Environmental education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.

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Environmental education
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to

teach about how natural environments function and, particularly,
how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in
order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply
education within the school system, from primary to
post-secondary. However, it is sometimes used more broadly to
include all efforts to educate the public and other audiences,
including print materials, websites, media campaigns, etc.
Related disciplines include outdoor education and experiential
education.

Environmental education is a learning process that increases

people's knowledge and awareness about the environment and
associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and
expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes,
motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and
take responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978).
Moroccan students watching birds at
Nador lagoon during the activities
organised by SEO/BirdLife during the
World Wetlands Day in Morocco

Focus of EE
EE focuses on:

Awareness and sentivity about the environment and environmental challenges

Knowledge and understanding about the environment and environmental challenges
Attitude concern for the environment and help to maintain environmental quality
Skills to mitigate the environmental problems
Participation for exercising existing knowledge and environmental related programmes.

History
The roots of environmental education can be traced back as early as the 18th century when Jean-Jacques
Rousseau stressed the importance of an education that focuses on the environment in Emile: or, On
Education. Several decades later, Louis Agassiz, a Swiss-born naturalist, echoed Rousseau’s philosophy as
he encouraged students to “Study nature, not books.”[1] These two influential scholars helped lay the
foundation for a concrete environmental education program, known as Nature study, which took place in the
late 19th century and early 20th century.

The nature study movement used fables and moral lessons to help students develop an appreciation of nature
and embrace the natural world.[2] Anna Botsford Comstock, the head of the Department of Nature Study at
Cornell University, was a prominent figure in the nature study movement and wrote the Handbook for
Nature Study in 1911, which used nature to educate children on cultural values.[3] Cornstock and the other
leaders of the movement, such as Liberty Hyde Bailey, helped Nature Study garner tremendous amounts of
support from community leaders, teachers, and scientists and change the science curriculum for children
across the United States.

A new type of environmental education, Conservation Education, emerged as a result of the Great

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Depression and Dust Bowl during the 1920s and 1930s. Conservation Education dealt with the natural world
in a drastically different way from Nature Study because it focused on rigorous scientific training rather than
natural history.[4] Conservation Education was a major scientific management and planning tool that helped
solve social, economic, and environmental problems during this time period.

The modern environmental education movement, which gained significant momentum in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, stems from Nature Study and Conservation Education. During this time period, many events –
such as Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War – placed Americans at odds with one another and
the U.S. government. However, as more people began to fear the fallout from radiation, the chemical
pesticides mentioned in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and the significant amounts of air pollution and
waste, the public’s concern for their health and the health of their natural environment led to a unifying
phenomenon known as environmentalism.

The first article about environmental education as a new movement appeared in Phi Delta Kappan in 1969,
authored by James A. Swan. [5] A definition of "Environmental Education" first appeared in Educational
Digest in March 1970, authored by William Stapp [6] Stapp later went on to become the first Director of
Environmental Education for UNESCO, and then the Global Rivers International Network.

Ultimately, the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 – a national teach-in about environmental problems –
paved the way for the modern environmental education movement. Later that same year, President Nixon
passed the National Environmental Education Act, which was intended to incorporate environmental
education into K-12 schools.[7] Then, in 1971, the National Association for Environmental Education (now
known as the North American Association for Environmental Education) was created to improve
environmental literacy by providing resources to teachers and promoting environmental education programs.

Internationally, environmental education gained recognition when the UN Conference on the Human
Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, declared environmental education must be used as a tool
to address global environmental problems. The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) created three major
declarations that have guided the course of environmental education.

Stockholm Declaration

June 5–16, 1972 - The Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The
document was made up of 7 proclamations and 26 principles "to inspire and guide the peoples of the world
in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.

The Belgrade Charter

October 13–22, 1975 - The Belgrade Charter was the outcome of the International Workshop on
Environmental Education held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The Belgrade Charter was built upon the Stockholm
Declaration and adds goals, objectives, and guiding principles of environmental education programs. It
defines an audience for environmental education, which includes the general public.

The Tbilisi Declaration

October 14–26, 1977 - The Tbilisi Declaration "noted the unanimous accord in the important role of
environmental education in the preservation and improvement of the world's environment, as well as in the
sound and balanced development of the world's communities." The Tbilisi Declaration updated and clarified
The Stockholm Declaration and The Belgrade Charter by including new goals, objectives, characteristics,
and guiding principles of environmental education.

Later that decade, in 1977, the Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education in Tbilisi,

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Georgia emphasized the role of Environmental Education in preserving and improving the global
environment and sought to provide the framework and guidelines for environmental education. The
Conference laid out the role, objectives, and characteristics of environmental education, and provided
several goals and principles for environmental education.

Modern environmental education in the United States

Following the 1970s, non-governmental organizations that focused on environmental education continued to
form and grow, the number of teachers implementing environmental education in their classrooms increased,
and the movement gained stronger political backing. A critical move forward came when the United States
Congress passed the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, which placed the Office of
Environmental Education in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and allowed the EPA to create
environmental education initiatives at the federal level.[8]

Antecedents in the United States

In the United States some of the antecedents of Environmental Education were Nature Studies, Conservation
Education and School Camping. Nature studies integrated academic approach with outdoor exploration
(Roth, 1978). Conservation Education brought awareness to the misuse of natural resources. George Perkins
Marsh discoursed on humanity’s integral part of the natural world. The governmental agencies like the U.S.
Forest Service and the EPA were also pushing a conservation agenda. Conservation ideals still guide
environmental education today. School Camping was exposure to the environment and use of resources
outside of the classroom for educational purposes. The legacies of these antecedents are still present in the
evolving arena of environmental education.

About
Environmental education has been considered an additional or elective subject in much of traditional K-12
curriculum. At the elementary school level, environmental education can take the form of science
enrichment curriculum, natural history field trips, community service projects, and participation in outdoor
science schools. EE policies assist schools and organizations in developing and improving environmental
education programs that provide citizens with an in-depth understanding of the environment. School related
EE policies focus on three main components: curricula, green facilities, and training.

Schools can integrate environmental education into their curricula with sufficient funding from EE policies.
This approach – known as using the “environment as an integrating context” for learning – inserts
environmental education into the core subjects and thus environmental education does not take time away
from other important subjects, such as art, gym, or music.[9] In addition to funding environmental curricula
in the classroom, environmental education policies allot the financial resources for hands-on, outdoor
learning. These activities and lessons help address and mitigate "nature deficit disorder", as well as
encourage healthier lifestyles.

Green schools, or green facility promotion, are another main component of environmental education
policies. Greening school facilities cost, on average, a little less than 2 percent more than creating a
traditional school, but payback from these energy efficient buildings occur within only a few years.[10]
Environmental education policies help reduce the relatively small burden of the initial start-up costs for
green schools. Green school policies also provide grants for modernization, renovation, or repair of older
school facilities. Additionally, healthy food options are also a central aspect of green schools. These policies
specifically focus on bringing freshly prepared food, made from high-quality, locally grown ingredients into
schools.

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In secondary school, environmental curriculum can be a focused subject within the sciences or is a part of
student interest groups or clubs. At the undergraduate and graduate level, it can be considered its own field
within education, environmental studies, environmental science and policy, ecology, or human/cultural
ecology programs.

Environmental education is not restricted to in-class lesson plans. There are numerous ways children can
learn about the environment in which they live. From experiential lessons in the school yard and field trips to
national parks to after-school green clubs and school wide sustainability projects, the environment is a topic
which is readily and easily accessible. Furthermore, celebration of Earth Day or participation in EE week
(run through the National Environmental Education Foundation) is a great way to dedicate your lessons to
environmental education. To be most effective, promote a holistic approach and lead by example, using
sustainable practices in the classroom and school grounds and encouraging students and parents to bring
environmental education into their home.

The final aspect of environmental education policies, but certainly not least important, is training individuals
to thrive in a sustainable society. In addition to building a strong relationship with nature, American citizens
must have the skills and knowledge to succeed in a 21st century workforce. Thus, environmental education
policies fund both teacher training and worker training initiatives. Teachers must be trained to effectively
teach and incorporate environmental studies in their curricula. On the other hand, the current workforce
must be trained or re-trained so that they can adapt to the new green economy. Environmental education
policies that fund training programs are critical in educating citizens to prosper in a sustainable society.

Related disciplines
Environmental education has crossover with the disciplines of outdoor education and experiential education.
Both disciplines complement environmental education yet have unique philosophies.

Outdoor education means learning "in" and "for" the outdoors. It is a means of curriculum extension
and enrichment through outdoor experiences." (Hammerman, 1980, p. 33) Environmental education is
often taught or enhanced through outdoor experiences. The out of doors experience, while not strictly
environmental in nature, often contain elements of teaching about the environment.
Experiential education is a process through which a learner constructs knowledge, skill, and value
from direct experiences" (AEE, 2002, p. 5) Experiential education can be viewed as both a process
and method to deliver the ideas and skills associated with environmental education.

While each of these disciplines have their own objectives, there are points where both disciplines overlap
with the intentions and philosophy of environmental education.

Trends
One of the current trends within environmental education seeks to move from an approach of ideology and
activism to one that allows students to make informed decisions and take action based on experience as well
as data. Within this process, environmental curricula have progressively been integrated into governmental
education standards. Some environmental educators find this movement distressing and a move away from
the original political and activist approach to environmental education while others find this approach more
valid and accessible.[citation needed]

Movement
There is a movement that has progressed since the relatively recent founding (1960s) of the idea of
environmental education in industrial societies, which has transported the participant from nature
appreciation and awareness to education for an ecologically sustainable future. This trend may be viewed as

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a microcosm of how many environmental education programs seek to first engage with participants through
developing a sense of nature appreciation which is then translated into actions that affect conservation and
sustainability.

Programs range from New York to California, including Life Lab at University of California, Santa Cruz, as
well as Cornell University in Ithica. [1] (http://www.gardenmosaics.cornell.edu/)

See also
Community Gardening
The Amazonia Conference
Earth Expeditions
Environmental adult education
Environmental psychology
Environmental science
Environmental studies
Expeditionary education
Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education
Learnscapes
Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners
Outdoor education
Science, Technology, Society and Environment Education

References
1. ^ Berkeley.edu (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu
/history/agassiz.html) 6.
2. ^ Bill Cronon, WilliamCronon.net
(http://www.williamcronon.net/handouts
/460_handout_15_child_in_the_garden.htm) 7.
3. ^ Ibid. 8.
4. ^ Bill Cronon, WilliamCronon.net 9.
(http://www.williamcronon.net/handouts
/460_handout_16_planning_against_disaster.htm) 10.
5. ^ Swan, J.A. (1969, September). The challenge of
environmental education. Phi Delta Kappan, 51,
26-28.
^ Stapp, W. et al. (1970, March) . The concept of
environmental education. Education Digest, 35(7),
8-10.
^ EElink.net (http://eelink.net/eetap/info110a.pdf)
^ EElink.net (http://eelink.net/eetap/info110a.pdf)
^ Earthday.net (http://www.earthday.net
/lessonplans)
^ Earthday.net (http://www.earthday.net
/greenschools)

Further reading
Gruenewald, D.A., 2004, A Foucauldian analysis of environmental education: toward the
socioecological challenge of the Earth Charter, Curriculum Inquiry 34(1):71-107.
Malone, K. 1999, Environmental education researchers as environmental activists, Environmental
Education Research 5(2):163-177.
Palmer, J.A., 1998, Environmental Education in the 21st Century: Theory, Practice, Progress, and
Promise, Routledge.
Science (ed.), 1997, Overhauling environmental education, Science, 276:361.
Smyth, J.C. 2006, Environment and education: a view of a changing scene, Environmental Education
Research 12(3,4):247-264.
Roth, Charles E. “Off the Merry-Go-Round and on to the Escalator”. In From Ought to Action in
Environmental Education, edited by William B. Stapp, pp. 12–23. Columbus, OH: SMEAC
Information Reference Center, 1978. Ed 159 046.

External links

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Environmental education - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_education

The Environmental Education Directory (http://www.enviroeducation.com)

United Nations Environmental Education Programme (UNEP) (http://www.unep.org)
Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education, Tbilisiplus30 (http://tbilisiplus30.org)
Earth Day Network (http://www.earthday.net/education)
The Belgrade Charter (http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=33037&
URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html)
The Tbilisi Declaration (http://www.gdrc.org/uem/ee/tbilisi.html)
OurEarth.org College Directory (http://www.ourearth.org/education/CollegeDirectory.aspx)
The National Environmental Education Foundation (http://www.neefusa.org/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_education"
Categories: Environmental education | Alternative education | Outdoor education | Environmental social
science

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