REPORT ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
IN THE UNITED STATES
AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1990
Prepared for Congress
by the
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION DIVISION
WASHINGTON, DC
DECEMBER 1996
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LETTER FROM THE
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
This report is submitted to Congress as mandated under the National
Environmental Education Act of 1990. Under the Act, the Council is charged with
describing the status of environmental education in the United States; updating
Congress on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's progress in implementing
the Act; and offering recommendations for strengthening environmental education at
the national, state, and local levels.
We believe that environmental education is best developed and implemented
at state and local levels. However, the federal government plays a critical role in
helping to guide, encourage, and sustain such efforts over the long term.
Environmental education should be a life-long learning process for Americans—both
young and old. To be a life-long learning process, environmental education must be
better integrated in the nation's schools, colleges, and universities as well as an
integral part of business transactions and community-based activities.
Environmental education is needed to provide community groups, government
officials, business and industry, and private citizens with the awareness, knowledge,
and problem-solving skills needed to work together to actively and successfully
address this nation's environmental challenges and to ensure a healthy and
sustainable environment for present and future generations.
The Council is an eleven-member citizen body with diverse representation
from across the country and with a wide range of public and private expertise in
environmental education. This report is not a research document, and no new data
was collected to produce it. Instead, the report relies on information from earlier
studies, surveys, and reviews, as well as interviews with a host of professionals and
opinion-makers in the environmental education field. It also reflects our collective
expertise as educators and environmental protection specialists from various walks
of life. A special acknowledgment is due to the North American Association for
Environmental Education for its assistance in the preparation of this report.
We note that since the passage of the Act, there has been an urgency to more
finely hone risk assessment and sound management of public mandates. This argues
for a richer dialogue with various stakeholders to increase our chance of a healthful
environment—today and tomorrow. The Council does not shrink from this charge
and continues to work together with other stakeholders to ensure human health and
environmental protection through environmental education. It is our intent to seek
and share counsel among those many vested American interests to strengthen and
expand environmental education as a critical link in our chain of environmental
stewardship. We believe this report to Congress is an important link in that chain.
Arva ]. Jackson, Chair
National Environmental Education Advisory Council
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On November 16,1990, the President
signed into law the National Environmental
Education Act (P. L. 101-619). The Act
presented the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) its first Congressional mandate to strengthen
and expand environmental education as an integral
part of its mission to protect the environment. The
Act mandated various programs and activities, each
administered by EPA's Environmental Education
Division: an environmental education and training
program; a grants program; an awards program; an
internship and fellowship program; and a federal
task force and national advisory council. This report
to Congress, prepared by the National Environmental
Education Advisory Council, describes the current
status of environmental education in
the United States, discusses EPA's
progress in implementing the Act,
and recommends further steps that
Congress and various stakeholders
can take to strengthen
environmental education
nationwide.
The Council believes that
environmental education is critical
and relevant to the daily lives of all
Americans. Environmental
education is critical because
complex environmental challenges
require a well-trained environmental workforce and
an educated public who have the knowledge and
skills to fully and actively participate in solving these
problems. Environmental education is relevant
because it can help to ensure the health and welfare
of the nation by protecting human health, advancing
quality education, expanding employment
opportunities, promoting sustainable development,
and protecting our natural heritage.
As evidenced by numerous national public opinion
polls, citizens are concerned about the environment.
The demand for environmental education in schools
and communities remains high, as demonstrated by
the overwhelming number of applications EPA and
other government agencies and foundations have
received to support environmental education projects.
During the past five years, EPA's Environmental
Education Division has received approximately
10,000 applications requesting $300 million, but has
only been able to fund approximately 1,200 proposals
with the nearly $13 million appropriated by Congress
(or 12 percent of all applications received and 4
percent of the total amount of money requested).
However, the public presently lacks sufficient
knowledge, skills, and motivation to understand and
implement the kinds of solutions needed to address
today's environmental challenges.
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 these
challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and
commitments to make informed decisions and take
responsible action. Unlike most formal education
efforts, the most effective environmental education
programs have a distinct "action"
component whose purpose is to
encourage responsible, enduring
decisions and actions that impact
the environment. Encouraging
"action" means teaching
individuals how to examine a range
of possible courses of action to
address or resolve an
environmental challenge after an
investigation and evaluation has
determined that action is needed.
For example, taking "action" may
involve removing lead paint from
homes or soil or creating physical
barriers to human exposure once testing has
determined that lead contamination is present at
levels that adversely impact human health.
Environmental education programs that include an
"action" component should not advocate a particular
solution to an environmental challenge. Rather, they
should provide individuals with the information,
critical-thinking, and decision-making skills they
need to make their own responsible decisions among
a range of options.
In developing this report, the Council has reviewed a
multitude of exciting and innovative environmental
education programs taking place across the country.
Such programs are supported by a variety of players,
including schools, colleges, and universities; federal
agencies; state, local, and tribal governments;
nongovernmental organizations; business and
industry; the media; and others working at national,
state, and local levels. In each sector, agencies and
organizations are working to enhance formal
environmental education programs that target
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students, teachers, and faculty, as well as nonformal
programs that target adults, communities, senior
citizens, and other specific audiences outside the
formal education system. These programs vary in
scope and effectiveness, but all have contributed to
the goals of environmental education.
At the same time, the Council has found that the field
of environmental education faces many issues and
challenges, such as limited resources to sustain
programs over the long-term; gaps in program
development and access to quality materials; and
inadequate support for in-service and pre-service
teacher training. In addition, because environmental
education is not viewed as a national priority,
universal guidelines do not exist to assure quality
program development and implementation, and it is
not often well integrated into state and local
education reform efforts.
The Council believes that the federal government, and
specifically EPA's Environmental Education Division
(EED), has an important role to play in strengthening
environmental education. During its first five years,
EPA's Environmental Education Division has
accomplished a great deal. The Environmental
Education Division has established an annual grants
program; a national training program for education
professionals; three advisory committees that link
EPA offices and regions, federal agencies, and the
field; an awards program; and an internship and
scholarship program. The Environmental Education
Division also has supported the work of the National
Environmental Education and Training Foundation
and administered the President's Environmental
Youth Awards Program.
The Council also believes that EPA's Environmental
Education Division's implementation of the Act has
responded to many of the issues and challenges faced
by the field. For example, the grant, training, and
internship and scholarship programs provide
support for teacher training, culturally-diverse and
low-income populations, and environmental careers.
These programs also support the development of
guidelines to ensure quality materials and programs,
an electronic network of existing clearinghouses to
improve access to materials and information on
programs, and state and local education reform
initiatives to ensure the long-term sustainability of
programs.
However, EPA is only one of many important players
and their resources are limited. In addition, much
more needs to be done to overcome the increasing
challenges facing the field and strengthen the
effectiveness of the federal role in supporting state,
local, and tribal efforts. Environmental education
needs increased support, participation, collaboration,
and coordination from all stakeholders—including
federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments;
educators and education organizations; schools and
their boards and administrators; colleges and
universities; foundations; nonprofit organizations;
individual citizens and community groups; and the
private sector. To succeed, these stakeholders need to
work more collaboratively to:
• Make environmental education a priority across
the country and enhance EPA's leadership role
• Increase and sustain support for state, local, and
tribal efforts in environmental education
• Leverage public and private resources and
strengthen long-term, cross-sector partnerships
• Enhance and increase support for professional
development for teachers and nonformal
educators
• Integrate environmental education into
educational reform and improvement
• Target new audiences
• Increase support for evaluation, complete
environmental education guidelines, and
improve access to quality materials and
information on programs
• Encourage and support environmental careers
The Council believes that all Americans must be
educated to see themselves as stakeholders who have
the knowledge, skills, and motivation to make
informed decisions and to take responsible actions in
a world of complex environmental challenges.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
REFE
APPI
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?
A. GOALS, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, AND DEFINITIONS
B. NEED AND RELEVANCE TO AMERICANS' EVERYDAY LIVES
STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES
A APPROACHES AND AUDIENCES
B WHO DELIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
C. ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1990
A. INTRODUCTION
B. SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS
C. BACKGROUND ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT EPA
D. EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION MISSION AND GOALS
E. OCEPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION DIVISION'S MAJOR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (1991 - 1996)
F. HOW EPA 'S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACT RESPONDS TO
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY THE FIELD
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
CONCLUSION
RENCES
INDICES
SUMMARY OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1990 (P.L. 101-619)
MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ADVISORY CO UNCIL
U.S. EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONTACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONTACTS IN STATE AGENCIES
MODEL STATE ENVIRONMENTAL ED UCATION LEGISLATION
RESULTS OF STATUS SURVEY ON COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
PROGRAMS AT THE STATE LEVEL
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I. INTRODUCTION
On November 16,1990, the
President signed the
National Environmental
Education Act (P.L. 101-619) into
law. The Act renewed federal
commitment to environmental
education and recognized the need
to tackle complex environmental
challenges with a well educated and
trained citizenry that has the
knowledge, skills, and motivation to
make informed decisions and take
responsible actions to ensure environmental quality.
Congress placed the responsibility for implementing
the Act in the hands of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and established an
environmental education office within EPA to oversee
several major initiatives, including:
• a training program for education professionals
• an environmental education grants program
• an internship and fellowship program for
students and teachers
• an environmental education awards program
• a federal task force and a national advisory
council
This report to Congress, prepared by the National
Environmental Education Advisory Council with
assistance from the North American Association
for Environmental Education (NAAEE), has three
main objectives:
To describe the current status of
environmental education in the
United States
To update Congress on EPA's
progress in implementing the
National Environmental
Education Act
To offer specific recommendations
for strengthening environmental
education at national, state, and
local levels
The Council gathered information for this report from
a variety of existing sources, including national and
state surveys, professional and popular literature,
and interviews with more than 30 researchers,
educators, and other professionals working in
environmental education and related fields. The
Federal Task Force on Environmental Education
provided comments. Public notices in the Federal
Register generated additional input from individuals
and organizations representing educational and
environmental interests. However, no new research
was conducted for this report.
Key terms used throughout this report are defined in
the box below. For additional information concerning
this report, please contact:
Kathleen MacKinnon
EPA Environmental Education Division
Phone: (202) 260-4951
E-mail: mackinnon.kathleen@epamail.epa.gov
Environmental Education: a learning
process that increases people's knowledge
and awareness about the environment and
associated challenges, develops the necessary
skills and expertise to address these
challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations,
and commitments to make informed decisions
and take responsible action
Formal Education: education involving
the formal school system—includes
programs and activities taking place in
public and private preschools, elementary
schools, middle schools, secondary schools,
colleges, and universities
Key Terms Used in This Report
Nonformal Education: education that
takes place outside the formal school
system—includes programs and activities
taking place in museums, nature centers,
zoos, aquariums, community clubs, science
centers, and other community educational
institutions and organizations; also includes
television, radio, newspapers, and other
media-generated educational programs
Pre-ServiceTrainingorPre-Professional
Education: training that takes place at
colleges and universities before students
are certified to teach; can also include pre-
professional education forstudents studying
to be park naturalists, zoo educators, and
other educators working in nonformal
educational settings and institutions
In-Service Training or Professional
Development: training that takes place after
teachers are in the classroom; can also
include professional development for
nonformal educators working in zoos,
museums, nature centers, and other
nonformal educational settings and institutions
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II. WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
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 these
challenges, and fosters attitudes,
motivations, and commitments to
make informed decisions and take
responsible action (UNESCO, Tbilisi
Declaration). Environmental
education enhances critical thinking,
problem solving, and effective decision-making skills
and enables individuals to weigh various sides of an
environmental issue to make informed and
responsible decisions (Federal Register, 1996).
Components of
Environmental Education
The Tbilisi Declaration, adopted by acclamation at the
world's first intergovernmental conference on environ-
mental education, outlined five categories of objectives for
environmental education:
1) Awareness and sensitivity to the environment and
environmental challenges
2) Knowledge and understanding of the environment and
environmental challenges
3) Attitudes of concern for the environment and a
motivation to improve or maintain environmental quality
4) Skills to identify and help resolve environmental
challenges
5) Participation in activities that lead to the resolution of
environmental challenges
(UNESCO, 1978)
GOAL LEVELS
• Ecological concepts: Provides
knowledge to make ecologically
sound environmental decisions
• Conceptual awareness: Develops
awareness of how individual and
collective behaviors influence the
quality of life and the quality of the
environment
A. GOALS, GUIDING PRINCIPLES,
AND DEFINITIONS
To help clarify the relationship between knowledge,
skills, and action, educators have developed a
framework and set of goal levels that stress a
hierarchical approach to environmental literacy.
• Issue investigation and evaluation: Develops the
knowledge and skills to investigate
environmental issues and evaluate solutions for
remediating them
• Environmental action skills: Develops skills for
taking positive actions to help resolve
environmental issues (Hungerford, et al., 1980)
Research findings indicate that in order for individuals
and groups to make informed decisions and take
responsible actions regarding the environment, they
need to be thoroughly exposed to all four goal levels—
not just the first two. Findings also indicate that the
quality of environmental actions tends to improve when
people have learned and used issue analysis and
investigation skills (Hungerford, etal., 1980).
B. NEED AND RELEVANCE TO
AMERICANS' EVERYDAY
LIVES
All members of society depend on natural resources
to survive. The availability of these resources has
limits. It is essential, therefore, that the public
understand the importance of the environment to
their quality of life and that they have the knowledge,
tools, and ethic to live in ways that minimize the
impact of their actions on the environment. In short,
to live sustainably. Environmental education
provides the public with the knowledge, tools, and
ethic to enable them to make informed and
responsible decisions to live sustainably.
PUBLIC CONCERN ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
The public is concerned about environmental quality.
Several public opinion polls conducted in the past
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five years demonstrate that U.S. citizens are worried
about air and water quality, support an expanded
federal role in environmental protection, and are
concerned about the links between health and
environment (Harris, Tarrance, and Lake, 1989). For
example, a 1994 public opinion poll conducted for the
National Wildlife Federation indicated that despite
concern about crime, the economy, and health care,
voters do not want to roll back environmental
protection and are especially concerned about clean
water, pesticide contamination, and other issues
related to human health and the environment. More
than 40 percent of those polled felt that current laws
and regulations do not go far enough in protecting
the environment, which supports earlier surveys that
found that environmental concerns are "urgent" and
need to be addressed (Hart, 1994).
The environment also is consistently ranked by
young people as "one of the most important" issues
facing the planet. In a 1994 survey conducted for the
National Environmental Education and Training
Foundation, students from non-disadvantaged
socioeconomic areas ranked concern about the
environment second (51 percent)—after concern
about AIDS (64 percent)—as the "problem they are
most concerned about and want to improve." Other
issues that were of concern to those students included
kidnaping, guns, the economy, and neighborhood
crime and violence. While students from
disadvantaged areas cited less concern for the
environment (43 percent)—behind AIDS, kidnaping,
guns, neighborhood crime and violence, and the
economy—concern for the environment was
nevertheless significant (Roper, 1994). In another
survey conducted for World Wildlife Fund, teens
ranked the environment as "one of the most serious
problems society will face in the year 2000" (Hart,
1994). The data from these and other surveys also
indicated that environmental education programs
have an important role to play in the development of
sound and effective environmental practices.
THE PUBLIC'S ABILITY TO RESPOND
Although much of the survey data demonstrates
public concern about the environment, concern by
itself does not necessarily indicate that individuals
are taking appropriate actions to ensure
environmental protection. Results of a 1991 poll
released by The Wall Street Journal showed that 80
percent of Americans call themselves
environmentalists, yet in that same poll, nearly 55
percent could not recall a single instance during the
past six months when they bought one product
instead of another for environmental concerns (Wall
Street Journal, 1991).
Looking Back: The Historical Roots of Environmental Education
The need for education about the
mvironment has been evidenced in
oratory and print over the past century,
and has increased in volume and intensity
since Rachel Carson's book S;7enf Spring
was published in 1962. S//enf Spring is
frequently identified as the catalyst for the
environmental movement of the 1960s
and 1970s, which differs from earlier
conservation movements because it"...
was far more widespread and popular,
involving public values that stressed the
quality of the human experience and
hence of the human environment."
In the movement's early days a variety of
federal and state laws were enacted to
address public concerns. Prominent
among them were the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P. L 91-
190) and the National Environmental
Education Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-516), both
of which identified education as a
mechanism for improving the quality of the
human environment. The National
Environmental Education Act of 1990 (P.L.
101 -619) is a restatement of that goal.
Environmental education has as its roots
the varied and century-old fields of nature
study, outdooreducation, and conservation
education. Since the 1970s, environmental
education has been characterized by the
development of implicit and explicit
interconnections with science, technology,
and the issues and problems of society.
Environmental education has been defined
and redefined over the last twenty-five
years. Definitional issues are inherent in a
field this broad and encompassing. It is
generally agreed that environmental
education is a process that creates
awareness and understanding of the
relationship between humans and their
many environments—natural, man-made,
cultural, and technological. Environmental
education is concerned with knowledge,
values, and attitudes, and has as its aim
responsible environmental behavior.
The most commonly accepted definition
worldwide was developed in 1975 at a
United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
meeting in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. This
definition and its guiding principles were
accepted by the twelve federal agencies
that participated in a 1993 interagency
review of federal environmental education
programs. A report of this interagency
group states that "environmental
education should increase public
awareness and knowledge about
environmental issues as well as provide
the public with the skills necessary to
make informed decisions and the
motivation to take responsible actions"
(FCCSET, 1993).
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In September 1993, a federal government interagency
working group on environmental education and
training concluded that:
"... the actual level of public understanding about the
basic scientific concepts that explain and offer solutions to
environmental threats such as those posed by global change
and wetlands destruction remains limited. Without
sufficient knowledge and training, the public may wish to
respond to an environmental challenge, but may not be able
to do so effectively because they lack sufficient scientific
understanding of the problem."
The working group further concluded that:
"Environmental education and training can help bridge
the gap between the public's heightened awareness of and
interest in protecting the environment and their need to
become more knowledgeable about the scientific concepts
that will enable them to more effectively respond to their
concerns." (FCCSET, 1993)
DEMAND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Recent surveys indicate that there is solid support at
local and state levels from educators, parents, and
students. In a 1993 survey of science and social
studies educators and nonformal educators working
in zoos, museums, nature centers, and aquariums,
more than 90 percent of the more than 2,000
educators who responded indicated that
environmental education should be a priority in
schools and nonformal institutions. In that same
survey, educators indicated a need for more materials,
training, and institutional commitment for
environmental education (WWF, 1993).
Many state and national organizations and state and
federal agencies also have been inundated with
requests for environmental education materials,
training, and support. For example, during the past
five years, EPA's Environmental Education Division
received approximately 10,000 grant proposals
requesting approximately $300 million. During this
period, Congress appropriated approximately $13
million for this program allowing EPA to support
only approximately 1,200 projects. As another
example, through a grant from EPA, the University of
Michigan established and maintains an electronic
system, called "EE-Link," designed to increase the
ability of educators and other users to gain access to
the wealth of environmental education information
and materials that exist in various databases linked
through the Internet. The University of Michigan
reports that since "EE-Link" was established in 1993,
public interest and access to Internet accessible
databases and materials through "EE-Link" has
grown considerably. By June 1996, for example, the
University of Michigan reported receiving
approximately 640,000 "hits" over a three month
period (or an average access rate of nearly 50,000 per
week) on "EE-Link" showing the significant interest
for this type of information (NAAEE, 1996).
In nonformal surveys, local and state institutions
indicate that they do not have the staffer resources to
respond to increasing requests for environmental
education materials and training. And in a 1994
survey of parents in Minnesota, researchers found
that more than 60 percent of parents surveyed
considered the environment to be one of the very
important skills for high school graduates (compared
to 43 percent for geography, 54 percent for
government, 58 percent for science, 43 percent for
history, and 19 percent for fine arts) (Simmons, 1995).
WHY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IS
RELEVANT TO AMERICANS'EVERYDAY LIVES
Environmental education is relevant to our everyday
lives because it can ensure the health and welfare of
our nation by:
• protecting human health
• advancing quality education
• expanding employment opportunities
• promoting sustainable development
• protecting America's natural heritage
Protecting Human Health
The link between environmental challenges and
human health is a major cause for public concern
about the environment. Lead poisoning in paint and
pipes, air pollution, pesticides in water and food
supplies, increased threats of skin cancer from
depletion of the ozone layer, and related
environmental challenges are of growing concern to
an increasing number of Americans. The public is
especially concerned about the effects of these
problems on their children and future generations.
Environmental education helps prevent or mitigate
environmental human health problems by providing
the public with information on how individual and
collective actions lead to environmental pollution,
how pollutants may affect one's health, how to
assess real versus exaggerated environmental health
risks, and how to make informed and responsible
decisions that prevent or mitigate the effects of
pollution on one's health.
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Advancing Quality Education
Educators and public officials generally believe that
significant improvements are needed in the nation's
public education system to enhance student learning
(National Commission on Excellence in Education,
1983). Many educational scholars and practitioners
agree that"... our students are not doing well at
thinking, reasoning, analyzing, predicting,
estimating, or problem solving..." (Kennedy, 1991).
Many goals of the education reform movement
emphasize the importance of strengthening core
subjects such as math, science, and geography as well
as teaching in an interdisciplinary manner across
subject areas. Education reformers are also looking
for ways to improve student learning through greater
use and development of critical-thinking and
problem-solving skills. Finally, many reformers
emphasize the importance of relating learning in the
classroom to the needs and issues of the community.
Environmental education has tremendous potential
for contributing to the goals of the education reform
movement. For example, environmental education
provides an opportunity to strengthen teaching in
many core subjects, especially science, because it is
the basis for solving many of our environmental
challenges. Environmental education also provides
an opportunity to strengthen interdisciplinary
teaching because environmental topics can be
addressed from many different perspectives,
including scientific, historical, cultural, and political
perspectives. Finally, environmental education can
provide an important opportunity for teachers to
bring actual local environmental challenges into the
classroom for discussion and problem-solving.
In fact, a 1993 federal interagency report on
environmental education and training, concluded
that:
"... infusing environmental education into all subject
areas can lead to overall improvements in the educational
system, including improvements in teaching the core
subjects."
The report also noted that:
" Understanding the complexities of the interrelationships
between the natural environment and human activity—
economic, social, and political—is a necessary condition to
the maintenance and improvement of environmental
quality. Because a goal of environmental education is the
fostering of responsible environmental behavior,
environmental education necessitates emphasis on higher-
order thinking and learning skills. By setting a goal of
fostering changes in environmental behavior,
environmental educators stress the development of skills
that enable students to synthesize and evaluate data from
across the spectrum of human knowledge and to develop
solutions that are scientifically, economically, and
politically sound." (FCCSET, 1993)
Expanding Employment Opportunities
Protecting the environment has the added value of
creating new jobs for Americans. Employment
opportunities cover the spectrum of careers, from
manual labor to high technology and management.
For example, there is an increasing demand for
individuals with specialized scientific and technical
skills to develop more effective environmental
pollution prevention and control technologies.
There is also a growing demand for trained workers
in environmentally related fields. Projected revenues
(1992-1997) show consistent growth for
environmental industries such as air pollution
control, environmental energy sources, hazardous
waste management, resource recovery, and
instrument manufacturing. The Environmental
Business Journal reports a composite annual growth
rate of 6 percent for these industries. This growth is
also reflected in employment forecasts into the next
century.
Environmental education and training can help
ensure an adequate supply of well-trained
environmental personnel to deal with the nation's
increasingly complex environmental challenges.
Environmental education also improves the quality of
the general work force. Environmental education's
emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving
better equips students to deal with rapidly changing
technologies in the workplace. And environmental
education opens new opportunities as the United
States exports its environmental skills and
technologies to other nations.
Promoting Sustainable Development
The future health and welfare of our nation depends
on our ability to use the Earth's resources sustainably.
The United Nations World Commission on
Environment and Development defines sustainable
development as" development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs." It is critical that
we provide future generations of Americans with the
same abilities and opportunities that current and past
generations have had.
In 1992, international leaders came together in Rio de
Janeiro to participate in the United Nations
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Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED). The product of UNCED, Agenda 21,
provides guidance to countries so they can meet their
own environmental and development goals. The U.S.
response to Agenda 21 is the President's Council on
Sustainable Development (PCSD). The PCSD report,
Sustainable America: A New Consensus for Prosperity,
Opportunity, and a Healthy Environment for the Future,
is a series of policy recommendations which will help
the U.S. achieve national environmental, economic,
and social goals. Like Chapter 36 in Agenda 21,
Chapter 3 in Sustainable America focuses on the role of
education in sustainability. The recommendations
and actions in Chapter 3 have been supplemented
with initiatives in another document titled Education
for Sustainability: An Agenda for Action. Together these
reports highlight the important role of education in
ensuring a sustainable future.
Sustainable development poses two fundamental
education challenges: one is to promote positive
attitudes and informed decisions of citizens and
government leaders that are conducive to
sustainability. The other is to teach people at all
levels the benefits of integrating conservation
priorities with the need for development.
Environmental education has the potential to make a
major contribution to sustainable development by
demonstrating ways to overcome these two
challenges. First, environmental education research
has identified key strategies for developing education
programs that lead to responsible decision-making
and action. Second, environmental education
practitioners have developed program models for
incorporating a range of perspectives into the
resolution of issues. These tools and strategies,
developed over decades by environmental educators
and field tested on a range of issues where conflicts
exist between different interest groups, can be applied
immediately to sustainable development.
Protecting America's Natural Heritage
Interest in protecting America's natural heritage
arises from the respect that most Americans hold for
the nation's past and a belief in its future. It also
stems from a desire to protect our natural areas and
scenic landscapes, to enjoy them, and to pass them on
to our children.
America's natural heritage also includes the
multitude of plant and animal species that inhabit
our country. State and privately funded efforts to
protect and manage species and their habitats reflect
Americans' love for wildlife. Yet many citizens do
not understand the ecological and economic
importance of preserving biological diversity and that
species can be strong indicators of the health of the
environment. Environmental education enhances the
public's understanding of the need for biodiversity.
Environmental education also educates the public
about how their actions affect natural ecosystems and
how positive steps taken to minimize impacts on
these ecosystems will translate into improvements in
our overall environment.
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III. STATUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
IN THE UNITED STATES
Environmental education is
taking place across the
country—in classrooms and
board rooms, in living rooms and
urban education centers, in city halls
and congressional chambers. How is
it being done and who is doing it?
What obstacles must we overcome to
ensure that all citizens have the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes to
make informed decisions about the
environment? What do professionals
face in trying to create an
environmentally literate citizenry? This section
provides an overview of environmental education in
the United States—its status, current approaches,
audiences targeted, and critical issues facing the field.
A. APPRO ACHES AND AUDIENCES
Since 1970, a variety of educational institutions,
environmental organizations, and government
agencies have supported the development, delivery,
and evaluation of environmental education in the
United States. These environmental education efforts
have targeted a variety of audiences, including
teachers and students in elementary and secondary
education, administrators at all levels, college and
university teachers and students, adults and the
general public, senior citizens, multi-ethnic
communities, and political and business leaders.
In general, current environmental
education efforts generally fit into one
of two sectors:
• Formal environmental education,
which consists of activities taking
place in elementary and
secondary schools, colleges,
universities, and technical
institutions
• Nonformal environmental
education, which includes
activities taking place in
businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other
institutions that are not considered part of the formal
education system, also encompasses activities that
involve the media, including newspapers, magazines,
television, and computer networks
Within each of these broad sectors, there are several
sub-sectors that encompass the majority of
environmental education activities taking place today.
Collaboration between formal and nonformal sectors is
common and widespread, from local nature centers
working with school systems to federal agencies
working with businesses and universities. Such
collaboration is essential and it increases the reach and
impact of environmental education programs.
Environmental Education Guidelines
Environmental education...
• Considers the environment in its totality
• Is a continuous lifelong process
• Embraces interdisciplinary education
• Examines major environmental issues from local, regional, national, and international points of view
• Focuses on current and potential environmental situations, remembering historical perspectives
• Promotes the value and necessity of local, national, and international cooperation
• Explicitly considers environmental aspects in plans for development and growth
• Acknowledges that learners have a role in planning learning and an opportunity for making decisions
and accepting theirconsequences
• Emphasizes environmental sensitivity, knowledge, problem-solving skills, and values clarification at every age
• Helps learners discover the symptoms and real causes of environmental challenges
• Emphasizes the complexity of problems
• Uses a diversity of experiences and approaches (UNESCO, 1978)
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Environmental Education in the Schools
In 1995, three states had mandates requiring environmental
education training for teachers. In addition, eleven states
required environmental education to be incorporated into core
curricula.
FORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Formal environmental education efforts focus on
developing awareness, knowledge, skills, and
motivation in students, teachers, and school
administrators. Activities involve curriculum
development; teacher and administrator training
initiatives; local, state, and national school reform
activities; evaluation; the development of national
environmental education guidelines; and other related
programs designed to improve elementary, secondary,
and post-secondary education. This report divides the
formal sector into activities for grades kindergarten
through 12 (K-12) and post-secondary education
activities. However, there is overlap between the two,
especially in regard to teacher training and curriculum
development.
K-12 En vironmen tal Educa tion Activities
Delivery of environmental education programs in K-
12 education generally takes two approaches, with
many school systems adopting some combination of
the two. The most prevalent trend in elementary and
secondary education is toward an approach called
"infusion." This approach integrates environmental
education into existing lessons, units, or topics
focusing on other subjects such as history, science,
and the social sciences. For example, students may
learn how to solve a local environmental challenge—
such as chemical contamination of a nearby stream—
using scientific methods that include testing,
identifying, and locating the source of contamination.
Students may also learn how to solve this
contamination problem by exploring historical
dimensions for how this type of problem has been
addressed in other communities, how governmental
agencies can help, and how citizens can get involved.
Ideally, infusion results in the incorporation of
environmental education—an inherently
interdisciplinary field—into all aspects of the
curriculum at every grade level. Infusion recognizes
that environmental issues cut across disciplinary
lines, and that environmental responsibility relies on
knowledge, skills, and attitudes that incorporate, but
also go beyond, basic scientific understanding.
Because no one asks schools to do less—in fact, many
demand they do more—infusion is a pragmatic
approach to ensuring that environmental education
can be incorporated into a crowded curriculum. But
despite the arguments in favor of infusion, many
environmental educators are wary. Their concern is
that environmental education may be short-changed
or ignored unless it receives its own place in the
curriculum. For this reason, many educators prefer
the "second-course" or "block" approach. This
approach consists of offering separate and distinct
"environmental" courses. Their argument is that the
separate course approach can offer depth that is
missing in the infusion approach, as well as an
identifiable focus for attracting funding, evaluating
progress, and encouraging career development.
According to recent data, most states rely on infusion
as the main approach for integrating environmental
education into the curriculum. However, more
distinct environmental courses are being offered in
middle and secondary schools, and many educators
believe that this trend will continue. In addition,
more schools are offering current events classes that
include an environmental focus (Marshall, 1987 and
NCEET, 1994).
The debate on how to incorporate environmental
education continues. The Council believes that both
these approaches should complement one another
and that efforts to choose an approach should be
based on state, local, and individual priorities, needs,
and training.
Post-Secondary Environmental Education Activities
At the college and university level, environmental
education is addressed in a variety of ways; however,
the effectiveness of these efforts varies from state to
state, institution to institution, and course to course,
just as it does at the K-12 level. In general,
universities and colleges emphasize the following
strategies to help create environmentally literate
citizens:
• Preparing Students for Environmentally Related
Careers: Courses and programs are offered that
prepare students for specific environmental
careers, including environmental science, natural
resource management, environmental design,
environmental engineering, environmental
planning, and environmental management.
Many universities and colleges also offer degrees
in environmental studies, which differ from more
technical programs in that they are
interdisciplinary and include both the natural
sciences (such as biology, resource management,
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and biochemistry) and the social sciences
(political science, economics, and history). A
relatively small number of universities and
colleges offer undergraduate and graduate
degrees in environmental education, which are
designed to train students for careers as
professional environmental educators working in
formal and nonformal settings.
Providing Teachers with Pre-Service
Environmental Education Training: These
programs vary widely across the country. Some
areas have very limited opportunities for student
teachers to receive training in environmental
education before they enter the classroom. On the
other hand, some states, such as Wisconsin, have
mandates requiring nearly all students training
to become teachers to achieve environmental
education competencies before being licensed to
teach. In some institutions, students can take a
specific environmental education or
environmental studies course. In others, they
receive environmental education content and
methodologies through other courses—often in
science or general methodology classes.
Unfortunately, most environmental education
training for teachers takes place after they leave
the university and start teaching—as a result of
in-service training or individual teacher
initiative.
Providing Environmental Education Training for
All University and College Students: There is a
growing trend among universities to include
environmental education requirements for all
students—not just those majoring in
environmentally related fields. For example,
Tufts University initiated an Environmental
Literacy Institute for university professors from
around the world to help them incorporate
environmental education into all coursework,
from creative writing to politics to law. This
program was initiated in 1993 and has involved
more than 150 universities and organizations
from around the world. In addition, more than
250 universities and organizations have become
signatories to the Talloires Declaration, which
supports an interdisciplinary approach to
environmental literacy at the university level.
Providing Environmental Education Training for
Students Majoring in Business: Another trend is
the emergence of environmental management
education in business schools across the country.
Several business schools are currently
incorporating environmental content into their
curriculum, hoping to influence the attitudes and
behavior of current and future business
graduates regarding the link between a healthy
economy and a healthy environment. One
example is the Kellogg Graduate School of
Management, which has been offering a course
on environmental management since 1992 and is
integrating environmental issues into the Kellogg
curriculum. There also is a pilot program being
sponsored by the Management Institute for
Environment and Business, with support from
EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Summit
Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, General
Electric, Phillips Petroleum, Molten Metal
Technology, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and
American Telegraph and Telephone Company.
Environmental business and management
programs are operating at Stanford University,
the University of Virginia, the University of
Texas, the University of Michigan, and
Northwestern University.
The Tufts University Model
Tufts Environmental Literacy Institute (TELI) is one of the
nation'sfirst comprehensive university environmental education
program integrating environmental issues into undergraduate,
graduate, and professional school curricula. TELI is a faculty-
based program aimed at enabling Tufts faculty across all
disciplines to incorporate environmental perspectives into the
courses they teach. The goal is to provide Tufts students with
broad and continuing exposure to environmental issues.
TELI's faculty-development program offers workshops,
seminars, and meetings; financial and intellectual support; and
access to resources, information, and environmental experts.
Faculty members from other universities have attended parts
of TELI's program to help them transfer this model to their
universities.
Conducting Research and Evaluation:
Universities and colleges have taken the lead in
conducting a broad spectrum of environmental
education research projects concerning
environmental knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
action. Findings have been published in a variety
of periodicals, such as The Journal of
Environmental Education and in conference
proceedings and monographs such as those
produced by the North American Association for
Environmental Education (NAAEE). Through
NAAEE's North American Commission on
Environmental Education Research, faculty from
nearly 20 universities, including Rutgers
University, Ohio State University, the University
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of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Northern Illinois
University, have cooperated in identifying and
addressing research needs in environmental
education.
• Environmental Career Training: Community
and technical colleges have become increasingly
active in providing training programs in the
environmental field, offering specific degree
programs for such careers as water/wastewater
technicians and course offerings on a variety of
specific topics. At present, these programs focus
mainly on technical aspects of job performance
and regulatory compliance, but the opportunity
exists for a broader environmental education
approach that also encompasses the nature of the
environmental challenges that prompted the need
for regulation. Community colleges, in particular,
provide a substantial resource for minority
students, many of which graduate and attend
universities for advanced degrees.
Links Between K-12 And Post-Secondary
Environmental Education
A variety of environmental education activities taking
place in the formal sector involve collaboration
between university and college programs and the
nation's elementary and secondary schools. They also
involve collaboration with nonformal institutions,
government agencies, and other institutions. For
example, many universities and colleges are involved
in developing environmental education curriculum for
K-12, enhancing in-service training, and evaluating
environmental education curriculum materials and
training. And many nonprofit organizations, such as
environmental organizations and community
educational institutions, are involved in training
teachers, developing supplementary environmental
education materials, and conducting programs for
parents, families, youth, and the public.
NONFORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Nonformal environmental education activities take
place in a variety of settings throughout the country—
from zoos, museums, aquariums, nature centers, and
science centers to parks, and community centers.
Nonformal environmental education programs often
complement and enhance formal education
programs. In addition, many target adults, the
general public, or families. And some are designed
for specific adult audiences, such as senior citizens,
public policy makers, business leaders, and women's
groups.
The goals of nonformal environmental education
programs are similar to those in the formal sector—
developing environmentally literate young people
and adults who have the knowledge, skills, and
motivation to make informed decisions about the
environment. Activities in this sector involve
community action projects sponsored by business
and nonformal education organizations; programs in
local, state, and national parks, wildlife refuges, and
other natural areas; television, radio, and other media
programs focused on environmental issues and
actions; and a variety of partnership programs
designed to improve elementary, secondary, and
post-secondary education. In many cases, nonformal
environmental education activities are directed
toward the solution of specific environmental
challenges.
It should be recognized that in reaching adults, there
is a potentially strong link between formal and
nonformal education. Parents' awareness and
understanding of environmental issues are
frequently enhanced by their children's involvement
in environmental education. As children become
involved in the problem solving and action elements
of effective environmental education, they frequently
take these issues home and involve their parents in
discussions about them.
One of the central challenges to nonformal
environmental education is how best to reach a non-
captive, out-of-school audience with a meaningful
and effective program. What kind of education
program will prompt behavior change or
commitment to get involved in local, national, and
global environmental issues? To address this
problem, environmental education efforts in the
nonformal sector vary widely. Following is an
overview of the approaches currently in use around
the nation:
• Using the Media: Newspapers, magazines,
television, movies, and other media can transmit
messages to large audiences, and have been
gaining popularity as a means for educating the
public about environmental issues. There are
many excellent examples of media-based
environmental education, such as attempts to
educate about recycling; however, media efforts
face two major challenges. The first is assuring
that environmental messages publicized as
education really are education rather than hype
or propaganda. The second challenge is
assuring breadth and depth in examining
complex environmental issues. Entertainment
and the media often emphasize environmental
awareness, rather than education that leads to
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personal, organizational, or community
participation.
Note: Many experts feel that the media is different
enough from other nonformal education activities that
it deserves its own sector. These educators divide
environmental education in three sectors: formal,
nonformal, and informal, with informal
environmental education encompassing media-
generated environmental education programming.
Targeting Specific Audiences: Many nonformal
institutions are involved in programs and
activities that target specific audiences such as
senior citizens, culturally diverse students and
adults, preschoolers, tourists, policy makers, and
most often, the general public. In some
communities, schools, businesses, and nonformal
institutions collaborate to reach a specific target
audience. Many community institutions offer
continuing education programs for adults and
families focusing on environmental topics, as
well as after-school, summer, and weekend
environmental education programs for young
people. In addition, some churches, synagogues,
and other religious institutions are involved in
environmental education activities that link
religion with environmental stewardship.
Developing Supplementary Materials: Many
organizations and institutions, from government
agencies to environmental nonprofit
organizations and businesses, have developed
supplementary environmental education materials
that are used in schools and community settings.
These materials include a wide range of topics and
approaches, from those dealing with a single
subject such as solid waste to those focusing on
broad environmental themes such as sustainable
development. Some are meant to supplement
formal school curricula. Others are meant to be
used with students and adults in nonformal
settings. The quality of these supplementary
materials varies greatly.
Training Educators: Many K-12 educators
receive environmental education training as a
result of in-service training that takes place after
they begin teaching. Much of this training takes
place through workshops at national, regional, or
state environmental education conferences, or
courses sponsored by local university outreach
and extension programs, often in conjunction
with nonformal partners, such as museums, zoos,
or science centers. Many teachers also participate
in specialized workshops, such as those offered
by Project Learning Tree, World Resources
Institute, World Wildlife Fund, and other
nonprofit educational organizations. These
courses and workshops often provide
"continuing education units" or specific college
credits that many teachers need to maintain
certification to teach.
B. WHO DELIVERS ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Many organizations, institutions, agencies, and
communities offer environmental education
programs. For the purposes of this report, we have
grouped the them into the following sectors:
• state, local, and tribal governments
• nongovernmental organizations
• universities, colleges, schools and technical
training institutes
• federal government
• business, industry, and the media
• foundations
The following discussion provides an overview of the
types of activities in each sector, including sample
program highlights to demonstrate the broad
spectrum of environmental education activities taking
place across the country.
STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
State and local governments are influential forces
in formal environmental education because of their
responsibility for public education. In many states,
curricula are determined at the state level. In other
states, local governments or school districts play a
substantial role in curriculum development. State
and local funds are often used for teacher-training,
evaluation, and materials development. Tribal
governments often complement state and local
Council of State Governments
The Council of State Governments—a nonprofit, non-partisan
organization dedicated to serving all branches of state
government—developed a model for state environmental
education legislation. In July 1992, a specially-invited 40-
member subcommittee of the Council's National Environment
Task Force met to draft the model. It was approved by the
Council's full members of elected, appointed, and career state
government officials in 1993 and is being widely distributed to
state governments to serve as a model for future legislation.
See Appendix E.
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efforts and play an important role in supporting
environmental education programs for Native
Americans.
During the 1970s, most state education agencies
appointed environmental education coordinators to
oversee efforts within the formal education system.
Coordinators were involved in developing state
guidelines, curriculum materials, and in-service
training programs. However, during the 1980s most
states followed the federal lead by deemphasizing
environmental education. As a result, the
responsibilities of full-time coordinators often shifted
to one or more individuals who were already
burdened with other responsibilities. During this
period, accomplishments related to environmental
education often reflected the interests of individuals
rather than a commitment from state or local
governments.
In the 1990s, there has been a reemergence of
environmental education as a state governmental
priority, as evidenced by the increasing numbers of
states with new legislative initiatives. In 1991, the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point began the
National Environmental Education Advancement
Project (NEEAP) to help teams of education and
environmental education leaders develop
comprehensive state environmental education
initiatives. In 1995-1996, NEEAP conducted a survey
of all 50 states allowing them to develop a state-by -
state and composite picture of environmental
education programs. Results of this survey are
presented in Appendix F. NEEAP has been funded by
grants from the U.S. EPA, the National Fish and
Wisconsin — Leading the Way
Wisconsin has been a leader in promoting environmental
education at the state level and was recognized by Renew
America, Inc. for having the outstanding state environmental
education program in the nation. In 1990, the state passed
environmental education legislation that created a cooperative
program among several state agencies. The program
includes a state coordinating board, a grants program, state
centers, and a mandatory environmental literacy assessment
of students and teachers. Earlier legislation required every
school district to develop, implement, and evaluate a
sequential K-12 environmental education program. Wisconsin
state law also requires teacher training in environmental
education as a prerequisite forteacher licensing. Since 1985,
more than 30 states have enacted some type of legislative
initiative to enhance environmental education at the state level.
Native Americans — Promoting Literacy
and Technical Expertise
In many cases, Native American tribal governments are
responsible for implementing environmental regulations within
established tribal boundaries. Many tribes face a shortage of
technically trained professionals to manage their resources. A
number of tribes and Native American organizations have
developed programs to promote the environmental literacy
and technical expertise of their people.
For example, the nonprofit American Indian Science and
Engineering Society (AISES) is dedicated to increasing the
number of Native American scientists and engineers. It has
grown from a professional society to a major national resource
for Native American education that is recognized by the
National Science Foundation, the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, and more than 70 U.S.
corporations. Tribal leaders and educators across the country
are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental wisdom
Wildlife Foundation, and the National Wildlife
Federation, among others. Also in 1995, a State
Education and Environment Roundtable was
established to serve as a resource to state education
agencies working to integrate environmental education
into K-12 curriculum and schools' educational reform
efforts. The Roundtable was established with funding
from the Pew Charitable Trusts and is administered by
the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Whether through state mandates, state agency efforts,
or some type of independent state associations, there
is a strong logic for building support for
environmental education on a systematic state-by -
state basis that ultimately strengthens local program
efforts. For specific Council recommendations, please
see Section V, beginning on page 24.
NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been
leaders in environmental education initiatives taking
place in the formal and nonformal sector since
environmental education began. In some cases,
educational activities are directed toward the solution
of specific environmental challenges or increasing
awareness about national or global issues such as
acid rain or ozone depletion. Many NGOs also are
involved in curriculum development, teacher
training, and evaluation. Programs take place at such
diverse sites as zoos, museums, wildlife refuges,
parks, and nature centers.
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During the 1980s, a number of trends in nonformal
environmental education emerged, which have
continued into the 1990s. These include an emphasis
on urban and rural environmental education,
interactive traveling exhibits focusing on
environmental issues, eco-tourism education
packages, and family and adult-oriented outdoor
education camps. These trends are expected to
continue, based on market demand, available leisure
time, and the spending power of Americans.
NGOs include a variety of organizations, from
nonprofit environmental groups, such as World
Wildlife Fund and the National Audubon Society, to
professional associations that include environmental
education activities, such as the North American
Association for Environmental Education, the New
England Environmental Education Alliance, the
National Science Teachers Association, and the
National Association for Interpretation. A growing
trend is the development of nongovernmental state
environmental education associations or councils
that provide an opportunity for strengthening state
capacity for effective environmental education.
Presently, 45 states have environmental education
associations (Ruskey and Wilke, 1996).
UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES, SCHOOLS, AND
TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTES
As mentioned previously, formal educational
institutions are actively involved in all aspects of
environmental education, from in-service and pre-
service education to curriculum development and
professional development. Please see the section on
formal education, beginning on page 8.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Many federal agencies such as EPA, the Departments
of Education, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and State,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the National Science
Foundation, and the Peace Corps have ongoing
environmental education programs tailored to the
missions of their respective agencies. Federal support
for environmental education includes teacher
training, grants to support state and local projects
and to promote equity and diversity across states, the
development and dissemination of educational
materials, as well as field and laboratory internship
programs. A 1993 federal interagency report noted
that federal environmental education programs can
help the government meet its broader goals for
supporting education reform; job creation, training,
and economic competitiveness; public health;
environmental protection; and sustainable
development (FCCSET, 1993).
With passage of the National Environmental
Education Act of 1990, EPA was charged with
facilitating communication and collaboration across
the federal government. This is accomplished, in
part, through the Federal Task Force on
Environmental Education which is chaired by EPA
(see page 20). Increasingly, federal agencies have
been working together to set program priorities by
serving on interagency advisory committees, review
panels, and strategic planning sessions. In addition,
federal agencies have been increasingly collaborating
on developing and implementing joint projects
through interagency agreements. For example, EPA
and the Department of Education worked together to
add a new priority to EPA's Environmental
Education Grant Program which focuses on using
environmental education as a catalyst to advance
state and local education reform goals. In addition,
NASA, the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Global
Change Research Program, EPA and others
developed the "Global Change Education State Team
Initiative" to improve literacy and teaching capability
in global change education among educators and
community leaders through statewide systemic
education approaches.
The Council believes strongly that the federal
government has an important role to play in
enhancing environmental education in the United
States. For an analysis of EPA's implementation of
the National Environmental Education Act of 1990,
see page 19 in Section IV.
GLOBE
In 1994, the Vice President launched Global Learning and
Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE)—an
innovative international environmental education program
which coordinates the work of students, teachers, and
scientists to study and understand the global environment.
The GLOBE program also provides opportunities for students
to conduct valuable scientific work, immediately analyze the
results of their studies, utilize advanced technologies as an
integral part of their work, and have the opportunity to
communicate and learn from each other in the U.S. and
abroad. GLOBE'S federal partners include NOAA, NASA,
NSF, EPA, and the Departments of Education and State.
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, AND THEMEDIA
Business and industry have become increasingly
involved in supporting environmental education
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activities. Many companies have supported on-going
environmental education programs or started their
own to increase awareness about environmental
issues and to help consumers understand the links
between business and the environment.
Environmental messages are frequently appearing on
everything from bottled water to paper bags, and
advertisers are catering to "green" consumers by
featuring the environmental advantages of one
product over another. Amway, Chevron, Eastman
Kodak, Phillips Petroleum, and Shell Oil are just a few
examples of corporations that have conducted and
supported environmental education activities for
several years. Environmental programming is also a
regular feature on television, radio, video, computer
networks, and other media outlets. The nonprofit
Environmental Media Association (EMA) was
founded in 1989 to foster the rapidly growing
environmental interests of the entertainment industry.
EMA works with writers, producers, directors, and
others to incorporate environmental themes into film,
television, and music.
FOUNDATIONS
Over the past five years, private charitable
foundations have increased their funding for
environmental education. Some, like the Pew
Charitable Trusts, the Geraldine R. Dodge
Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, have
supported environmental education for many years.
Many foundation grants are typically for three years
or less, are usually limited to $100,000 per year, and
usually advance a single resource conservation
program within the foundation's overall goals.
The two Congressionally-funded foundations in the
field, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
(NFWF) and the National Environmental Education
and Training Foundation (NEETF), are making
major contributions to environmental education.
The matching grants awarded by NFWF and NEETF
increase private support and partnerships for
environmental education. Unlike endowment-based
private foundations, these foundations are funded
by annual federal appropriations. The future impact
of NFWF and NEETF depends on continued support
from Congress and other funding partners.
The number of foundations funding environmental
projects is growing, and opportunities for
environmental education are good. To increase their
share of foundation support, the environmental
education community will need to build a stronger
connection between education and the
environmental improvement goals of philanthropic
foundations.
Project Learning Tree —
A Model Involving Business and Industry
Project Learning Tree (PIT) is a K-12 environmental
education program sponsored by the American Forest
Foundation and the Council for Environmental Education. For
more than 20 years, PIT has worked with state agencies, the
U.S. Forest Service, the forest products industry, teachers,
school administrators, and other partners to provide
environmental education materials and programs throughout
North America. Many look to PIT as a model for involving
business and industry in the important task of educating
students and teachers about the environment.
C. ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
The National Environmental Education Act of 1990
begins with a recognition of the increasing
complexity and scope of environmental challenges
in the United States, and the importance of
environmental education in helping the nation meet
these environmental challenges. In the past several
decades, federal and state agencies;
nongovernmental organizations; educational
institutions; and others working at local, state, and
national levels have developed a wide variety of
effective environmental programs. Despite
innumerable program accomplishments, the field of
environmental education faces many challenges, as
summarized below. The Council has addressed
these issues with a series of short- and long-term
recommendations outlined in Section V of this
report. However, it is important to note that
environmental education is a long-term process that
requires on-going support and participation from all
sectors of society.
Issue
1
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Is NOT A
PRIORITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Despite the wealth of programs and materials,
widespread support and funding for environmental
education is often lacking. Environmental education
is not a clear priority at any level within our
education system or society, and many programs
face on-going resource, funding, and staff
limitations. In addition, many view environmental
education as an "add-on" and not part of
mainstream education. For these reasons, there
needs to be clear and consistent political and
legislative support at all levels.
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Many experts agree that despite many exemplary
efforts, this lack of long-term consistent support and
commitment at all levels has created a field that is
often fragmented, inefficient, and duplicative. The
Council recognizes that the National Environmental
Education Act is a critical and needed step in
stimulating national support for environmental
education and a renewed federal commitment for
environmental education. However, much work still
needs to be done at national, state, and local levels to
institutionalize environmental education and make it
a nationwide priority.
Issue
2
STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL EFFORTS NEED
GREATER RESOURCES AND SUPPORT
Although consistent federal leadership and
commitment is critical to the success of
environmental education in the United States, most
environmental education initiatives are best
developed and implemented at the state, local, and
tribal levels. The federal government's primary role
should be to support exemplary state, local, and
tribal initiatives that have evolved over the last two
decades. Federal support can help institutionalize
such programs and promote a sustainable
environmental education infrastructure that will
function despite shifts in spending priorities.
Many experts believe that the most effective way to
enhance state and local capacity to implement
effective programs is to support the development of
comprehensive state environmental education
programs that include statewide environmental
education offices, state coordinators, and state
coordinating councils. In some states, legislative
mandates are the most effective means of
institutionalizing environmental education efforts.
The Council of State Governments has developed
"Model State Environmental Education Legislation"
which can help states to explore this option (see
Appendix E). Alternative methods, including the
creation of independent state environmental
education councils or associations, that help serve as
focal points for federal, state, and local agencies, as
well as nonprofit organizations, business, and
industry, can also promote environmental education
on a statewide basis.
Issue
3
RESOURCES ARE LIMITED AND No ONE
SECTOR CAN SUPPORT THE ENTIRE FIELD
Solutions to environmental issues require increased
collaboration among all sectors of society—including
business, industry, schools, community
organizations, citizens, funding institutions, and
government. In the past, the responsibility for
environmental education rested mainly with
nonprofit organizations, community educational
institutions, and motivated educators scattered
throughout the country. With the passage of the
National Environmental Education Act, there was
hope that the federal government would supply much
of the needed funding. But the federal government
cannot supply the amount of funding needed to
support the field; rather, it can help leverage support
from state, local, and private sources. Today, there
are more partnerships and a better understanding
that collaboration is the key to sustainability.
Although models exist in almost every state, we need
more partnerships that work—across federal
agencies, within EPA, among nonprofits, schools,
and business, and between the public and private
sectors. Specifically, business needs to get more
involved—especially in supporting local and state
environmental education efforts. Federal agencies
and like-minded organizations need to collaborate on
more projects of mutual interest to prevent waste and
duplication. Zoos, museums, nature centers, and
other community educational institutions need to
work more closely with the formal education system
and with parents and families.
There also is a need to build on existing international
partnerships. Environmental challenges are global
and will increasingly need international cooperation
to find effective solutions. It is critical that countries
establish and enhance mechanisms to share success
stories and lessons learned to improve national and
international environmental education efforts.
Issue
4
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS
AND NONFORMAL EDUCATORS NEEDS
GREATER SUPPORT AND IMPROVEMENT
Over the long term, one of the most cost-effective
efforts that can be undertaken to improve
environmental education in the United States is to
improve the quality of pre-service and in-service
teacher professional development, and training for
instructors in environmental education programs
outside the classroom (for example, with youth and
community groups, zoos and museums, and other
nonformal educational institutions). Although good
programs exist, most experts agree that teacher and
instructor training for environmental education is
inconsistently available. Teachers often express
misgivings about their competence to conduct
environmental education programs and have limited
opportunities for training before and after entering
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the classroom. Although some states require
environmental education training, surveys indicate
a notable lack of emphasis on environmental
education in pre-service teacher training, as well as
in-service instruction.
Issue
5
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Is NOT WELL
INTEGRATED INTO EDUCATION REFORM AND
IMPROVEMENT
Environmental education has the potential to
significantly improve the public education system.
Many of the goals championed by education reform
and improvement advocates—such as the need to
strengthen interdisciplinary teaching and critical-
thinking and problem-solving skills—can be
effectively accomplished using environmental
education as a vehicle. Although there are some
good efforts under way, environmental education
has not consistently been well integrated into
education reform and improvement efforts across the
country and it has not generally been identified as a
priority of the formal education establishment. This
is partly a reflection of the environmental education
establishment's tendency in the past to focus more on
reaching teachers and students rather than state
education agencies, local school boards, principals
and other school administrators. Consequently, key
educational decision makers are not generally
knowledgeable of the potential effectiveness of
environmental education in achieving many of the
basic goals of education reform.
Environmental education, by its nature, draws on
and impacts many disciplines, such as science, math,
history, and political science. It also is readily
identifiable as a critical component of citizenship
education, science literacy, career development, and
a variety of other initiatives supported by the
education reform movement. Education reform can
be a mechanism for giving environmental education
an established place in the curriculum, making it less
subject to funding priority shifts and more likely to be
a focus in teacher training.
Issue
6
IMPORTANT AUDIENCES ARE NOT
BEING REACHED
Most environmental education efforts have focused
on elementary and secondary students—especially
in kindergarten through the 6th grade—with some
support in community colleges, vocational
education, higher education and the Cooperative
Extension Service. Important audiences in
environmental education are being missed or
inadequately reached, such as adults, people of
color, low-income populations, and senior citizens.
In part, this is due to lack of materials, commitment
and organizational support; uncertainties in
knowing how to engage these audiences; and
difficulties in adapting traditional teaching strategies
to nonformal learning environments within
communities and diverse cultures. Environmental
education materials are rarely available in languages
other than English, although some have been
translated into Spanish, and such materials are not
always sensitive to diverse cultures.
Issue
EVALUATION, QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND
ACCESS TO MATERIALS AND INFORMATION
ON PROGRAMS Is LIMITED
What works in environmental education? What
types of training programs for teachers and
nonformal educators and which environmental
education materials are most effective and why?
What does it mean to be environmentally literate?
How do educators gain greater access to quality
materials? Where are the gaps in materials and
programs?
In general, environmental education programs have
not received rigorous evaluation to determine their
effectiveness. Several factors have contributed to this,
including limited funding to undertake short and long-
term evaluations, difficulty in identifying quantitative
objectives, and the complexity of measuring long-term
educational changes. Experts agree that the field
needs more baseline data to evaluate current and
future environmental education efforts and to ensure
that the highest quality programs and projects are
funded and implemented. There is a need for research
on methods, materials, and effectiveness; evaluation
components for all programs and projects funded; and
the establishment of guidelines for program and
material evaluation.
In addition, the field has had limited resources to
develop nationally accepted guidelines to help
practitioners assess the value and effectiveness of
both formal and nonformal environmental education
methods, materials, and programs, as well as
nationally accepted learner outcomes to indicate
what a student should know when he or she
graduates from high school or national guidelines for
teacher training programs. To fill this need, the North
American Association for Environmental Education
(NAAEE) is currently working with EPA and a
variety of educational organizations and agencies
across the country to develop environmental
education guidelines that focus on three areas:
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• materials development (completed
October 1996)
• learner outcomes (to be completed
September 1997)
• environmental educator competencies
(to be completed late 1998)
These guidelines will be consistent with guidelines
developed for major disciplines, especially with
science and geography guidelines. Access to high
quality environmental education materials and
programs varies from community to community, and
from state to state. In some cases, appropriate
materials and programs do not exist—especially for
specific audiences, such as urban educators, senior
citizens, adults, people of color, and culturally-
diverse communities. In other cases, access to
existing materials and programs is limited because of
limitations in funding and "user-friendly"
mechanisms for finding out about new and existing
materials and programs.
Another related issue is the proliferation of materials
that are duplicative of existing curricula materials
and have ineffective implementation strategies. In
some cases, the problem for teachers is not access to
quality materials, but lack of training in how to
effectively use available materials. In other cases, the
problem is how to best evaluate and select the most
effective and educationally sound materials from the
many materials that exist.
Identifying existing gaps in current environmental
education materials and programs is another critical
issue. Many materials and programs emphasize
awareness, appreciation, and knowledge, without a
focus on skill development and commitment to
informed and responsible action. While it is critical
that all environmental education efforts have a sound
basis in science, there is a disproportionate emphasis
in formal education on science-oriented activities at
the expense of other subject areas such as geography
and civics. Most curriculum materials developed for
K-12 have a very limited topical focus, such as water
pollution, resource use/recycling, or energy.
Environmental education should be interdisciplinary,
with a focus on the learning process and not limited
to only one or two specific issues. Experts feel that
the field needs to develop a more balanced menu of
materials and programs that emphasize skill
development and citizen participation, and that
stress the interdisciplinary nature of environmental
issues.
Issue
8
MORE WELL-TRAINED ENVIRONMENTAL
PROFESSIONALS ARE NEEDED
To tackle current and future environmental
challenges, experts in the private and public sectors
agree that we need a better-trained cadre of
environmental professionals—from highly skilled
scientists and engineers to city planners and
technicians. The environmental work force is
especially lacking in representation from
communities of people of color.
Universities, community colleges, vocational schools,
and other training institutions need to offer more
training opportunities in environmental studies,
environmental design, environmental engineering,
environmental management, conservation biology,
and other related courses of study. At the same time,
environmental education should be infused into
traditional coursework to produce lawyers, business
leaders, and planners with the knowledge, skills, and
ethic to make informed and responsible decisions
about the environment. Unfortunately, many of
today's courses lack the interdisciplinary ties that
link pure sciences with the social sciences.
Current efforts to provide environmental career
opportunities are limited—especially for people of
color and students with low incomes. Positive
partnerships, among businesses, nonprofits,
government, and schools, have increased the number
of internships, fellowships, and apprenticeship
programs available to students, but many more are
needed to meet current and future demands. The
challenge is to attract more bright, motivated students
to the field and to provide high-quality,
interdisciplinary education to all learners.
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IV. IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION ACT OF 1990
A. INTRODUCTION
In passing the National
Environmental Education Act of 1990
(P.L. 101-619), Congress was
responding to many of the issues and
challenges currently facing the field
of environmental education, such as
the need for improving access to
quality educational materials and
programs, increasing opportunities
for teacher education, reaching new
audiences, encouraging environmental careers, and
facilitating cooperation and partnerships as
discussed in Section III of this report. Since passage
of the Act, EPA has established an Environmental
Education Division (EED) within the Office of
Communications, Education, and Public Affairs
(OCEPA) to implement the Act. This chapter:
• Summarizes the major provisions of the Act
• Discusses EPA's philosophy and approach to
implementing the Act and highlights the
Environmental Education Division's major
accomplishments
• Discusses how EPA's implementation of the Act
responds to many of the issues and challenges
facing the field as outlined in Section III
B. SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE
REQUIREMENTS
The Act directs EPA to:
• Establish an office of environmental education
within EPA with staff support in EPA
headquarters and the regions
• Award a grant to an institution of higher
education or a nonprofit organization (or a
consortia of such institutions) to operate an
Environmental Education and Training Program
to train education professionals
• Award grants to schools and universities, states
and local governments, and nonprofit
organizations to support their environmental
education programs
Facilitate internships for college
students and fellowships for in-
service teachers with agencies of
the federal government
Provide national awards
recognizing outstanding
contributions to environmental
education for educators and
young people
Establish a federal task force and
a national advisory council to
advise EPA on its
implementation of the Act
• Establish and support a National Environmental
Education and Training Foundation to encourage
private gifts to support environmental education
In 1990, Congress authorized appropriations of
between $ 12 and $ 14 million per year from FY 1992 -
FY 1996, for a total of $65 million over five years, to
implement the Act. To date, actual appropriations
have, however, been between $5.6 million and $7.8
million per year for the past six years, for a total of
$42.7 million. The Act specifies that 25 percent of
appropriated funds per year must be used to provide
administrative support for the office; 38 percent for
awarding grants; 25 percent for operating the training
program; 10 percent for supporting the Foundation;
and 2 percent for supporting a teacher awards
program administered by the Council on
Environmental Quality.
C. BACKGROUND ON ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION AT EPA
Although EPA has historically focused on regulation,
enforcement, and cleanup to protect the environment,
it has also supported environmental education for
many years through various national initiatives and
regionally-based programs. For example, EPA has
developed and disseminated educational materials,
conducted teacher training workshops, and promoted
environmental careers through student internships.
With passage of the National Environmental
Education Act, for the first time in EPA's history, the
Agency now has a Congressional mandate to
strengthen and expand environmental education as
an integral part of its mission to protect the
environment.
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EPA believes that environmental education is a
necessary ingredient to effective environmental
protection and can also be an effective vehicle for
teachers and others to advance education reform and
improvement. For example, learning about ways to
measure, analyze, and solve local environmental
challenges through "hands-on" environmental
science in the classroom can be an effective way to
strengthen efforts to improve math and science
education nationwide. "Sound science" is crucial to
protecting the environment as well as important to
meeting important goals for educational reform.
D. EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
MISSION AND GOALS
The Council supports EPA's mission statement,
which is "to advance and support environmental
education efforts to develop an environmentally
conscious and responsible public, and to inspire in
all individuals a sense of personal responsibility for
the care of the environment."
EPA's broad environmental education goals are to:
• Expand communication and partnerships
• Educate and motivate youth
• Promote the pursuit of environmental careers
• Develop an environmentally conscious and
responsible public
• Reach across international boundaries
EPA's role in environmental education is to:
• Provide leadership
• Facilitate communication as well as information
and resource sharing
• Identify gaps
• Support the nation's environmental education
efforts
• Act as an advocate for environmental education
nationally and internationally
E. OCEPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
DIVISION'S MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
(1991 - 1996)
AWARDING GRANTS
The Environmental Education Division and EPA's
ten regional offices administer an annual
Environmental Education Grants Program to support
environmental education projects nationwide. From
1992 through 1996, EPA awarded approximately
1,200 grants worth approximately $13 million to
schools, state, local and tribal government agencies,
and nonprofit organizations and institutions such as
museums, environmental and community groups, and
nature centers. Individual grants were awarded for
up to $250,000, the vast majority of which were less
than $5,000 each.
Projects selected for funding educate students,
teachers, communities, and the general public about
issues such as air and water pollution, solid waste
management, as well as watershed and ecosystem
protection. Projects utilize educational approaches
that include workshop training, community
involvement, and curriculum development. Special
care has been given to ensure that the range of projects
selected for funding teach individuals problem-
solving skills to enable them to make responsible
decisions that affect the environment, reach both
youths and adults from diverse communities and
regions around the country, and support EPA
priorities such as building state and local capacity,
advancing education reform, protecting human
health, and promoting environmental justice.
TRAINING EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS
EPA awards a cooperative agreement every three
years to support the development of a nationwide
environmental education and training program. The
purpose of this program is to train education
professionals, such as teachers, faculty, and state and
local education officials, to develop and deliver
quality environmental education programs. This
training program was initiated in 1992 with a three-
year cooperative agreement to a consortium of
universities and organizations headed by the
University of Michigan. Under this program, the
consortium supported K-12 in-service teacher training
by developing resource materials, establishing an
electronic database of information and education
materials, and conducting teacher training
workshops. In September 1995, EPA awarded this
cooperative agreement to a consortium headed by the
North American Association for Environmental
Education (NAAEE) to operate the second three-year
phase of this program. This phase includes and
builds upon work initiated by the University of
Michigan, and focuses on expanding existing quality
training efforts; evaluating and disseminating
information on "model" education materials and
programs; and strengthening partnerships and
networks of environmental education professionals.
EPA has made annual awards to support this
program ranging from $1.4 to $1.9 million, totaling
approximately $8.9 million.
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ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENTAL CAREERS
The Environmental Education Division administers
an internship program entitled the National Network
for Environmental Management Studies to encourage
post-secondary students in all academic disciplines
to pursue professional environmental careers. This
program provides students from more than 230
participating universities with the opportunity to
either work with environmental professionals at EPA
on a specific project or to conduct environmental
research directed by EPA at their university. Students
receive stipends for completing their projects. Since
1992, more than 450 students have participated in the
program. Out of a field of more than 1,000
organizations, this program was named "One of
America's Top 100 Internships" in the Princeton
Review (1995 and 1996 editions). The Environmental
Education Division leverages resources from
participating EPA headquarters and regional offices
to finance this program.
The Environmental Education Division also
administers the Tribal Lands Environmental Science
Scholarship Program to encourage Native American
college students to pursue undergraduate and
graduate degrees in the environmental sciences. EPA
created this program to increase the number of Native
Americans trained in the environmental sciences and
employed by EPA to improve the environmental
protection of Indian lands. Since 1991, more than 223
students have received scholarships totaling nearly
$1 million to pursue environmental science degrees.
The Environmental Education Division leverages
resources from participating EPA offices to finance
this program.
The Environmental Education Division also
participates in various EPA and university-
sponsored internship programs by placing post-
secondary students in the Environmental Education
Division to work with its environmental
professionals. The Environmental Education
Division's interns have included students from
American University, Stanford University, Howard
University, the University of Illinois, the University of
Maryland, the University of Rhode Island, the
University of the District of Columbia, and the
University of Vermont.
In 1992-1993, the Environmental Education Division
developed and administered a pilot fellowship
program to facilitate the placement of in-service
teachers in federal government agencies for year-long
environmental projects. Although interest in this
program has been high, personnel ceilings and
funding limitations have prevented full
implementation of the program. More than 200
applications were received. Of these, 24 teachers
were selected as fellowship finalists by their state
governors through the National Governors
Association and 10 were placed in positions with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, the
Department of Energy, the Department of Defense,
and EPA.
HONORING DEDICATION TO THE
ENVIRONMENT
The Environmental Education Division administers
the President's Environmental Youth Awards
program to encourage and honor young people for
their efforts to promote environmental awareness and
positive community involvement. Elementary and
high school students in all 50 states compete
annually in this program. Each year 10 national
award winners are selected by EPA's 10 regional
offices for those projects that have produced the most
significant environmental gains, and the winners
receive national recognition from Washington, D.C.
Projects selected for national recognition have
addressed issues such as watershed cleanup and
restoration, energy conservation, and waste
management. The President and Vice President of the
United States and the EPA Administrator have
honored recipients of this awards program. More
than 250 national award winners have been honored
since EPA began administering this program in 1971.
The Environmental Education Division established
the National Environmental Education Awards
program to honor individuals for their outstanding
contributions to environmental education. The EPA
Administrator honors recipients of this awards
program every few years. The first awards were
presented to four outstanding individuals in the
spring of 1993. The awards commemorate Rachel
Carson for print, film, or broadcast media; Gifford
Pinchot for forestry and natural resources
management; Theodore Roosevelt for teaching; and
Henry David Thoreau for literature.
FACILITATING INFORMATION EXCHANGE
The Environmental Education Division has hosted or
supported various workshops and conferences to
expand communication, foster partnerships, and
solicit ideas about how the federal government can
best support the nation's environmental education
efforts. For example, in cooperation with the Federal
Task Force on Environmental Education, the
Environmental Education Division sponsored a
national conference on environmental education in
November 1991. As follow-up to the national
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conference, EPA's regional offices in New England,
the Southwest, the Southeast, and the West, in
cooperation with other organizations, have held
several regionally-based workshops and conferences.
The Environmental Education Division also has
supported and participated in various environmental
education organizations' conferences such as those
sponsored by the North American Association for
Environmental Education (NAAEE); the
Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement; the
first Joint National Conference for Project Learning
Tree, Project Wild, and Project WET; the New England
Environmental Education Alliance; the Midwest
Environmental Education Association; and the
National Association for Interpretation.
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION AND
COORDINATION
The Environmental Education Division has
established the National Environmental Education
Advisory Council which links EPA with 11
environmental educators and supporters who
represent diverse geographic areas and minority
interests as well as schools and universities, nonprofit
organizations, states, the private sector, and senior
Americans. The Council reports to Congress on the
state of environmental education nationally,
nominates individuals for the National
Environmental Education Awards Program, and
advises the Environmental Education Division on
their overall goals, and on their grant and teacher
training programs. The Council has met one to two
times a year from 1992-1996.
The Environmental Education Division has established
the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education
which links EPA with numerous other federal agencies,
including the Departments of Education, Interior,
Agriculture, Energy, and Health and Human Services
as well as the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the
National Science Foundation. Headed by EPA, the
Task Force advises the Environmental Education
Division on specific topics, facilitates communication
across the federal government, and fosters interagency
collaboration on specific projects. The Task Force meets
periodically. The Environmental Education Division
also has operated an ongoing panel of federal agency
representatives to assist EPA in reviewing applications
and overseeing the implementation of the National
Environmental Education and Training Program under
Section 5 of the National Environmental Education Act.
The federal panel has met one to three times per year
from 1991-1995.
The Environmental Education Division also has
established the EPA Environmental Education
Advisory Board which links EPA's headquarters and
regional offices and research laboratories across the
country. The Advisory Board facilitates
communication between EPA headquarters and
regional offices that conduct various national,
regional, and local education activities. These
activities include awarding grants, developing and
disseminating educational materials, conducting
teacher training, and promoting environmental
careers through student internships, research
fellowships, and course development. The Advisory
Board holds meetings and conference calls
approximately four times per year.
DEVELOPING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS
The Environmental Education Division supports the
efforts of the National Environmental Education and
Training Foundation to leverage public and private
sector resources for environmental education. The
Foundation is a nonprofit, philanthropic
organization established by Congress under the
National Environmental Education Act to
complement and expand federal efforts to foster an
environmentally literate citizenry. In addition to
EPA, other governmental and corporate partners have
included the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and
Interior, Phillips Petroleum, Church &Dwight Co.,
Inc., and R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company. In the
past five years, the Foundation has awarded 110
grants and leveraged $1.9 million in federal funds
along with $2.2 million from new non-federal
sources, in total supporting more than $4 million
worth of national, state, and local environmental
education and training projects.
The Environmental Education Division has
established partnerships with various nonprofit
educational and environmental organizations such
as the North American Association for
Environmental Education (NAAEE), National
Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, and
various state and regional environmental education
organizations. The Environmental Education
Division also has established partnerships with
various private corporations including Time-Warner,
General Motors, Keebler, Dow Chemical, Motorola,
Niagara Mohawk Power Company, and Church &
Dwight Co., Inc. Specific projects include the
development and distribution of educational
materials such as videos and teachers' guides and the
sponsorship of various youth programs such as the
President's Environmental Youth Awards program.
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REACHING ACROSS INTERNATIONAL
BOUNDARIES
The Environmental Education Division, in
cooperation with EPA's Office of International
Activities (OIA), negotiated a Trilateral Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) on Environmental
Education among Canada, Mexico, and the United
States. The MOU was signed in a ceremony in
Washington, D.C. in September 1992. The Director of
the Environmental Education Division, the President
of the National Environmental Education and
Training Foundation, and the Curator of the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of
American History have represented the United States
on the trilateral committee charged with the
implementation of the agreement. Activities covered
by the agreement include information sharing on
education and training policies, approaches, and
materials; support and participation in seminars,
workshops, and conferences; and trilateral initiatives
or projects involving youth.
The Environmental Education Division also works
with EPA's OIA to support public-private initiatives
that include environmental education. These
initiatives include the establishment of the following
centers: the Caribbean Environment and
Development Institute (Puerto Rico, 1992), the
Regional Environmental Center for Central and
Eastern Europe (Budapest, Hungary, 1990), and the
Environmental Education and Information Center
(Kiev, Ukraine, 1992). The Environmental Education
Division also supports OIA's activities in hosting
international visitors from around the world and has
briefed representatives from more than 100 countries
on environmental education over the past five years.
F. HOW EPA'S IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE ACT RESPONDS TO ISSUES AND
CHALLENGES FACED BYTHE FIELD
Congress was aware of many of the issues and
challenges discussed above facing the field of
environmental education as evidenced by many of the
programs created under the National Environmental
Education Act. The following discussion highlights
how EPA's implementation of the Act responds to
many of these issues and challenges such as
increasing support for teacher training, increasing
access to high quality materials and programs,
strengthening state and local government programs,
encouraging environmental careers, reaching new
audiences, and promoting partnerships.
The Environmental Education Division has designed
the Environmental Education Grants Program to
respond to many of the issues and challenges
discussed above. For example, the Environmental
Education Division's 1997 grant solicitation notice
targets, among several priorities, those projects
which:
• Build state, local, or tribal capacity to develop
and deliver environmental education programs
• Use environmental education to advance state,
local, or tribal education reform goals
• Improve teaching skills
• Promote environmental careers
• Educate low-income and culturally diverse
audiences
The solicitation notice also places emphasis on
increasing access to existing materials by
encouraging applicants to request funds for projects
that use existing environmental curricula rather
developing new materials. Because a significant
amount of quality curricula have already been
developed and are under-utilized, EPA considers
funding the development of new curricula only where
the applicant demonstrates there is a need.
The Environmental Education Division also has
designed the Environmental Education and Training
Program to respond to many of the issues and
challenges discussed above. For example, the
training program increases support for training
teachers and other education professionals. The
program also places strong emphasis on increasing
access to existing materials, increasing support for
existing programs, and for promoting partnerships.
EPA's 1995 "Invitation for Proposals," which
solicited applications from universities and nonprofit
organizations to operate the program for the second
three year phase of the program, identified the
following key goals of the program:
• To support and expand existing quality training
efforts
• To identify, evaluate, and disseminate "model"
education materials, teaching methods, and
programs
• To strengthen and expand partnerships and
networks
The "Invitation" strongly encouraged institutions to
form a consortium to operate the training program
because EPA believes partnerships can help leverage
scarce resources, improve effectiveness, and avoid
duplication of effort in a field which is highly
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fragmented. The "Invitation" also required that
training activities meet the needs of diverse ethnic
and cultural groups.
The training program also responds to other issues
and challenges facing the field such as the need to
support environmental education research, to
integrate environmental education into education
reform activities, and to build state capacity. For
example, through the training program, an
assessment of student environmental literacy has
been designed and conducted to ensure that the field
has the proper instruments to determine whether
environmental education programs are working (that
is, if they provide individuals with the critical
thinking skills they need to make responsible
environmental decisions). In addition, the training
program emphasizes the importance of integrating
environmental education into mainstream education
by tying environmental education to education
reform efforts in the sciences, social sciences, and
geography. Finally, the program encourages
building coordinated statewide capacity to develop
and deliver quality programs.
The Environmental Education Division also
undertakes various other activities to respond to
issues and challenges such as the need to support
and encourage environmental careers and to promote
partnerships. For example, the internship and
scholarship programs discussed above provide
opportunities for post-secondary students to pursue
environmental careers, especially in the
environmental sciences. Examples of efforts to
promote partnerships include sponsorship and
support for national, regional, and state-wide
conferences. The Environmental Education Division
also has established groups such as the National
Environmental Education Advisory Council to
facilitate partnerships between EPA, states, schools,
universities, nonprofit organizations, the private
sector, and the Federal Task Force on Environmental
Education to facilitate partnerships among federal
agencies.
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V. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
This report to Congress by the
National Environmental
Education Advisory Council
describes the current status of
environmental education in the
United States and examines EPA's
progress in implementing the
National Environmental Education
Act. In assessing the status of
environmental education, the Council
examined a wealth of programs
comprising an array of approaches
and strategies and targeting a range
of audiences. Some are longer running, larger in
scope, or more effective than others; however, all
contribute to the health and welfare of the nation.
The nationwide sweep of who is participating in
environmental education revealed many players.
Federal, state, and local agencies, universities and
schools, nongovernmental organizations, museums
and nature centers, businesses and corporations—all
are engaged in supporting and implementing
environmental education programs. No single
government agency or private entity can manage all
these forces at play.
But a clear, overriding assessment emerged:
environmental education is important and necessary
to the health and welfare of the nation. It is the
federal government's responsibility to: 1) uphold the
ideals of environmental education as a process that
leads to good citizenship; and 2) provide a supportive
climate for the development and implementation of
environmental education programs on state and local
levels and the pursuit of creative and responsible
activity in the private sector.
As the federal agency Congressionally mandated to
implement the National Environmental Education
Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
makes substantial contributions to the success of
environmental education nationwide. But it is one
among many critical players. During the first five
years of the Act's implementation, EPA's
Environmental Education Division (EED) has been
challenged with developing and managing a large
program with diverse activities. During this time, the
office and program have been given limited resources.
These three factors—a broad field with many players,
a diverse program to manage, and limited resources—
have affected EPA's ability to implement the Act.
As Congress looks to reauthorize the
Act, the Council believes that
Congress should be less prescriptive
in the way funds are allocated among
various sections of the Act and
mandated programs, giving EED
more control and flexibility in
determining the most effective use of
funds (e.g., allowing EED to award
more grants under Section 6 and to
use less for administrative expenses
under Section 4). This will also allow
EED, with guidance from the Council,
to respond better to shifting needs and priorities.
What should be the work of EPA in environmental
education? This has been an ongoing question since
the Act was first proposed. From professionals in
nongovernmental organizations and state programs
who for years have been running programs, to others
struggling to initiate new ones, all have looked to
EPA's new role as a way of boosting their efforts.
Some have hoped that a unifying plan would emerge
that would bring the nation's diverse activities
together into a stronger, effectively managed whole.
All have looked to the federal government for
leadership in helping to chart a vision for
environmental education into the future.
It is the Council's opinion that distinctions should be
made between those activities EPA should support as
policy and those which it can support through actual
funding. The potential for the former is by practical
nature more far-reaching. Furthermore, the Council
and EED believe that the actual way environmental
education is delivered should be determined at the
state, local, and tribal levels.
Federal funding, by its nature being limited, should
focus on models that can be replicated with state,
local, or private money. In this manner, the federal
government assumes a role similar to private
philanthropy, which serves to help innovate, create
new programs, and leverage other support. But
unlike private foundations, whose interest in
environmental education has been sporadic, focused
on specific issues, or serving geographic regions, the
federal government's role can be consistent, longer
term, supportive of process, and broader based
geographically.
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Finally, it is the federal government's role to engage in
cooperative relations with other nations, particularly
Canada and Mexico, with whom the United States
shares many of its resources. EED, in cooperation
with the EPA Office of International Activities, should
seek further cooperation with other nations to
promote worldwide awareness and education for
sustainable living.
This realistic view of the role the federal government
should play in environmental education forces one to
ask, "Where does the responsibility for long term
financial support for environmental education lie?"
The Council believes it is through state and local
activity, supplemented by private funds. Here
education is at its best, driven by citizens who are in
touch with the issues, with the educational needs of
their youth, and with the quality of their teachers and
effectiveness of their schools. Here the goals of
environmental education find immediate expression
in the daily exercise of freedoms and responsible
actions.
To succeed, the work of environmental education
needs increased support and participation from all
sectors. People everywhere must see themselves as
stakeholders in one clear goal: creating an informed,
skilled, and motivated citizenry that can make
responsible decisions in a world of complex
environmental challenges. This goal can be achieved
through persistent, responsible actions by informed
citizens whose concern extends to future generations.
Based on the Council's assessment of the status of
environmental education in the United States and on
the progress of EED to date, the Council recommends
the following eight actions:
Recommendation
IMAKE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION A
PRIORITY ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND
ENHANCE EPA's LEADERSHIP ROLE
A. State agencies, school districts, and
nongovernmental organizations should continue
to work together to ensure that environmental
education is a priority at the local, state, and
national level.
B. Congress should continue to appropriate funding
to EPA at the authorized levels to enable EPA to
implement the National Environmental
Education Act. Congress should ensure that
sufficient funds are appropriated to fully staff
EPA headquarters and regional offices and to
support all programs and activities mandated
under the Act.
C. Congress should reauthorize the National
Environmental Education Act of 1990 for at least
5 additional years and authorize appropriations
at the current authorization level. Congress
should provide EPA with greater flexibility in
determining how funds are allocated among
mandated programs and activities to allow EPA
to respond to shifting needs and priorities in the
field and to manage the program in a cost-
effective manner.
D. The EPA Administrator should make
environmental education a priority by:
1) integrating it into every program's mission;
2) giving EED the authority and resources to
coordinate all environmental education efforts
within EPA; and 3) making the operation of the
Federal Task Force on Environmental Education
a priority for EED. These actions would ensure
consistency in EPA's approach and support for
environmental education as well as leverage
EPA's and other federal agencies' resources
more effectively.
Recommendation
INCREASE AND SUSTAIN SUPPORT FOR STATE,
LOCAL, AND TRIBAL EFFORTS
A. Federal, state, and tribal government agencies,
nonprofit organizations, foundations, the private
sector, and others should support environmental
education programs that are developed and
implemented at the state, local, and tribal levels.
This includes continued support by EED of such
programs under Section 6 of the Act, the
Environmental Education Grants Program.
B. Federal, state, and tribal government agencies,
nonprofit organizations, foundations, the private
sector, and others also should support programs
which emphasize the coordinated delivery of
environmental education programs, especially on
a statewide basis. EED also should make
funding the establishment of statewide
environmental education offices, coordinators,
and coordinating councils a greater priority
under Sect! on 5 of the Act, the Environmental
Education and Training Program and Section 6,
the Environmental Education Grants Program. In
addition, Congress should provide EPA with the
statutory authority to provide additional support
for statewide efforts.
C. States should consider adopting environmental
education legislation. For reference, model state
legislation has been developed by the Council of
State Governments (see Appendix E).
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Recommendation
3 LEVERAGE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE RESOURCES
AND STRENGTHEN LONG-TERM CROSS-
SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS
A. Congress should reauthorize funding to support
the National Environmental Education and
Training Foundation and its important work to
leverage private sector resources for
environmental education,
B. EED should continue to promote effective public
and private partnerships through its grant
program, and work closely with other federal
agencies to coordinate public support for
environmental education.
C. Foundations should provide more consistent and
multi-year support for all aspects of
environmental education.
Recommendation
4* ENHANCE AND INCREASE SUPPORT FOR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS
AND NONFORMAL EDUCATORS
A. Federal agencies, such as EPA and the U.S.
Department of Education, states, local
communities, universities, colleges, institutions,
businesses, and grantmaking organizations
should fund and promote in-service teacher
education. EED should continue to provide
strong leadership and support for the Section 5
Environmental Education and Training Program.
B. The U.S. Department of Education, state agencies
responsible for teacher licensing, and groups
such as the Council of Chief State School Officers,
National Association of Boards of Education, and
the National Education Association should
promote and improve pre-service teacher
professional development.
C. Foundations, federal and state agencies, and
grantmaking institutions should fund studies
that assess teacher preparation in environmental
education and evaluate teaching practices as a
function of pre-service and in-service
environmental education.
Recommendation
5 INTEGRATE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
INTO EDUCATION REFORM AND
IMPROVEMENT
A. EPA and the Department of Education, states,
local school systems, the Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, the
American Association of School Administrators,
the National Association of Secondary School
Principals, the National Association of
Elementary School Principals, national teachers
organizations, the Council of State Chief School
Officers, nonprofit educational organizations
and associations, and the National Association
of State Boards of Education should help schools
promote and enhance environmental education.
B. Federal and state agencies and organizations
should also: 1) develop model environmental
education outcomes for K-12 and teacher
education; 2) encourage environmental literacy
testing programs; 3) establish voluntary
certification guidelines for professionals in
environmental education; and 4) promote
environmental education program guidelines.
Recommenda tion
6 TARGET NEW AUDIENCES
A. Nonprofit organizations, educational
institutions, government agencies, and
individuals should target and reach out to new
and non-traditional environmental education
audiences such as Native Americans, senior
citizens and other adults, as well as culturally-
diverse, low-income, and physically-challenged
populations. This includes adapting existing
environmental education materials for these
audiences and targeting environmental
education programs.
Recommenda tion
7 INCREASE SUPPORT FOR EVALUATION,
COMPLETE GUIDELINES, AND IMPROVE
ACCESS TO MATERIALS AND INFORMATION
ON PROGRAMS
A. EED should continue to support the
development or maintenance of an
environmental education resource library
through the Environmental Education and
Training Program under Section 5 of the
National Environmental Education Act. The
goal is to ensure that quality education materials,
teaching methods, and programs that have
already been developed are used more fully. A
process should be fully established for
identifying, evaluating and disseminating
information on existing "model" materials,
methods, and programs. This resource library
should be tied to existing libraries, where
possible, and appropriate technology should be
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used to disseminate information widely through
hard copy and electronic distribution.
B. Federal and state agencies, colleges, universities,
businesses, and grantmaking institutions should
use the environmental education resource library,
discussed under Recommendation 7.A above,
and other resources to identify gaps in
environmental education materials and programs
and to fund the development of new materials
and programs where needed.
C. Federal and state agencies and colleges and
universities should identify relevant instruments
for evaluating materials and promote their use by
environmental educators.
D. Federal and state agencies, colleges and
universities, and nonprofit organizations, should
stress the importance of including investigation
and action skills development for environmental
education materials.
E. EPA, the U.S. Department of Education, states,
and professional societies should promote the
adoption of high quality environmental science
and environmental social studies courses and
teaching materials for middle and high schools.
F. Federal and state agencies, colleges, universities,
businesses, and grantmaking institutions should
support national studies on the status of
environmental literacy and the determinants of
responsible environmental behavior following
instruction in environmental education among K-
12 students, post-secondary students, and adult
populations.
Recommendation
ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT
ENVIRONMENTAL CAREERS
A. Federal and state agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, universities, schools, and
businesses should: 1) support career awareness
opportunities foryoungpeople; 2) fund
environmental internship opportunities within
and outside the government; 3) establish
community and regional mentor programs for
high school students, particularly minority
students, interested in environmental careers;
and 4) send speakers and workshop leaders to
provide urban and minority students with
opportunities to interact with environmental
professionals.
B. The organizations mentioned in recommendation
8.A, especially universities and state and federal
Departments of Labor, should help to provide an
evaluation of long-term environmental career
opportunities. This evaluation will require a
better understanding of the breadth of careers in
the environmental field, a status report on current
environmental careers, and a forecast of future
needs for environmentally-trained professionals.
Identification of these needs will help educators
prepare students for jobs of the future.
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VI. CONCLUSION
What is environmental
education and why
is it so critical?
Environmental education is a
lifelong learning process aimed at
developing an environmentally
literate citizenry that has the
knowledge, skills, and commitment
to make responsible decisions that
impact environmental quality.
Environmental education:
Teaches people of all ages how
the quality of life is inherently linked to the
quality of the environment
Helps ensure a workforce that has the critical and
creative thinking skills and knowledge to work
across disciplines to find innovative solutions to
complex environmental issues
Provides all citizens with the informaton and
tools they need to make sound decisions about
the environment and participate in local, state,
national, and international policymaking
Improves the way we educate new
generations so that they
understand the links among
science, geography, civics, math,
history, and language arts— and
how the world as we know it
depends on ecological integrity
Ensures that all Americans have
opportunities to appreciate and
experience the incredible diversity
of life on Earth and learn that
humans are a part of nature—not
separate from it
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has done
a commendable job of implementing a national
environmental education effort with limited
resources. However, there is much more to be done
and they cannot do it alone. Environmental
education must become a priority at the local, state,
national, and international level so that—as a nation
and as leaders in an increasingly interdependent
world—we can make balanced decisions that address
the complex social, political, economic, and
environmental issues of our time. The members of
this Council believe that to ensure a sustainable
future we must all work together to make
environmental education a priority now.
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX A
SUMMARY OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1990 (P.L. 101-619)
On November 16, 1990, the National Environmental Education Act (P.L. 101-619) was signed Into law. The goal of the Act
Is to Increase public understanding of the environment and to advance and develop environmental education and
training. It provides for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to play a leadership role among federal agencies In
Implementing the new law and encourages partnerships among federal government agencies, local educational
Institutions, state agencies, nonprofit educational and environmental organizations, and the private sector.
The mandates and authorizations under the Act are as follows:
Section 1 -- Title -- National Environmental Education Act
Section 2 -- Findings
Includes Congressional finding that environmental challenges present a significant threat to human health and
environmental quality . . . and that current federal efforts to educate the public and train a professional work force about
environmental challenges and effective responses are not adequate. States It Is the policy of the United States to establish
and support a program of education on the environment.
Section 3 — Definitions
Includes various definitions for terms used In the Act.
Section 4 -- Office of Environmental Education
Requires the establishment of an office of environmental education at EPA. The staff shall be headed by a Director who Is
a member of the Senior Executive Service and shall Include a headquarters staff of not less than six and not more than ten
full-time equivalent employees. The regional support shall Include one full-time equivalent employee per region.
Section 5 -- Environmental Education and Training Program
Requires the establishment and operation of an Environmental Education and Training Program. On an annual basis, the
EPA Administrator shall award a grant or cooperative agreement to an Institution of higher education or a nonprofit
Institution or a consortla of such Institutions to establish and operate an environmental education and training program.
Purpose of the program Is to train education professionals to develop and deliver environmental education programs.
Requires the program to Include teacher and education professional exchanges between the United States, Mexico, and
Canada.
Section 6 — Environmental Education Grants
Authorizes EPA to award grants to educational Institutions, state and local agencies, and nonprofit organizations to
support environmental education projects. Requires publication of regulations addressing solicitation, selection, and
supervision of projects as well as evaluation and dissemination of results of projects. Grants may not exceed $250,000.
Twenty five percent of grant dollars shall be awarded as grants of $5,000 or less. Authorizes grants that foster
International cooperation between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Section 7 -- Internships and Fellowships
Requires EPA to facilitate Internships for college students and fellowships for In-service teachers with agencies of the
federal government. To the extent practicable, there shall be 250 Internships and 50 fellowships per year.
Section 8 — Awards Programs
Requires EPA to provide for national awards recognizing outstanding contributions to environmental education. Awards
shall be given to commemorate Theodore Roosevelt, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, and Glfford Plnchot. Also
authorizes "President's Environmental Youth Awards" recognizing young people (K-12) for outstanding local
environmental awareness projects.
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Section 9 — Federal Task Force and National Advisory Council
Requires the establishment of a Federal Task Force and a National Environmental Education Advisory Council to advise,
consult with, and make recommendations to the Administrator on EPA's implementation of the Act. The Federal Task
Force shall include members from various federal agencies under the leadership of EPA. The National Advisory Council
shall be comprised of 11 members who represent primary and secondary education, colleges and universities, nonprofit
organizations, state agencies, business and industry, and senior Americans.
Section 10 — National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
Requires the establishment of a National Environmental Education and Training Foundation that will encourage private
gifts for the benefit of the environmental education activities of EPA; participate with foreign governments furthering
environmental education and training worldwide; and further the development of environmental awareness.
Section 11 — Authorization of Funds
Authorizes funds to implement the Act as follows: $12 million in FY 1992; $12 million in FY 1993; $13 million in FY 1994;
$14 million in FY 1995; and $14 million in FY 1996. NOTE: Congress actually appropriated less than was originally
authorized under the Act as follows: $6.5 million in FY 1992; $7.2 million in FY 1993; $7.8 million in FY 1994; $7.8 million in
FY 1995; $5.6 million in FY 1996; and $7.8 million in FY 1997.
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APPENDIX B
MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
CHAIRPERSON:
Arva Jackson (1994-1997)
11629 Regency Drive
Potomac, MD 20854
Phone and FAX: (301) 983-9439
MEMBERS:
Kristina Allen (1994-1996)
(Formerly with Arizona Department of Education)
14843 North 63rd Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85306
Phone and FAX: (602) 978-3835
Alternate FAX: (602) 789-3903
E-mail: wildvision@aol.com
Rodney Bates (1994-1996)
General Manager
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications
P.O.BoxSSlll
Lincoln, NE 68501
Phone: (402) 472-9333 (ext. 310/311)
FAX: (402) 472-1785
E-mail: rbates@unlinfo.unledu
Kathleen Blanchard (1994-1997)
Executive Vice President
Quebec-Labrador Foundation, Inc.
55 South Main Street
Ipswich, MA 01938
Phone: (508) 356-0038
FAX: (508) 356-7322
E-mail: kblanchard@qlf.org
Judy Braus (1994-1997)
Director of Environmental Education
World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 778-9542
FAX: (202) 861-8378
E-mail: judy.braus@wwfus.org
Peter Corcoran (1994-1996)
Chair and Associate Professor
Education Department
Bates College
11 IBardwell Street
Lewison, ME 04240
Phone: (207) 786-6064
FAX: (207) 786-6123
E-mail: pcorcora@bates.edu
Steve Hulbert (1994-1996)
Owner
Hulbert Auto Park
1100 South Plum Street
Olympia.WA 98501
Phone: (360) 754-3900
FAX: (360) 943-4904
Sue Smith (1994-1996)
Director of Education
Keep America Beautiful
21051 Rock Run Drive
Joliet, IL 60436
Phone: (815) 725-5897
FAX: (815) 725-7444
E-mail: kabusa@aol.com
John Strickler (1991-1997)
Executive Director
Kansas Association for Conservation and
Environmental Education
2610ClaflinRoad
Manhattan, KS 66502
Phone: (913) 537-7050
FAX: (913) 539-9584
E-mail: jstrickl@oz.oznet.ksu.edu
Richard Wilke (1991-1997)
Associate Dean
College of Natural Resources
University of Wisconsin
1900 Franklin
Stevens Point, WI 54481
Phone: (715) 346-2853
FAX: (715) 346-3624
E-mail: rwilke@uwsp.edu
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS:
Carole Wacey
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Phone: (202) 401-3409
FAX: (202) 401-3093
E-mail: carole_wacey@ed.gov
Michelle Harvey
Vice President of Programs
National Environmental Education &
Training Foundation (NEETF)
734 15th Street, NW
Suite 420
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 628-8200 (ext. 15)
FAX: (202) 628-8204
E-mail: harvey@neetf.org
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APPENDIX C
U.S. EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONTACTS
EPA OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS (HEADQUARTERS)
Loretta M. Ucelli, Associate Administrator
Phone: (202) 260-9828
FAX: (202) 260-3684
Denise Graveline, Deputy Associate Administrator
Phone: (202) 260-7963
FAX: (202) 260-3150
EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION DIVISION (HEADQUARTERS)
U.S. EPA
Environmental Education Division (1707)
401M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: (202) 260-4965
FAX: (202) 260-4095
Michael Baker, Acting Director
Phone: (202) 260-4965
E-mail: baker.michael@epamail.epa.gov
Diane Berger, Grants, Tribal Scholarships
Phone: (202) 260-8747
E-mail: berger.diane@epamail.epa.gov
Doris Gillispie, Youth Programs, Federal Task Force
Phone: (202) 260-8749
E-mail: gillispie.doris@epamail.epa.gov
Sheri Jojokian, Student Fellowships, EPA Advisory Board
Phone: (202) 260-5283;
E-mail: jojokian.sheri@epamail.epa.gov
Ginger Keho, Resource Materials, International Activities,
National Advisory Council (beginning in 1997)
Phone: (202) 260-4129
E-mail: keho.ginger@epamail.epa.gov
Kathleen MacKinnon, Teacher Training, National Advisory
Council (from 1991 - 1996)
Phone: (202) 260-4951
E-mail: mackinnon.kathleen@epamail.epa.gov
George Walker, Grants, Federal Interagency Agreements
Phone: (202) 260-8894
E-mail: walker.george@epamail.epa.gov
EPA REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION COORDINATORS
EPA Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
Maria Pirie
JFK Federal Building (RPM)
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: (617) 565-9447
FAX: (617) 565-3415
E-mail: pirie.marie@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 2 (NJ, NY, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
Terry Ippolito
290 Broadway 26th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 637-3671
FAX: (212) 637-4445
E-mail: ippolito.terry@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV)
Bonnie Smith
841 Chestnut Street (3EA20)
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: (215) 566-5543
Fax: (215) 566-5102
E-mail: smith.bonnie@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 4 (Al, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)
RichNawyn
100 Alabama Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 652-8320
FAX: (404) 652-8335
E-mail: nawyn.richard@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
Suzanne Saric
77 West Jackson Boulevard (PI-19J)
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (312) 353-3209
FAX: (312) 353-1155
E-mail: saric.suzanne@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
Jo Taylor
1445 Ross Avenue (6X)
Dallas, TX 75202
Phone: (214) 665-2204
FAX: (214) 665-2118
E-mail: taylor.jo@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE)
Rowena Michaels
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: (913) 551-7003
FAX: (913) 551-7066
E-mail: michaels.rowena@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY)
Cece Forget
One Denver Place (OCPI)
999 18th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202-2405
Phone: (303) 312-6605
FAX: (303) 312-6961
E-mail: forget.cece@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, American Samoa, Guam,
Northern Marianas, Palau)
Stacey Benfer
75 Hawthorne Street (E2)
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 744-1586
FAX: (415) 744-1605
E-mail: benfer.stacey@epamail.epa.gov
EPA Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA)
Sally Hanft
1200 Sixth Avenue (EXA-142)
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: (206) 553-1207
FAX: (206) 553-0149
E-mail: hanft.sally@epamail.epa.gov
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APPENDIX D
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CONTACTS IN STATE AGENCIES
The following is a listing of one key state agency contact in each of the 50 states, listed alphabetically by state. The person
listed is either the key environmental education agency contact or is an individual in another state agency with significant
environmental education responsibilities and is networked with the environmental education community statewide.
These individuals were reported by state leaders in a survey conducted by the National Environmental Education
Advancement Project (NEEAP) in the fall of 1995 and updated through individual calls to states by NEEAP staff in the fall
of 1996.
Dr. Frank Heatherly
Instructional Asst. Department
AL Department of Education
50 North Ripley Street, Room 334
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-8059
Peggy Cowan
Science Specialist
AK Department of Education
801 West 10th Avenue, Suite 200
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 465-2826
Kerry Baldwin
Education Branch Chief
Arizona Game & Fish
2221 West Greenway Road
Phoenix, AZ 85023
(602) 789-3237
Bill Fulton
Science &EESpec.
AR Department of Education
4 State Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72207
(501) 682-4471
Bill Andrews
Education Programs Consultant
C A Department of Education
721 Capitol Mall
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 657-5374
Don Hollums
EE Consultant
Colorado Department of Education
201 East Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 866-6787
Diane Joy
Office of Environmental Education
Department of Environmental
Protection
Store Level, 79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06100
(860) 393-2449
John Cairns
Supervisor Science & EE
DE Department of Public
Instruction
PO Box 1402
Dover, DE 19903
(302) 739-3742
Kathy Shea Abrams
Director, Office of EE
FL Department of Education
1311 A Paul Russell Road, Suite 201
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(904) 487-7900
Bob Moore
School Support Team
GA Department of Education
1766 Twin Towers
East Atlanta.GA 30344
(404) 656-4028
Colleen Murakami
Marine Educ. Coordinator
Dept. of Educ./General Educ. Branch
189 Lunalilio Home Road, 2nd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96825
396-2572
36
Dr. Richard Kay
Wildlife Ed Specialist
State of Idaho
Dept of Fish & Game
650 South Walnut, Box 25
Boise, ID 83707
(208) 334-2634
Gwen Pollock
State Science Coordinator
IL State Board of Education
100 North 1st Street
Springfield, IL 62777
(217) 782-2826
Joe Wright
Env. Science Consultant
Office of School Assist
Department of Education
229 Statehouse
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798
(317) 232-9141
Duane Toomsen
Env. Educ. Consultant
Bureau of Inst & Curr.
Deparment of Education
Grimes State Office Building
Des Moines, IA 50319-0146
(505) 281-3146
Greg Schell
Science Consultant
Kansas Department of Education
120 E Tenth
Topeka, KS66612
(913) 296-3851
Jane Wilson
Executive Director
Kentucky EE Council
1 Game Farm Road
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 564-5937
PaulLong
Program Manager
Sci & EE
State of LA Dept of Education
PO Box 94064
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(504) 342-3605
Tom Keller
Science Consultant
Maine Department of Education
Station 23
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 287-5920
Gary Heath
EE Specialist
MD State Department of Education
200 West Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 767-0324
Meg Colclough
Executive Office of Environ. Affairs
100 Cambridge Street
Boston, MA 02202
(617)727-9800x218
Mozell Lang
Science Specialist
MI Department of Education
PO Box 30008
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 373-4226
Kathleen Lundgren
State Science Specialist
MN Dept of Education
649 Capitol Sq Building
550 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
(612) 296-4071
Brian Knippers
Science Consultant
MS Department of Education
PO Box 771
Jackson, MS 39205
(601) 359-3778
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Ginny Wallace
Environmental Education Office
Missouri Dept. of Conservation
PO Box 180
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573)751-4115x294
Spencer Sartorius
Health &P.E. Specialist
Office of Public Instruction
Capitol Station
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-4434
Jim Woodland
Science Consultant
NE Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471-4329
Eric Anderson
Science Education Consultant
NV Department of Education
700 East 5th Street, Capitol Complex
Carson City, NV 89710
(702) 687-9141
Dr. Edward Hendry
Curriculum Supervisor
NH Department of Education
101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-2632
Tonya Oznowich
Office of Communications
Dept of Environmental Protection
Environmental Education Unit
CN402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402
(609) 984-9802
Larry Martinez
Science Educ Coordinator
NM State Department of Education
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 827-6677
Barry Jamason
Coordinator, Env. Educ.
New York Dept. of Education
Room 314H
Albany, NY 12234
(518) 474-5922
Curt Ericksmoen
Dept of Public Instruction
600 E Boulevard
Bismark, ND 58501
Anne Taylor
Director
Office of Environment, Health & NR
Box 17687
Raleigh, NC 27611
(919)733-0711
John Hug
Env Educ Consultant
OH Department of Education
65 Front Street, Room 1010
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 466-2761
Mary Stewart
Science Coordinator
OK State Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73120
(405) 522-3524
Mark Page
Science Specialist
OR Department of Education
255 Capitol Street, NE
Salem, OR 97310-0203
(503) 378-3602
Patricia Vathis
Office of EE
PA Dept. of Education
333 Market Street, 8th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
(717) 783-6994
Dennis Cheek
Coordinator of Math, Sci, & Tech
RI Dept of Elem and Sec Education
22 Hayes Street, B-4
Providence, RI 02908
(401) 277-2821 x2150
Linda Sinclair
Education Association for Science
SC Dept of Education
Rm 507 Rutledge Building
1429 Senate Street
Colombia, SC 29201
(803) 734-0887
David Erickson
PLT Coordinator
South Dakota Division of Forestry
445 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
(605) 773-4260
Karen Hanna Jenkins
Conservation Education
8th Floor Gateway Plaza
710 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243-0379
(615) 532-6249
Irene Pickhardt
Asst. Director of Science
Texas Education Agency
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701-1494
(512) 463-9565
Brett Moulding
Science Specialist
Utah State Office of Education
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 538-7791
Jim Firebaugh
VA Department of Education
James Monroe Building
POBox 2120
Richmond, VA 23216-2120
(804) 225-2651
Alan Kousen
State Science Consultant
Department of Education
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05620
(802)828-3111
Tony Angell
Supervisor of EE Programs
Office of Superintendent of Public
Instruction
2800 NE 200th
Seattle, WA 98155
(206) 365-3893
Phyllis Barnhart
State Science Coordinator
WV Dept of Education
Office of General Education
1900 Kanawha Boulevard East
Capitol Complex, Building 6
Charleston.WV 25305-0330
(304) 558-7805
Shelley Fisher
Science Education Consultant
WI Dept of Public Instruction
PO Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 266-3390
Helen McCracken
Science, Math, EE Coordinator
WY Department of Education
15400 Bishop Boulevard
Cheyenne, WY 82006
(307) 777-4531
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APPENDIX E
MODEL STATE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION LEGISLATION
The proposal presented below would enable a state to establish an environmental education program both through the
traditional education system and through community and state agency activities to ensure that citizens are well-informed
on environmental issues. It would establish an environmental education board to guide the state environmental
education program, an office of environmental education to implement it, and an interagency coordinating committee to
facilitate cooperation among state agencies. The draft act calls for the development of a state plan for environmental
education, a grants program, and regional environmental education centers. It requires the development of an
environmental education curriculum framework for grades K through 12 and environmental education studies for
teacher pre-service and in-service education programs, as well as undergraduate education. The act also sets forth state
agency duties for non-formal environmental education initiatives. Drafted by a subcommittee of The Council of State
Governments' National Environmental Task Force, the proposal was subsequently accepted by the Task Force at its
September 1992 meeting in Austin, Texas. The subcommittee members and additional reviewers of the proposal
represented state and federal education, environmental protection and natural resource agencies; state legislators;
academic institutions; environmental public interest organizations; and the private sector. Although the enactments of
several states were consulted in the drafting of the proposal, it is based largely on existing environmental education
legislation from the states of Arizona (Ch. 266, HB 2675, 1990), Florida (Ch. 92-128, 1990 and 1992 amendments), and
Wisconsin (1989 Assembly Bill 660). More information on this proposal or the activities of the CSG Environmental Task
Force may be obtained by contacting The Council of State Governments, Center for the Environment, 3560 Iron Works
Pike, P.O. Box 11910, Lexington, Kentucky 40578, (606) 231-1939.
Environmental Education Act—A Proposal of the CSG National Environmental Task Force
Section 1. [Short Title.] This act may be cited as the [state] Environmental Education Act.
Section 2. [Mission Statement]
(a) It is in the public interest that a comprehensive environmental education initiative be undertaken that will result in
environmentally literate citizens who will effectively and constructively solve existing environmental problems,
prevent new ones, and maintain a sustainable environment for future generations. The appropriate audiences for
environmental education include formal education, business, government, non- profits, and citizens.
(b) Characteristics of an environmentally literate citizenry must include:
(1) Ecological literacy - a basic understanding of:
(i) ecological principles and concepts and their application;
(ii) the cause and effect relationship between human behavior and the environment; and
(iii) the economics of that relationship.
(2) Civics literacy - a basic understanding of the decision- making processes of governments, business and other social,
political and economic institutions impinging upon environmental issues.
(3) Mathematical, technological and scientific literacy - an understanding of the basic concepts of math and science to
evaluate environmental problems and make sound decisions regarding their resolution.
(4) Personal and social action skills - develop and use skills such as problem-solving, risk analysis and integrating
diverse perspectives to understand and contribute to decision-making processes.
(5) Attitudes - expression of care for other humans, present and future, and for other components of the
environment. These attitudes also affect understanding of ecology and civic responsibility.
(6) Motivation for action - the commitment to act for a healthy environment based on one's attitudes, knowledge and
skills.
(c) There is hereby created a statewide environmental education program to implement the purpose of this act. The
program shall consist of an [environmental education board], an [office of environmental education], an [interagency
coordinating committee], a state plan, environmental education centers, a curriculum framework, teacher and
undergraduate environmental education programs, non-formal programs, and a finance and grants program.
Section 3. [Environmental Education Board.]
(a) There is created an [environmental education board] attached for administrative purposes to the [state department
of education or natural resources]. The [board] shall identify needs and set priorities for environmental education
within the state. It shall be responsible for reviewing, approving and transmitting a plan for environmental
education to the governor and the legislature every [two (2)] years. An annual appropriation should be provided to
finance the operation of the [board]. The appropriation level would range from [50,000] dollars to [100,000] dollars
depending upon the size, needs and resources of the state. Staffing of the [board] shall be provided by the [office of
environmental education].
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(b) The [board] shall provide advice and assistance to the governor, the legislature, the [office of environmental
education], and other state agencies, including university extensions, conservation and environmental organizations,
community action services, and nature and environmental centers on policies and practices needed to provide
environmental education. The [board] shall serve as a forum for the discussion and study of problems that affect the
environment and environmental education. It shall provide assistance to and obtain information from the
[interagency committee] to coordinate the environmental education programs of state agencies.
(c) The [board] shall be responsible for the administration of the state's environmental education grants program. The
[board] shall promulgate rules establishing the procedure for the awarding of grants. Grants under this section may
not be used to replace funding available from other sources. No more than [one- third (1/3)] of the total amount
awarded in grants in any fiscal year may be awarded to state agencies.
(d) The [board] shall be appointed by the governor for staggered [three- (3-) [year terms and include a balance of
government and non-governmental entities that consists of the following members or their designees with
experience in environmental education:
(1) [state superintendent of public instruction];
(2) [secretary of environmental protection];
(3) [tribal government (if applicable)];
(4) [secretary of natural resources];
(5) [[one (1)] majority and [one (1)] minority party member of each house of the legislature];
(6) [board of regents (specify number)];
(7) [environmental advocacy organizations (specify number)];
(8) [industrial community (specify number)];
(9) [small business (specify number)];
(10) [municipal corporations (specify number)];
(11) [elementary and secondary school teachers (specify number)];
(12) [ethnic minorities (specify number)]; and
(13) [a professional environmental scientist].
Section 4. [Office of Environmental Education.]
(a) A state [office of environmental education] shall be established by the legislature. It shall be headed by an
environmental educator who is appointed by the [environmental education board]. The [office] should have supra-
agency authority and dependable funding. It may be administratively attached to an existing agency such as the
[state education or natural resources department].
(b) The responsibilities of the [office] shall include:
(1) Assess the status of environmental literacy in the state's students, teachers and citizens every [two (2)] years.
(2) Prepare a plan for environmental education every [two (2)] years at the direction of the [environmental education board]
and with the assistance of the [interagency coordinating committee].
(3) Provide assistance to the [environmental education board] in the administration and evaluation of the state environmental
education grants program.
(4) Promote and aid in the establishment and evaluation of learner outcomes forpre K-12 school environmental education
programs through cooperation with the [state department of education].
(5) Promote and aid in the development of pre-service and in- service environmental education programs for teachers through
cooperation with the [council on higher education] or its equivalent and the state's colleges and universities.
(6) Cooperate with federal government and state agencies and the private sector in developing, promoting and evaluating
programs of environmental education.
(7) Function as an environmental education clearinghouse by;
(i) reviewing and recommending environmental education materials;
(ii) cooperating with state agencies and organizations in the development and distribution of an
environmental education newsletter;
(iii) establishing an electronic capacity to disseminate databases of environmental education
information and to network with interstate and federal programs.
(8) Promote the development of cooperative environmental education initiatives with the private sector.
(9) Initiate, develop, implement, evaluate and market non- formal environmental education programs; facilitate, encourage and
support multi-school district cooperative efforts to assess the need for, develop and evaluate environmental education
curriculums; promote state government and private sector policy that is consistent with the environmental education
strategic plan established in paragraph (2) of this section, and coordinate non-formal environmental education with the K-12
and postsecondary environmental education programs.
(10) Initiate research on environmental education as called for in the strategic plan by issuing contracts to colleges, universities
and other research based institutions.
(11) Coordinate an environmental education conference on a periodic basis to assist in the dissemination, development and
achievement of the state's environmental education strategic plan.
(c) Staffing. The [office of environmental education] should be administered by a professional environmental educator
and staffed with personnel having appropriate expertise and education.
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Section 5. [Interagency Environmental Education Committee.]
(a) An [interagency environmental education committee] shall be established to promote networking, coordination and
cooperation among state agencies and federal, tribal and local agencies to promote the efficient distribution of
information and to facilitate the planning and development of educational programs and materials. One agency shall
be given responsibility for convening and facilitating the functions of the [committee].
(b) The [committee] shall be composed of [specify number] persons with experience in environmental education and the
members shall consist of employees of the following agencies that have been appointed by the agency head: [state
departments of education, economic development, environmental protection, resource management, land, parks,
water resources, tourism, environment commission, geological survey, energy, fish and wildlife, agriculture, mining,
attorney general, health, transportation, local government/community affairs, general services, local conservation
districts, county extension, community services, youth groups and minority affairs]. The chairperson shall be elected
by the members.
(c) Members of the [committee] shall also serve as environmental education coordinators for their respective agencies,
and shall direct an assessment of their own agency's target audiences and appropriate programs. The [committee]
shall establish subcommittees as needed and assist with the development and implementation of the state's
environmental education strategic plan.
(d) The [committee] shall develop and maintain a memorandum of understanding to specify methods by which the
agencies can share their resources to benefit environmental education in the state.
(e) Members of the [committee] are not eligible to receive compensation and are not eligible for reimbursement of
expenses from the [committee].
Section 6. [State Plan.]
The [office of environmental education], with assistance from the [interagency committee] should coordinate, write and
publish a plan for environmental education. It should be reviewed and approved by the [environmental education
board] and transmitted to the governor and the legislature every [two (2)] years. A report on the status of
environmental literacy in the state should be conducted every [two (2)] years to serve as a basis for the plan. The plan
shall be officially called the ["Governor's Plan for Environmental Education"].
Section 7. [Grants Program.]
The [environmental education board] shall award grants [annually] to non-profit organizations and public agencies for
the development, dissemination and evaluation of environmental education programs. Proposals addressing needs and
priorities identified by the [board] or included in the strategic plan should receive priority. The [office of environmental
education] staff shall administer the grants program and develop an evaluation plan. Grant recipients must provide a
match of at least [25] percent of the amount of the grant. No more than [33] percent of the grant funds shall be awarded
to state agencies in [one (1)] year. The [environmental education board] shall promulgate rules establishing the specific
criteria and guidelines for the program. An annual state appropriation ranging from [200,000] dollars to [2,500,000]
dollars shall be provided to fund the grants program. Funding mechanisms are described in the Section 14 of this act.
Section 8. [Environmental Education Centers.]
(a) Regional environmental education centers should be established at state universities. They should perform the
following functions:
(1) provide graduate level and continuing education courses for educators;
(2) develop and maintain a resource library for teachers and other educators that includes curriculum materials, software and
audio visual materials;
(3) provide assistance to schools in the development of their environmental education curricula;
(4) coordinate an annual conference for resource providers and educators to share, plan and implement environmental
education;
(5) support teachers to conduct action research or classroom- based research on environmental education strategies and
student outcomes;
(6) network with interstate, federal, regional and tribal environmental education and training centers;
(7) provide for residential environmental education experiences for all students.
(b) Regional environmental education centers shall receive an annual appropriation to finance the staff, travel and
supplies necessary to carry out these functions.
Section 9. [Curriculum Framework.]
(a) The [office of environmental education] and the [environmental education board] shall work with the [state
department of education] to develop a curriculum framework for establishing environmental education programs in
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all public and private elementary and secondary schools. The programs shall integrate environmental concepts, skills
and attitudes into the regular curriculum, where appropriate, including but not limited to:
(1) basic ecological relationships including firsthand real life experiences in varied natural and built environments with
organisms as they interact with their environment;
(2) issue investigation, analysis, evaluation, problem-solving, prediction, and action skills that enable the student to
understand concepts such as the interrelationships and interdependence of natural and human systems;
(3) the values and behaviors of individuals, institutions and nations regarding environmental problems;
(4) alternative responses to environmental issues and their consequences; and
(5) the potential controversies arising from multiple use patterns of public and private lands.
(b) Model measurable learner outcomes. The program shall be implemented through the [state department of
education]. The program should be comprehensive and include learner outcomes, assessments, feedback
mechanisms and instructional processes. The [state department of education] shall develop curriculum integration
models for a measurable learner outcome-based environmental education program. The models must include:
(1) the specific environmental education and curriculum integration goals;
(2) the various options to achieve the goals;
(3) a hierarchy of learner outcomes composed of state learner goals; integrated learner outcomes; program learner outcomes;
and course, unit and lesson learner outcomes;
(4) mechanisms to communicate the models;
(5) an objective process to evaluate the progress to establish and implement a model integrated environmental education
curriculum;
(6) methods to assess pupils' environmental
Section 10. [Pre-service Teacher Education.]
(a) Pre-service education in environmental education is essential in order to foster an environmentally literate citizenry.
Future teachers must acquire the content and teaching skills to effectively instruct students in preschool through
grade 12.
(b) Teacher education pre-service programs are required to provide instruction in environmental education, including
ecological concepts, environmental issues and problems, developmentally appropriate practices, and use of a variety
of instructional curricula and materials. Teacher education should come from a variety of sectors, including
academia, environmentalists and the regulated communities.
(c) The [environmental education board] and the [office of environmental education] shall work with members of
teacher education institutions, natural resources departments in colleges and universities, the state higher education
council, the state board of regents, and representatives from private colleges and universities to develop guidelines
for incorporating environmental education into teacher education requirements.
(d) In states where teacher exams are required, environmental education knowledge and teaching skills should be
assessed by the exams.
(e) Pre-service teacher education should consist of the following components:
(1) Definition of the environmental education competencies that teacher candidates are expected to acquire;
(2) Definition of the acceptable approaches that can be used to develop the competencies;
(3) A plan for evaluating the achievement of the competencies;
(4) A plan for evaluating pre-service teacher environmental education programs and;
(5) A timeline for implementing the required pre-service education programs at colleges and universities.
Section 11. [Staff Development: K-12 Teachers (In-service Education).]
In-service teachers should develop the same environmental education competencies specified for pre-service teachers.
To accomplish this:
(1) In-service education in environmental education should be added to the courses recommended or required for recertification
or licensing;
(2) Every teacher education institution shall be required to offer both pre-service and in-service courses in environmental
education;
(3) State natural resources, environmental protection, parks, health and human services and education agencies shall develop
and publicize environmental education teacher in-services and/or professional internships related to their mission;
(4) School districts shall be encouraged to develop environmental education staff development plans and seek matching funding
for implementation of these plans from the state grants program.
Section 12. [Undergraduate Environmental Education.]
(a) Universities, colleges and vocational institutions are required to implement programs that encourage environmental
literacy and provide opportunities for environmental stewardship among the student population.
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(b) Such programs shall include at a minimum:
(1) Course Requirement. Implementation of an environmental studies course requirement for all graduates, or the
development of an integrated general education program that accomplishes environmental literacy through its integration in
a variety of required courses.
(2) Comprehensive Program Planning. The state higher education coordinating council or board of regents shall plan and
implement the following programs:
(i) Environmental audit. Institutions shall conduct an [annual] environmental audit to review the
environmental and economic impact of the institution's operations. This evaluation should include a review
of purchasing, waste disposal, energy usage and transportation practices. Institutions should implement
methods and processes to reduce the negative impacts of these activities on the environment.
(ii) Assessment. Each institution shall review their activities (curriculum, internships, work study program,
scholarships) to evaluate how they can promote environmental literacy among their student population.
(iii) Faculty development. Each institution shall provide opportunities and incentives for faculty of all
disciplines to learn how they can contribute to developing environmental literacy in the student body.
(iv) Consortium. A consortium shall be developed to facilitate communication about existing environmental
education programs.
(v) Environmental centers. Institutions shall be selected on a regional basis to serve as environmental centers
to accomplish the functions in Section of this act.
(vi) Competency identification and assessment. Environmental literacy competencies required for all
graduates should be identified and a plan for assessing the achievement of these competencies shall be
developed and implemented.
(vii) Environmental careers. Institutions should be encouraged to offer environmental career awareness
workshops for high school students and especially for under-represented populations.
Section 13. [Non-formal Education.]
(a) "Non-formal" refers to education conducted outside of traditional formal education systems. The audiences for non-
formal environmental education are numerous and quite diverse. They include: general public, youth and adult
groups, local government, business and industry, environmental and conservation organizations, the media, elderly,
and ethnic and cultural groups.
(b) Non-formal programs should focus on communities, the media, and other state agencies not traditionally considered
part of the environmental protection/natural resources agenda.
(c) All state agency mission statements and particularly environmental protection or resource management agencies
shall contain an environmental education component.
(d) Agency Duties. An agency shall be charged with the following duties:
(1) Establish a committee within the agency of representatives of all programs conducting education activities to facilitate
coordination and communications;
(2) Conduct a periodic assessment of non-formal environmental education offered by the agency throughout the state;
(3) Maintain an inventory of its environmental education materials, programs and resources;
(4) Prepare a periodic report to the [interagency coordinating committee] and the state [environmental education board]
outlining environmental education programs, activities and needs;
(5) Identify target audiences and programs;
(6) Environmental protection leadership. State agency internal operations should serve as a model for waste and pollution
reduction, energy efficiency, and protection, preservation, and management of natural resources. The state [interagency
committee] shall outline ways in which state agencies can implement model environmental policies such as office waste
reduction and recycling, employee incentives for using mass transit, workplace energy conservation, native landscape
planting and native plant and wildlife habitat restoration around state office buildings, printing on recycled paper,
procuring paper with recycled content, and recycling of used oil and tires from state auto fleets;
(7) Educate the regulated community (operators, builders, developers, private landowners, agriculture, water and air
dischargers, water and sewer authorities, and local to promote:
(I) conservation and environmental protection;
(ii) economic benefits of protecting the environment;
(iii) the intrinsic valuing of natural resources;
(iv) development/enhancement of a corporate environmental ethic and responsibility for environmental
protection;
(8) Promote programs for the regulated community that:
(i) provide examples of economically viable business/industry activities which have also benefitted the
environment;
(ii) provide education programs and field experiences;
(iii) establish awards programs (waste reduction award, environmental protection award, community action
award, best management practices award, habitat restoration award, etc.);
(iv) establish or promote the development of an industry council on environmental education to promote
industry partnerships;
(v) facilitate innovative industry environmental problem solving;
(vi) provide workplace environmental education materials;
(vii) promote public/private partnerships for environmental education programs and initiatives.
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Section 14. [Finance.]
(a) Funds will be necessary to implement the environmental education program and create the [environmental
education board], [office of environmental education], and the grants program.
(b) There is hereby created a [special non-lapsing environmental education trust fund] in the state treasury. Monies for
the fund shall be authorized by the state legislature. All monies placed in the fund and the interest it accrues are
hereby appropriated, upon authorization by the governor and with advice from the [board], to accomplish the
purposes of this act. All monies in the fund shall only be used for environmental education. This fund is exempt
from provisions relating to lapsing of appropriations. On notice from the [board], the [state treasurer] shall invest
and divest monies in the fund. The [state treasurer] shall credit all monies earned from these investments to the
fund. The [board] shall develop a plan for the expenditure of monies in the fund.
Section 15. [Effective Date.] [Insert effective date.]
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APPENDIX F
RESULTS OF STATUS SURVEY ON COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
PROGRAMS AT THE STATE LEVEL*
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
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APPENDIX F
State
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
TOTALS
Structure Components
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