Environmental Resource Program (ERP)

The Environmental Resource Program (ERP) - the outreach and public service unit of the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment - enhances public understanding of current environmental science and health research and its relevance to daily life, and empowers North Carolinians to make informed decisions that protect the environment and public health. Read more about our mission here.

We have already engaged thousands through our work across the state.

Students: ERP offers summer programs for high school students, supports undergraduate environmental internships and conducts sustainability-themed service-learning classes.
Teachers: ERP conducts workshops for middle and high school science teachers and has developed a variety of environmental curricula for use in classrooms.
Community Members: ERP provides training, information and technical assistance to a diverse range of community groups.
Community Leaders: ERP shares research results and provides technical assistance to local health departments, state environmental and health agencies and non-profits.
Town of Chapel Hill: ERP works with the Town of Chapel Hill on an array of environmental projects. Examples include measuring the Town's energy use in an effort to reduce carbon emissions, creating programs to disseminate environmental training and information to Chapel Hill residents and planning environmental events. Learn more here

We work in schools, churches, community centers, office complexes, and anywhere else that people gather and also through television and the Internet to reach as many people - and as diverse a cross section - as possible.

Core ERP funding comes from the Institute for the Environment. Additional funding is provided by the UNC-Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program and the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility through grants from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. Funding is also provided by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Specific projects are supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Progress Energy, and the Wallace Genetic Foundation.