
EVENT
SPONSORSHIP
Dear Environmental Education Supporter,
We invite you to show your support for environmental education in our state by sponsoring Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) events this year. KACEE unites public agencies, teachers, community organizations, businesses, and individuals behind a common cause - teaching kids how to think, not what to think, about environmental issues through non-biased and science-based EE.
KACEE is a 501(c)3 organization with a vison to grow a healthy, vibrant and resilient Kansas through the power of environmental education. A portion of your sponsorship is tax deductible. Your sponsorship will be recognized in our promotions, reaching 1300+ people across Kansas.
By sponsoring our fundraising events, you will help offset costs, reduce registration fees, and provide scholarships for educators. Support for environmental education is vital for a healthy environment, vibrant economy, and successful communities.
If environmental education is something that you or your organization deeply values, sponsoring one or more of our events provides the opportunity to live your values and lead your community by example.
Thank you for your consideration!
The KACEE Board and Staff

Serve with AmeriCorps Kansas! Led by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE), the Environmental Education Corps (eeCorps) AmeriCorps Program places AmeriCorps members at organizations throughout Kansas to focus on increasing environmental literacy for PreK-12 students and building capacity for environmental education in the region.
AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs offering the opportunity for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to serve and meet community needs. Members address the most critical problems in the areas of education, economic opportunity, veterans and military family services, health, the environment, and disaster services.
In exchange for a specific term of service, AmeriCorps members earn a living allowance as well as an educational award to pay back qualified student loans or to finance college, graduate school, or vocational training.
For more information about the AmeriCorps State program and FAQs for members, please visit this website.
Why Serve with eeCorps?
AmeriCorps is an opportunity for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to give their time and talent to strengthen communities.
Be a Part of Something Bigger
When you serve with AmeriCorps, you join a network of more than 1.3 million strong. AmeriCorps alumni continue to give back to the country through civic-minded activities. The community you build while serving with AmeriCorps is unlike any other.
Grow Personally and Professionally
Learn and grow while giving back to a community. Individuals who serve with AmeriCorps build new skillsets that they can take with them wherever they go. Older Americans can apply their hard-earned knowledge to make an impact in a new environment.
Receive Benefits for Your Service
AmeriCorps provides several benefits for its Volunteers. Education awards are available to AmeriCorps Volunteers, as well as supplemental health insurance, loan deferment, and childcare. Benefits vary by program.
AmeriCorps Kansas Benefits
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Living Allowance: A stipend is provided, paid monthly, to cover living expenses.
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Segal AmeriCorps Education Award: Upon successful completion of service, members receive an award to pay for college/graduate school or repay qualified student loans.
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Health Coverage: Health insurance is available for full-time members during the service term.
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Professional Development & Training: Members receive training in environmental education, teaching/facilitating, communication, teamwork, and others enhancing their career skills.
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Childcare Assistance: Available for full-time members with children under 13 who meet specific income criteria.
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Loan Forbearance: Qualified student loans may be eligible for forbearance during service.
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Networking & Experience: Opportunities to work directly with schools and environmental providers in Kansas, building a professional network.
More benefits
Housing & Food Assistance
Some locations offer our members housing support. Members may be eligible for Food Assistance through DCF.
Health plan benefits
Eligible for an Affordable Care Act-compliant health plan.
Workers' compensation
A workers’ compensation policy is in place in case of injury while serving.
Education award
The Segal Education Award of $7,395 for full-time positions and $3,697.50 for part-time positions following successful completion of service. Members may receive the aggregate value of two full-time education awards in their lifetime.
Childcare
Childcare benefits, if you qualify.
Employment after service
Upon successful completion of service, access to more than 600 Employers of National Service.
Loan forbearance
Possible forbearance of your qualified student loan, including accrued interest payments after the successful completion of the term of service.
Member Assistance Program
Inclusion in a Member Assistance Program that offers counseling and financial planning resources.
See eeCorps in Action
Check out the AmeriCorps Kansas eeCorps members at work! Learn about the members' involvement in our communities, advocacy at the Capitol, and more via the KACEE blog!
Become an eeCorps Host Site
KACEE Staff will periodically hold eeCorps Host Site Informational Sessions to share about the process of becoming a host site in Kansas, the benefits of hosting an eeCorps program, and how to get started! See below for any upcoming sessions.
No events at the moment
The Need for eeCorps in Kansas
The AmeriCorps Kansas eeCorps Program was launched in 2022 and is modeled after similar programs in Colorado and Kentucky.
In 2020, Fort Hays State University (Clay, 2021) conducted a survey of 224 urban, suburban, rural, and frontier rural teachers across multiple grades and subject areas in Kansas with the goal of trying to understand educators’ perspectives on barriers to environmental education in the classroom. Several barriers were identified which limit the inclusion of EE as a part of what every child experiences in school. Barriers include lack of field experiences, and lack of training and materials specific to grade level, subject and/or geographic region. The following data creates a compelling rationale for supporting educators to teach EE in their classrooms: When asked, 73.6% of teachers surveyed said they would be likely to integrate environmental education into their teaching if barriers were addressed. Skilled, professional environmental educators are needed to address these barriers identified by classroom teachers; they support student learning through field trips, school-based programming, and teacher professional development. But Kansas has a chronic lack of environmental educators to meet the needs of students and teachers. That's where eeCorps comes in. KACEE leads the eeCorps program in Kansas, working with a number of AmeriCorps 'host sites' across the state. These sites—nature centers, zoos, and other sites offering EE—host AmeriCorps members who support, deliver and develop environmental education programming to area students. For each of the host sites, there are currently only 1-2 educators who provide EE to PreK-12 students in their communities and supporting EE instruction in classrooms. For example, the Nature Reach program in Pittsburg has only one staff person serving 20 districts with just under 20,000 students in a 50 mile radius. On average, Nature Reach provides programming to 4,000 students, or only 20% of those within a 50-mile radius. Further, because of the chronic lack of funding and capacity, programs like Nature Reach have a fee associated with providing programming and service, which disadvantages districts with lower income bases. With support of AmeriCorps at sites like Nature Reach, the fees can be eliminated and more students can be reached thanks to the additional capacity that eeCorps members provide. Thanks to the AmeriCorps position at Ernie Miller Nature Center, the program was able to expand to offer EE to early childhood students, an audience they were not previously serving. At Nature Reach, the AmeriCorps member provided environmental education to new audiences and reached over 1700 additional students. Further, the evaluation data collected indicates that 86.2% of elementary students reported increased knowledge and aptitude toward taking good care of the environment. As we continue to expand the eeCorps program, we will continue to grow capacity for delivery of high quality and non-biased environmental education at host sites across the state. Through increased ability to deliver programs, doubling capacity, consistency, ability to create and deliver new EE programs, there is also the potential to develop climate change programming and offer more programming to Title 1 Schools.

What do eeCorps Members do?
eeCorps members work directly with teachers, schools, and environmental education providers to:
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Provide support in expanding the reach of EE programming
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Increase the impact of EE programming
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Provide access to equitable learning experiences for all PreK-12 students.
Interested in serving with the eeCorps?
We would love to hear from you! Fill out the interest form below and we'll get back with you if you might be a fit for the eeCorps program.










