ee360+ Goal 1: Driving Educator Excellence

In-service training to help environmental educators and leaders increase their cultural competency and to assist their organizations in becoming more inclusive and relevant to the diverse communities in which they work.

The Center for Diversity and the Environment (CDE) will provide a series of programming designed to: 1.) bolster EE leaders who are ready to take their equity, diversity, and inclusion work into deeper action and learning through advanced training and community building initiatives, and 2) elevate DEI best practices and success stories to a broad audience of EE practitioners to inspire transformation.

CDE’s work focuses on the dual challenge and opportunity society has to align the environmental movement with an increasingly multicultural and diverse society. The environmental movement is lagging behind in its efforts to match our country’s changing demographics, which has real and measurable economic, scholastic, and health impacts on communities of color, and takes a toll on U.S. society as a whole. It is CDE’s belief that bridging that gap will strengthen our communities and amplify the impact of the movement politically, culturally, and financially.

Partners: Center for Diversity and the Environment (CDE)

In-service training of educators, trainers, and organizations to expand implementation of Strands 3 and 4 from Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines For Learning (K–12)

Earth Force is focusing on identifying and training educators, trainers, and organizations in Skills for Understanding & Addressing Environmental Issues, and Personal & Civic Responsibility, Strands 3 and 4, respectively, from Excellence in Environmental Education: Guidelines for Learning (K–12). Their civic engagement training program focuses on two models:

• A series of train-the-trainer events that target individuals representing organizations currently supporting EE in classrooms. As a result of participating in the train-the-trainer program, representatives will be prepared to integrate civic engagement skills training into their existing environmental education programs.
• Direct engagement with in-service educators. These educators will develop the skills and knowledge to incorporate environmental investigations as the means to meet standards-based requirements.

Earth Force is committed to working with underserved communities across the country, targeting cities with large underserved populations, and within those cities, focusing on areas that have been particularly hard hit by environmental challenges.

Partners: Earth Force

Leadership training to support state/regional infrastructure, in-service training for formal educators, and outreach to diverse audiences

Project Learning Tree (PLT) is increasing the delivery of environmental education training and long-term support to educators across the U.S. Their work enables educators to teach effectively about environmental issues and to use EE as a tool for improving teaching and learning and achieving a healthy and sustainable environment. PLT’s trainings focus on three specific areas: leadership training to support state/regional infrastructure; in-service training for formal educators that builds on existing quality EE programs; and engagement with diverse audiences (both primary and secondary).

Partners: Project Learning Tree (PLT)

Preservice educator training that enables students and faculty in education departments at colleges and universities to effectively include environmental education in their teaching.

Project Learning Tree (PLT) is delivering environmental education training and on-going support to preservice faculty across the United States to enable them to embed environmental education effectively into their preservice methods courses, including using their newly revised Preservice Faculty Member Handbook to better equip faculty members. They hope to improve teaching and learning about working toward a healthy and sustainable environment.

PLT is working with its networks of EE leaders to collaborate and deliver training to preservice faculty, using successful methods for integrating EE into preservice methods courses identified through the previous EETAP (Environmental Education Training and Partnership) agreements funded by U.S. EPA. Priority for training will be given to state programs working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, or Tribal Colleges/Universities.

Partners: Project Learning Tree (PLT)

Developing, promoting, and providing training on the national EE Guidelines

The National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education (NPEEE) was initiated by NAAEE in 1994. Since that time, NAAEE has published the Guidelines for Excellence, a series of six documents that help educators create quality environmental education resources and programs. These publications are foundational to the professionalization of the field of environmental education. They impact environmental education by improving the preparation and professional development of environmental educators, increasing the quality of instructional materials, providing developmentally appropriate benchmarks for environmental literacy, and encouraging the integration of environmental education into early childhood learning.

In December 2016, NAAEE published the newest set of Guidelines, focusing on community engagement. Through a series of webinars, workshops, train-the-trainers workshops, and one deep-dive webinar, the University of Oregon, Antioch University of New England (AUNE), Cornell University, and NAAEE are conducting training in the Guidelines, including the new Guidelines for Excellence: Community Engagement, to ensure that organizations and environmental education professionals throughout the United States are able to use them effectively. To accomplish this task, the team is continuing to build the Guidelines Trainers’ Bureau, a cadre of environmental educators who, after participating in an intensive professional development workshop, are able to facilitate Guidelines workshops and make presentations in their own states and regions. Two train-the-trainer workshops, one focusing on the new community engagement guidelines, along with mentoring and support services for current Guidelines Trainers’ Bureau members, will ensure that educators in each region will gain the skills necessary to use the Guidelines to improve environmental education practice and increase environmental literacy. Lastly, Cornell University will conduct a 90-minute deep-dive webinar on "Environmental Education and Community Engagement." The goal of this intensive and interactive webinar will be to continue to support and grow a network of environmental educators who work with communities. 

Partners: The University of Oregon, Antioch University, Cornell University