Environmental and Outdoor Education
Share Your Love & Knowledge of the Outdoors with Public Captive Audiences
For nature-loving students considering a career centered on outreach or nontraditional environmental education at museums, aquariums, zoos, or parks, the Environmental and Outdoor Education concentration of the Environment & Sustainability major is a perfect, natural fit.
Students in the Environmental and Outdoor Education concentration have a passion for the environment, enjoy being outdoors, and are natural born fact-lovers and inspiring storytellers. Prepare for a career as a nature preserve tour guide, cooperative extension education coordinator, natural history museum or zoological park docent, or traveling nature educator.
Students completing the Environmental and Outdoor Education concentration at Catawba College take courses that contribute toward the creation of a portfolio for use in pursuing North Carolina Environmental Education (NCEE) certification. The NCEE certification program is modeled after commonly accepted national environmental education standards, making this certification portable, and ultimately quite valuable, in many instances.
Students majoring in the Environmental and Outdoor Education concentration, and other Environment and Sustainability degree concentrations, have a complete set of resources at their disposal: scholarships, internships, stewardships, practicums, study abroad, and undergraduate research.
Environment & Sustainability Programs at Catawba
Learn about Environment and Sustainability degree programs at Catawba College.
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Outdoor Laboratory
Use our campus as your first outdoor laboratory as you conduct field studies and roam our 189-acre ecological preserve located in Catawba’s back yard.
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Environment Catawba Outreach
Develop leadership skills as part of Environment Catawba Outreach (ECO), the college’s campus club dedicated to raising environmental awareness on campus.
Sarah Moore, ’12 Biologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia; Earned her master’s degree from Duke UniversityCatawba's Environmental Education degree allowed me to put together my love for the outdoors and my passion for working with the public. The small student-to-faculty ratio, the Center for the Environment, the ecological preserve and a wonderful liberal arts institution allowed me to cultivate (pardon the agriculture pun) my education into my vocation.
Stewardship
Become a Catawba Environmental Steward and design and implement a campus sustainability service project. Projects have included a recycled fashion show, a campus bike-share program, renovating the Catawba greenhouse, helping install solar infrastructure on campus, sustainability-based educational programming, and more.
Internships in Environment and Sustainability
Build your resume and acquire professional skills during an environmental internship with organizations such as the Land Trust for Central North Carolina, the Natural Resources Conservation, Horizons Unlimited Education Center, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and many others.
Wilderness
Catawba students have an opportunity to apply for a paid internship with Girls on outdoor Adventure in Leadership and Science (GALS), a free summer science program for high school students to engage with science while backpacking through the wilderness.
Program Details
A Leading Sustainability College in the Southeast
We look at sustainability holistically and our roles in the environment. We provide our students with the skills and knowledge to change the world. Sustainability is not just an academic program at Catawba College, but a way of life.
Travel Opportunities
Travel Opportunities
Experience local and global environmental issues first-hand through travel study experiences in places as diverse as Madagascar, mainland Africa, the Caribbean, India, Costa Rica, the Florida Everglades, and the Duke University Marine Lab.
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Research
Conduct and present your own environmental research by doing an Independent Study. Present your work at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, North Carolina Academy of Science, Association of Southeastern Biologists, Carolinas Society of Toxicology & Chemistry, and American Chemical Society. The James M. Beard Student Science Travel Award can help you pay for travel expenses related to your research.
Next-Generation Resources
The Graham Genomics Lab allows students to engage in vital research, gaining broad and deep knowledge in a particular field, enabling them to put that knowledge to work for the common good. It features next-generation sequencing platforms from leading technology providers, including Illumina® and Pacific Biosystems. Catawba students acquire hands-on skills as they conduct research projects and work with innovative sequencing equipment, participating in multi-disciplinary, multi-platform research from concept through to data delivery and interpretation.
Net Price Calculator
Net Price Calculator
Estimate your share of college costs and how much financial aid you may be eligible to receive
Our calculator is designed to give you an early indication of what type of financial aid you may qualify for if you were attending Catawba College as a first-year, transfer, online, or graduate student.
Outcomes
Outcomes
Careers - Environment and Sustainability majors from Catawba College are making a difference in the following positions:
- North Carolina Wildlife Officer
- Compliance Analyst
- GIS Specialist
- Environmental Analyst
- Aquarium Outreach Assistant
- Regional Director, Defenders of Wildlife
- Director, NextGen Air Transportation Consortium at NC State University
- Founder of Resiliency Lands
- Park Ranger
- Peace Corps Volunteers
Graduate Schools - Catawba College Environment and Sustainability alumni have gone on to earn graduate degrees at the following schools:
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- College of Charleston
- Duke University
- The College of William & Mary
Catawba College’s Center for the Environment will host a presentation on “The Challenges of 21st Century Lion Conservation: Facing the Future” on Wednesday, November 13th, at 6:30 pm in Room 302. Packer’s presentation is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To register, go to catawba.edu/craigpacker or call 704.637.4791.
After participating in the National Environmental Summit this past July, seven high school students from North Carolina took their learning to the next level by venturing into the wilderness as part of Catawba College’s REACH (Recreation and Educational Adventures Challenging Highschoolers) Program. These young adventurers engaged in a six-night backpacking trek through Panthertown Valley in Western North Carolina, where they camped under the stars and explored the region's rich biodiversity, including its unique plants, animals, and breathtaking waterfalls.
Catawba College is proud to announce its inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges. This recognition highlights the College’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, environmental stewardship, and fostering a green-conscious campus community.
