Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Sports Management Online Masters Degree Accepting Applications

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

Are you ready to make the move that will advance your career in parks, recreation, tourism, or sports?

NC State University is currently taking applications for the Fall 2013 cohort of Online Masters Degree students for Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Sports Management Professionals. Applications will be accepted until April 30th.

The online masters degree provides students with a solid professional and business education where the courses are matched with the needs of the industry. The faculty are national and international leaders in their fields who are dedicated to providing students with the skills they need to lead and gain a competitive advantage.

Highlights of the PRTM Online program include:
• 7 week accelerated class format which focuses on one subject at a time
• Online classes meet once a week in the evenings allowing for full employment and flexible schedule
• Students are admitted as a cohort with opportunities for networking and collaboration
• No GRE required if you have 2 years professional work experience

By emphasizing key management functions indicative of parks, recreation, tourism, and sport industries, the program ensures that students will graduate with a mastery of advanced principles and procedures. The contemporary instructional methods emphasize group discussions, frequent interactions with faculty, and meaningful assignments which provide valuable skills and knowledge critical for career advancement.

NC State University is a leader in quality online distance education. The Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management department was founded in 1947 and became the first nationally-accredited degree program of its kind in the United States.

Questions?: PRTMOnline@ncsu.edu
Website: http://cnr.ncsu.edu/prtmonline
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PRTMOnline
Blog: http://prtmonline.wordpress.com

Outdoor Education Helps Minority Students Close Gap in Environmental Literacy

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

Environmental education programs that took middle school students outdoors to learn helped minority students close a gap in environmental literacy, according to research from North Carolina State University.

Students at Centennial Middle School in Raleigh, NC learn about tree measurement

The study, published March 22 in PLOS ONE, showed that time outdoors seemed to impact African-American and Hispanic students more than Caucasian students, improving minority students’ ecological knowledge and cognitive skills, two measures of environmental literacy. The statewide study also measured environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior such as recycling and conserving water. “We are interested in whether outdoor experiences can be part of a catch-up strategy that can help in narrowing the environmental literacy gap for minority students,” said lead author Kathryn Stevenson, an NC State graduate student who has taught outdoor education classes in California and high school biology and science in North Carolina.Researchers tested the environmental literacy of sixth- and eighth-grade students in 18 North Carolina schools in the fall and spring. Half of the schools studied had registered an environmental education program with the state.Using a published environmental curriculum, such as Project Learning Tree, Project WET or Project WILD, helped build students’ cognitive skills, researchers found. Learning in an outdoor environment improved students’ ecological knowledge, environmental attitudes and behavior.

“This is one of the first studies on a broad scale to focus on environmental literacy, which is more than mastering facts,” said co-author Nils Peterson, associate professor of fisheries and wildlife in NC State’s College of Natural Resources. “Being environmentally literate means that students learn cognitive skills so that they can analyze and solve problems, and it involves environmental attitudes and behaviors as well.”

Girls and boys appeared to have complementary strengths that contributed to environmental literacy. Boys scored highest on knowledge, while girls led in environmental attitudes and cognitive skills.

Sixth graders showed greater gains in environmental literacy than eighth graders, suggesting that early middle school is the best window for environmental literacy efforts, Stevenson said.

Teachers’ level of education played an important role in building environmental literacy. Those with a master’s degree had students with higher levels of overall environmental literacy.

Teachers who had spent three to five years in the classroom were more effective at building students’ cognitive skills than new teachers. Efforts are needed to engage veteran teachers in environmental education, Stevenson said.

In a follow-up to the study, Stevenson is studying coastal North Carolina students’ perceptions of climate change.

– ford –

Resources: Environmental Literacy Fact Sheet

Note: An abstract of the paper follows.

“Environmental, Institutional, and Demographic Predictors of Environmental Literacy among Middle School Children”

Authors: Kathryn T. Stevenson, M. Nils Peterson, Howard D. Bondell, Angela G. Mertig and Susan E. Moore

Published: March 22, 2013, in PLOS ONE

Abstract: Building environmental literacy (EL) in children and adolescents is critical to meeting current and emerging environmental challenges worldwide. Although environmental education (EE) efforts have begun to address this need, empirical research holistically evaluating drivers of EL is critical. This study begins to fill this gap with an examination of school-wide EE programs among middle schools in North Carolina, including the use of published EE curricula and time outdoors while controlling for teacher education level and experience, student attributes (age, gender, and ethnicity), and school attributes (socio-economic status, student-teacher ratio, and locale). Our sample included an EE group selected from schools with registered school-wide EE programs, and a control group randomly selected from NC middle schools that were not registered as EE schools. Students were given an EL survey at the beginning and end of the spring 2012 semester. Use of published EE curricula, time outdoors, and having teachers with advanced degrees and mid-level teaching experience (between 3 and 5 years) were positively related with EL whereas minority status (Hispanic and black) was negatively related with EL. Results suggest that school-wide EE programs were not associated with improved EL, but the use of published EE curricula paired with time outdoors represents a strategy that may improve all key components of student EL. Further, investments in teacher development and efforts to maintain enthusiasm for EE among teachers with more than 5 years of experience may help to boost student EL levels. Middle school represents a pivotal time for influencing EL, as improvement was slower among older students. Differences in EL levels based on gender suggest boys and girls may possess complementary skills sets when approaching environmental issues. Our findings suggest ethnicity related disparities in EL levels may be mitigated by time spent in nature, especially among black and Hispanic students.

Media Coverage:
RedOrbit
Newswise
CHANS-Net
Phys.org
KPCC, Southern California Public Radio

Hofmann Forest Update Letter from Natural Resources Foundation Board

Posted on March 20, 2013 by secorica

The following letter from the Executive Committee of the Natural Resources Foundation was emailed to College of Natural Resources alumni, friends, students, faculty and staff on March 20, 2013.

Dear Friends of the College of Natural Resources,

Much conflicting information has circulated around a potential sale of the Hofmann Forest, managed by the Natural Resources Foundation for the benefit of North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources. We, the Executive Committee of the Natural Resources Foundation Board of Directors, write to clarify our rationale and process to consider a sale.

The Hofmann Forest has a long history in the College of Natural Resources. It has been managed over the years for teaching, research, and more recently, as an income source for the College. Changes in the educational use of the Forest began in the 1950s when the College relocated its educational programs from the Hofmann to our Hill Forest in nearby Durham County. The College’s forestry research programs now occur quite literally all around the world. Only a very small number of today’s CNR students ever visit Hofmann Forest.

While recognizing its unique heritage and values, as a Board, we have focused primarily on the management of the Forest as a critical financial asset for the College. Over the last 10 years, income from the Forest has fluctuated greatly, and over the last few years, it has declined. These declines are evident in the Foundation’s publically available financial reports. Currently, the income from the Forest does not meet the critical needs of the College.

We are also concerned because the forest represents about 90% of the total assets of the Natural Resources Foundation. Most other institutions only hold 10-15% of assets in forestland, and generally this land is dispersed geographically to reduce risks and access multiple wood markets. Cash flow from this Forest, in just one place, is particularly vulnerable to the risks of fire, hurricane, or other catastrophic events and the Forest can only supply wood to one geographic market.

The Natural Resources Foundation has a fiduciary responsibility to use the Forest to best meet the needs of the College and its students. As part of our fiduciary responsibility, we are exploring a potential sale, if price and other conditions that are consistent with the values of the College are met. Considerations that would be part of any sale include preserving the legacy of Doc Hofmann by retaining the Forest name, maintaining access for students and faculty to conduct research, and maintaining a working forest on this site. We are also considering a range of options for managing the Forest differently if we do not find such a buyer.

Recognizing the need to hold the financial details of a potential sale confidential, we have broadly shared information about our actions. Beginning more than a year ago, there have been a variety of public sessions with College faculty, staff and students, and with outside partners to share information and receive feed back about the need to manage the Forest differently, including potentially selling the property. While we are not in a position to share the details of any potential offer at this time, we have set a deadline in late March to receive offers to purchase. The Natural Resources Foundation Board will meet in April to consider these offers and make a decision about how best to move forward, whether this is to negotiate a final sales agreement or to pursue other options.

We believe that the additional endowment support for the College that could result from a sale of the Hofmann Forest would create exciting new opportunities that cannot be achieved in any other way. The additional funds would be used to:

o Attract the best and brightest undergraduate and graduate students by providing additional scholarships;

o Fund new hands-on engaged learning opportunities for students;

o Support new professorships in emerging areas important to our state and the nation;

o Facilitate interdisciplinary research in the areas of sustainability science and policy, forest and watershed management, energy, water and the environment; and

o Continue to support our traditional strengths in forestry, outdoor recreation, and forest products.

We are confident the resulting impact from Doc Hofmann’s legacy would be transformational.

Sincerely,

Brenda Brickhouse, President, NC State Natural Resources Foundation Board
Art Raymond, Board Member
Jim Buzzard, Board Member
Ken Hines, Board Member
David Ashcraft, Board Secretary
Mary Watzin, Dean, NC State University College of Natural Resources

Lupold Establishes Endowment to Honor Mentors

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

Natural Resources’ Dean Mary Watzin with donor, Mac Lupold, on Signing Day

The College of Natural Resources at NC State University is honored to announce the establishment of the Hugh McColl Lupold Mentors Endowment in the College of Natural Resources. The endowment recognizes three mentors, Bill Milliken, Cal Colvin, and Dale Wright, who coached and encouraged Lupold through his working career.

Lupold credits Milliken, Colvin and Wright with strong support throughout his career and established this endowment in recognition of their contributions to forestry and wood products and to his success. “Mac,” as he is commonly referred, is a Forest Products Consultant (Lupold Consulting) in Camden, SC specializing in wood supply, mill audits, sales and marketing.

Lupold is a 1959 alum of the Forestry program at NC State University. While enrolled here, he was a member of 30&3, Blue Key, Golden Chain, student government and president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

He was president of the National Particleboard Association, received the College of Natural Resources Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005 and has served on numerous boards of affiliated forestry associations. At NC State he chaired the NC Forestry Foundation, the Wood Products Task Force, the College of Natural Resources’ Achieve! Campaign and other efforts.

Merit-based awards will be made from this endowment to a rising junior in the College of Natural Resources who has demonstrated leadership potential, who is an aspiring entrepreneur, with preference to students interested in wood products manufacturing and other forest products activity. Awards will be for one academic year and may be renewed based on specific criteria being met.

Registration Opens for 2013 Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

The Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy, organized by NC State University’s Forestry & Environmental Outreach Program and NC Project Learning Tree, is currently accepting registration for two 2013 summer sessions. The Coastal Academy will be held June 17-21, 2013 in New Bern, NC. The Mountain Academy will be held June 24-28, 2013 in Asheville, NC.

The four-day residential program focuses on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainable forestry in North Carolina. Teachers visit a variety of forests and mills learning about forest management and the manufacturing of various wood products such as paper, furniture, plywood, and lumber.

Teachers participate in tours and hikes in forests under an array of ownership and management plans. Excursions to museums, state forests, experimental forests, and environmental learning centers round out the experience. Participants should expect a fast-paced week,with extended moderate walking, great food, networking, and lots of fun!

Extensive materials and discussions prepare participants to transfer what they have learned back to the classroom and to their students. To date, more than 500 North Carolina teachers have participated in the Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy.

Sponsors for 2013 include the NC Division of Forest Resources, the NC Forestry Association’s Forest Education and Conservation Foundation, and the NC Sustainable Forestry Initiative State Implementation Committee.

Meals and lodging are provided, however teachers selected to participate are required to submit a $100 deposit to hold their spot in the academy, which will be returned upon arrival. CEU renewal credits will be awarded.

More information and online registration : www.ncsu.edu/sfta. Registration will remain open until April 5, 2013.

Currently the Academy is only available to North Carolina teachers, however similar opportunities for teachers in other states can be found at http://www.forestinfo.org/forestry_tours/2013.