Learning happens where?
Countless learning moments happen in classrooms all around the state.
Place-based learning via field trips offers a hands-on, experiential approach that extends learning beyond the classroom alone. The Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund will help ensure students from each region of the state have the opportunity to engage in memorable educational experiences while cultivating a deeper understanding and appreciation of North Carolina’s rich history, culture, arts, science, and natural resources. By providing financial support for schools to visit DNCR’s sites around the state, the Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund empowers students to connect to what it means to live in and love North Carolina, ultimately helping to cultivate our state’s future leaders and innovators.
All over North Carolina, from Manteo to Murphy, learning happens here.
Applications will open in November. To receive an email alerting you on the day applications open, please fill the short interest form.
Frequently Asked Questions
The "Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund" is a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) and PBS North Carolina (PBS NC), to provide reimbursements to public schools throughout North Carolina to engage in enriching, experiential field trips at DNCR’s 100+ sites around the state! Our priority is Title I and Title I eligible schools. Funding is made possible from the State of North Carolina.
Fund objectives include:
- Accessibility: Ensure that all North Carolina public schools can access and learn from DNCR’s robust sites and offerings, regardless of the common barriers of location or financial constraints. The DNCR seeks to fund schools located in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, with a balance between each region of the state based upon regional and geographical diversity.
- Engagement: Provide immersive and interactive field trip experiences at DNCR sites that captivate students’ interest and curiosity while exposing them to our state’s rich history, arts, culture, environments, natural areas, and more.
- Integration Between Classroom & Real-World Experiences: DNCR’s field trips align with NC curriculum standards, enabling educators to seamlessly incorporate place-based and interdisciplinary experiences into their classroom teaching. Students can see and experience concepts they learn about in the classroom in real-life settings. Field trips also create lasting memories that deepen students’ understanding and appreciation of the subject matter.
- Identity and Belonging: Over half of North Carolina’s residents today were not born here. This program will ignite young hearts and minds with a connection to and appreciation for the vibrant tapestry of our state’s arts and culture, rich history, and breathtaking natural wonders, cultivating a sense of stewardship and appreciation for what it means to live in North Carolina. By fostering a sense of connection, identity, and understanding at DNCR sites, from Manteo to Murphy, students will be better prepared to become our state’s next scientists, historians, artists, government leaders, teachers, and more.
Any North Carolina public school or public charter school is eligible to apply for field trip reimbursement funding. Priority is given to schools classified as Title I or Title I eligible, schools located in Tier I counties, and schools for which the trip would otherwise not be possible due to financial, geographical, or other constraints.
Private schools, extracurricular or after school programs, and homeschool groups are not eligible.
Some DNCR sites offer funding opportunities specific to their location, some of which involve a very simple application process. It is recommended that interested applicants review the funding opportunities below before applying to the Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund to determine which opportunity best fits your funding needs.
Applications are on-going, accepted year-round, and will be reviewed in the order of receipt. Applications must be submitted at least 8 weeks before the field trip’s planned date.
You will receive a response via e-mail regarding acceptance or rejection of your funding request within 20 business days of submission.
Approval is based on requests that are reasonable, justifiable, and aligned with program objectives to ensure equitable allocation of resources across the state of North Carolina.
If you funding request is approved, you will take your field trip as planned, with your school covering the field trip costs upfront. To receive your approved reimbursement, applicants will complete a Post Field Trip Reporting Form as soon as possible after the trip. (This form will be provided to applicants as part of the award notification.) Reimbursement checks will be issued and mailed to the school within 30 days of the awardee completing the Post Field Trip Reporting Form.
DNCR reserves the right to pause applications based on county or region if any one county or region begins to outweigh the others in awarded funding. In this case, the pause will be noted on the website and in the application to ensure applications are not completed for areas for which applications are on pause. Currently, applications are open for ALL counties and regions.
*Impact of Hurricane Helene: Funds are reserved for Western NC schools impacted by Hurricane Helene to ensure they receive equal opportunities for field trip funding.
The Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund is made possible by funding from the State of North Carolina. It is managed by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in partnership with PBS North Carolina.
Rebecca Barefoot is the Learning Happens Here Field Trip Fund Manager, and your main contact through the application process. She can help you with...
- Confirming if a field trip site you are interested in is managed by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- Confirming your eligibility
- Consulting on which DNCR site could best fit your field trip goals if you are unsure
- Technical issues or general questions about the application or review process
- Ensuring your application is complete
- Removing accessibility barriers (e.g. assisting those who are visually impaired)
- Recommending other DNCR funding opportunities (if your application is NOT selected for funding)
You can contact Rebecca Barefoot via:
- E-mail: fieldtripfund@dncr.nc.gov
- Phone: (919) 814-6647
- A 30-minute meeting through Microsoft Teams Booking Sessions.
Other Funding Opportunities Available
Aquarium Scholars is a new partnership between the NC Aquariums, NC public schools and the nonprofit NC Aquarium Society, through which private donors help fund access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math)-based Aquarium education programs for underserved students across the state.
These grants are only available for Title 1 and Title 1 eligible schools.
Aquarium Scholars is a new partnership between the NC Aquariums, NC public schools and the nonprofit NC Aquarium Society, through which private donors help fund access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math)-based Aquarium education programs for underserved students across the state.
These grants are only available for Title 1 and Title 1 eligible schools.
Aquarium Scholars is a new partnership between the NC Aquariums, NC public schools and the nonprofit NC Aquarium Society, through which private donors help fund access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math)-based Aquarium education programs for underserved students across the state.
These grants are only available for Title 1 and Title 1 eligible schools.
Aquarium Scholars is a new partnership between the NC Aquariums, NC public schools and the nonprofit NC Aquarium Society, through which private donors help fund access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math)-based Aquarium education programs for underserved students across the state.
These grants are only available for Title 1 and Title 1 eligible schools.
Go Outside ‘GO’ Grants provide North Carolina’s students opportunities for outdoor experiences and to learn by doing. North Carolina educators are encourage to apply for grant funding for outdoor field trips, visiting programs, and educational structures. Awarded grants have included field trips to state parks, historical sites, and outdoor areas from the mountains to the coast. They can also be used for the construction of outdoor classrooms, educational nature trails, fishing docks, hydroponic greenhouses, mini farms, and agricultural learning facilities.
Do you need a grant to fund transportation costs of your field trip? The North Carolina Friends of State Parks offers the Youth in Parks – Environmental Education (YIP-EE) program that aims to get students outside the classroom into our state parks.
The Palace Scholars Award Program was established in 2019 to offset the associated costs of a field trip including admission, substitute teacher fees, and transportation; making a visit to Tryon Palace and the North Carolina History Center more accessible to Title I schools.