Hanover and … Continued