The state of Alabama has a long agricultural tradition and its people identify readily with the land. Like many other parts of the country, as subdivisions are popping up in farm fields and woods, Alabamians are beginning to recognize the gradual degradation of their natural and cultural heritage. In 1998, a consortium of Alabama agencies, led by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, contacted the NEMO Hub with interest in bringing the NEMO message to the state.

Early in the planning process, the program's coordinators realized that in order to implement NEMO on a statewide basis, they would need dozens of people trained to present the program. Funding was not readily available, however, to support this number of professional outreach employees. So with funding from the state's Section 319 Program, a coalition of state agencies led by ADEM designed a “train-the-trainers” workshop to prepare volunteers to give the program to municipalities and counties in their area.

Alabama NEMO has designed a two-day curriculum to give participants the kind of deep background information they will need to be effective educators. Workshop participants are armed with all the materials they will need to conduct the basic NEMO presentation, including a “NEMO Bible” and CDs with presentations and publications such as fact sheets and promotional materials.