Reaching Communities Across the Country: ee360+ and the Affiliate Network
This blog post was written by Lori Mann, director of conferences and programs at NAAEE.
I’ve been around NAAEE for a while now—in fact, the upcoming fall conference will be my 45th. The organization has certainly evolved since those early days when about 350 people attended the annual conference, and everyone knew everyone else.
In particular, I’ve witnessed astounding growth in the NAAEE Affiliate Network. Most Affiliate organizations started out as small, volunteer-led organizations scrambling to provide leadership in their states and provinces. With support and training from ee360+ and other funding, virtually all individual Affiliates have matured into stronger organizations, developing well-honed strategic plans, skilled boards of directors, expanded fundraising efforts, and closer ties to the EE communities they serve. Up from just a handful, 20 Affiliates now have the stable finances required to hire staff, which provides continuity and consistent leadership and makes all the difference in the world.
From small beginnings to a powerful network! Photo credit: Jimena Cuenca
ee360+ is an ambitious multi-year initiative that connects, trains, and promotes environmental education leaders to create a more healthy and sustainable future for everyone, everywhere. NAAEE leads the initiative, a partnership of more than 25 organizations, with funding and support from U.S. EPA. ee360+ has supported capacity-building activities that have bolstered both individual Affiliate organizations and the Affiliate Network as a whole.
At the Affiliate Leadership Clinic, Affiliates worked together to create impact. Photo credit: Jimena Cuenca
The Affiliate Network has emerged as an exemplar of genuine collaboration. Several learning communities meet regularly, including executive directors, fundraising, staff support, and state policy work, and participants share freely—everything from hiring practices to board structure to membership strategies. The Maine EE Association says, “These calls assist us in learning from the work of other states, sharing case studies of what worked and what isn’t working, and helps us bring back to Maine new resources and ideas we can mobilize.”
Each year at NAAEE’s annual conference, ee360+ has helped bring the Affiliate Network together for an in-depth workshop and special sessions designed by and for Affiliates to share lessons learned and help one another overcome challenges. The enthusiasm is infectious as connections are established and renewed; we hear things like this from the Wisconsin Association for EE:
“Participation in the conferences is extremely beneficial to overcoming operational challenges while brainstorming solutions with other Affiliates experiencing similar challenges. Every year, we come with different issues as our organization changes and grows, and the great part … is that there is always another group more and less experienced than us.”
One in-person conference connection between leaders of the Missouri EE Association and the Nebraska Alliance for Conservation and EE led to the co-development of a new eeCOURSE called Nature and Human Wellness. ee360+ funded the development of this and other courses as part of the eeCERTIFICATION program that continues to take shape. So far, 24 Affiliates have joined this program to offer high-quality online professional development for educators that is flexible, accessible, and addresses pertinent topics like green schools, fundamentals of environmental education, early childhood EE, and engaging teens in exploring green careers. Nature and Human Wellness joins a complement of nearly 30 courses that are shared readily across the network, thus maximizing creativity and minimizing duplication of efforts.
Affiliate leaders at NAAEE's 53rd Annual Conference provide insights and support to overcome challenges at engaging workshops and sessions designed for and by Affiliates. Photo credit: Gerry Ellis
Over recent years, ee360+ funding has enabled Affiliates to undertake projects to broaden their reach and establish programming with new audiences. The Colorado Alliance for EE addressed one of their most significant gaps in service by convening a large group of rural educators to build relationships and better understand their current work and needs. The Utah Society for EE partnered with Road Home’s Family Resource Center to provide free day camps for youth experiencing homelessness. In an area where EE isn’t extensive and workshop fees can be a barrier, the Arkansas EE Association offered free professional development and classroom supplies to teachers in northwest Arkansas, the first step in building ongoing relationships and expanding services.
Stronger together! The Affiliate Network is making a lasting impact engaging educators, connecting them with resources, and inspiring new opportunities for learning, community, and nature. Photo credit: Gerry Ellis
These are but a few of the efforts to expand EE to new audiences. In North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and beyond, ee360+ supports efforts to engage educators in new and enriching opportunities, connect them with resources and support, and inspire them with methods proven to increase academic achievement, community involvement, and connections to nature.
NAAEE’s Affiliate Network is one of our greatest assets, made that much more powerful through the work supported by ee360+. With a collective reach of tens of thousands of educators, ee360+’s investment in the Affiliate Network has paid off many times over, and it has been an extraordinary thing to see.
This eePRO blog series, Ripple Effect, highlights stories of collaboration and impact among partners in the ee360+ Leadership and Training Collaborative. ee360+ is an ambitious multi-year initiative that connects, trains, and promotes innovative leaders dedicated to using the power of education to create a more healthy and sustainable future for everyone, everywhere. Led by NAAEE, ee360+ is made possible through funding and support from U.S. EPA and twenty-five partner organizations representing universities and nonprofits across the country, as well as five federal agencies. Through this partnership, ee360+ brings together more than five decades of expertise to grow and strengthen the environmental education field.