ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

What is Environmental Education?

​Environmental education (EE) is splashing through creeks and climbing trees.  It's also designing field investigations and taking action to protect the earth. Nature offers a lens for focusing on any subject — not just science — and a chance to connect student learning with the real world.

EE can take place in a classroom or outdoors, in school settings or informally, at any stage of life. It offers opportunities for students to be creative and gain academic skills and for communities to collaborate and solve problems.

EE is not just learning facts about the environment, nor is it solely focused on negative human impacts and the ecosystems or communities that are most affected; EE is a transformational process that informs, inspires, and empowers learners to make a difference in the world.

Four Pillars of Environmental Education

Nature
​Experience

Spending time outside connecting with nature,
so children care enough to want to protect it
​when they grow up.

Environmental Education

Exploring, investigating and making sense of natural phenomena to understand how the world works and ways people impact it. 

Environmental Stewardship

Gathering information,  solving bite-sized,
​real-world problems, and becoming empowered to make a difference.

Environmental Justice

Realizing that environmental problems affect some people more directly than others, and working to make the world healthy for all.

The EE Continuum

adapted from US Environmental Protection Agency

The Collective Impact of EE:
​Flipping the Narrative from the Harm We Do to the Difference We Can Make

A common starting point for environmental education is calculating ecological or carbon footprints. The size of the footprint is based on one's negative human impacts on the world, and can be adjusted by changes in behaviors and actions. But this approach disregards environmental impacts that cannot be significantly altered by individual actions (or even collective action), focuses on the harm we do, and motivates by shaming. Research shows that students often disengage and give up when overwhelmed by environmental problems. An alternative is to "flip the narrative" and focus on increasing the good one can do.

Handprinter, from NewEarth B allows people to compare the positive effect of actions they are considering and gives them a chance to choose those that have the greatest impact. Ever wonder whether it does more good to carpool or to go meatless on Mondays? To plant a tree or change the setting on your thermostat? Now you can find out! ​To see what kind of difference YOU can make in the world, join Handprinter to calculate your "environmental handprint"
​and see how large it can grow!

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​​Everyone needs opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, because when people connect with nature, we all benefit. When we spend time outside, our quality of life, health, and social well-being improve, and our communities become stronger and more sustainable.  

​What's the connection between sustainability and EE?

​The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a way of framing environmental education in terms of sharing, managing and preserving resources for future generations. 

Learn More about the Global Goals

The value of Environmental Education

​Want to Learn More? 

• Check out this infographic on the benefits of EE
• Read this executive summary of research about student outcomes​​

Go To ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP --->

​How You Can Be Part of EEA

The Environmental Education Alliance invites you to participate in our programs, use our resources, share our ideas, join our network, and contribute to our efforts. Together, we can make a difference!

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