An Evaluation of Marine Education Facilities in Carteret County, North Carolina

Public outreach and education is crucial to environmental policy because management decisions directly affect the public, and public support of public sector initiatives depends on properly understanding challenges and issues to successfully provide potential solutions. It is important to relate scientific discoveries and research to people’s everyday lives so that they understand the importance of, as well as alternatives for, proper environmental management and how it relates directly to them. The first major focus of this client-based project involved a comprehensive review of the major marine education facilities in Carteret County, North Carolina, which included the development of a written questionnaire and a focus group meeting with local educators. The second major focus of this project was to assist in the development of a strategic plan for the education branch of the North Carolina Maritime Museum, the major client of this project. The overall purpose of this project is to help local educators collaborate and network to build relationships and open lines of communication with one another. To help do so, a set of recommendations was developed to help promote future collaboration