The Forest Education and Conservation Foundation (FECF) was founded in 1965 as an extension of the North Carolina Forestry Association called ‘The North Carolina Forestry Association (NCFA) Foundation'. The Foundation was established to receive gifts and bequests of money and property “for the educational, scientific, and technological development and advancement of forestry; and for the development and diffusion of knowledge about the profession of forestry and the scientific management of forest resources.”

The Foundation serves as a separate entity from the NCFA to solicit funding to carry out public education and communication activities, and potentially fund scientific forestry research. A separate Board of Directors for the Foundation was also established.

Although the Foundation and the NCFA are recognized as separate entities, they are adjoined in the goal of conducting coordinated programs and activities. Historical records indicate that the Foundation did not become very active or large until the early 1990s. Beginning in 1990, the Foundation started to be used by the Association to conduct special projects in line with the mission of the FECF.

Sustainable Forestry Teachers Experience

The Sustainable Forestry Teachers Experience (SFTE) is a summer professional development workshop for North Carolina educators providing opportunities to explore all aspects of sustainable forestry in North Carolina. During SFTE, educators tour North Carolina forests and forestry facilities, learn about sustainable forestry practices in North Carolina, and gain knowledge and resources to bring back to classrooms/programs.

Scholarships

NCFA's Forest Education and Conservation Foundation (FECF) is proud to offer a scholarship program to students pursuing a forestry career in the state of North Carolina. Five scholarships are available: one for a student pursuing a Forest Management Technology degree at Haywood CC, Montgomery CC, Wayne CC, and two for students at NC State pursuing a degree in forest management or paper science and engineering in the College of Natural Resources.

Forestry Course

The NCFA has been collaborating with ForestryWorks® and NC FFA to create a high school forestry course called AN53 Natural Resources II - Forestry. The course was implemented in North Carolina schools in the 2024-2025 school year and is more school are continuing to implement this course.

Goods from the Woods

NCFA’s Goods from the Woods kits contain 14 products derived from trees, a description of the product, and the Project Learning Tree Activity We All Need Trees. These are available to educators across the state at no cost to them.

NC Project Learning Tree

Project Learning Tree ® (PLT) is an award winning, multi-disciplinary environmental education program for educators and students in PreK-grade 12. NCFA is one of the three organization partners for NCPLT. We fund the books that are also used for SFTE.

ProLogger

NCFA runs the logger safety training in our state. The ProLogger program promotes three pillars of success, including safety, business, and environmental awareness.

Ongoing: Public Awareness & Education

We have an ongoing partnership with CBS 17 news. View videos here.