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    Why Environmental Education Is Important: Breaking The Indoor Habit

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    wichupinuno
    Environmental education is important to equip children with the knowledge and problem-solving skills needed to address future environmental challenges. It can also improve children's health by encouraging time spent outdoors and developing a connection with nature. Studies show environmental education engages students, improves test scores, and inspires careers in environmental fields. Project Learning Tree provides curriculum and teacher training to incorporate environmental education into classrooms and encourage students to take action to improve their local environment.

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    Why Environmental Education Is Important: Breaking The Indoor Habit

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    wichupinuno
    56 views4 pages
    Environmental education is important to equip children with the knowledge and problem-solving skills needed to address future environmental challenges. It can also improve children's health by encouraging time spent outdoors and developing a connection with nature. Studies show environmental education engages students, improves test scores, and inspires careers in environmental fields. Project Learning Tree provides curriculum and teacher training to incorporate environmental education into classrooms and encourage students to take action to improve their local environment.

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    Environmental Study

    Original Title

    Environmental Education

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    Environmental education is important to equip children with the knowledge and problem-solving skills needed to address future environmental challenges. It can also improve children's health by encouraging time spent outdoors and developing a connection with nature. Studies show environmental education engages students, improves test scores, and inspires careers in environmental fields. Project Learning Tree provides curriculum and teacher training to incorporate environmental education into classrooms and encourage students to take action to improve their local environment.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    56 views4 pages

    Why Environmental Education Is Important: Breaking The Indoor Habit

    Uploaded by

    wichupinuno
    Environmental education is important to equip children with the knowledge and problem-solving skills needed to address future environmental challenges. It can also improve children's health by encouraging time spent outdoors and developing a connection with nature. Studies show environmental education engages students, improves test scores, and inspires careers in environmental fields. Project Learning Tree provides curriculum and teacher training to incorporate environmental education into classrooms and encourage students to take action to improve their local environment.

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    of 4

    Why Environmental Education is Important

    Tomorrows leaders need to be equipped for tomorrows challenges, and we must adequately
    prepare our children for the future they will inherit. That requires a commitment to providing
    children with environmental education that helps them become the educated thought leaders of
    tomorrow.

    Breaking the Indoor Habit


    America is in the midst of one of the most profound and rapid societal shifts in history. Todays
    generation of children is the first to grow up indoors. Their plugged-in lives are often devoid of
    exploring the natural world. Consider these facts:

    American children ages 3 -12 spend 27 percent of their time each week watching
    television, and only 1 percent outdoors (Hofferth & Sadberg, 2001)

    Children ages 8 18 engaged in over seven hours of media time (e.g., watching TV,
    listening to music, using the Internet/computer, playing video games) each day (Rideout,
    Foehr & Roberts, 2010)

    Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of U.S. children and adolescents aged 219 years
    were obese in 2008 (Ogden & Carroll, 2010)

    In 2000 two-thirds of the public failed a basic environmental quiz and 88 percent failed a
    basic energy quiz (Coyle, 2005)

    This movement indoors is not benign; there are costs to the health of our children: attention
    difficulties, hyperactivity, childhood obesity, diminished use of senses, disconnect from things
    that are real. Additionally, if children are detached from nature, how will they learn about,
    understand, and value nature? How will the next generation care about the land and be stewards
    of its resources?
    Raising an environmentally literate generation of problem solvers will help ensure that
    tomorrows decision-makers are prepared for the challenges they will likely face. Studies have
    shown environmental education engages students in learning, raises test scores, and encourages
    youth to pursue career in environmental and natural resources.

    Benefits of Environmental Education


    Research suggests that environmental education (EE) brings a slew of benefits to students. A
    few key findings include:

    Studying EE Creates Enthusiastic Students, Innovative Teacher-Leaders EE offers


    opportunities for rich, hands-on, real world and relevant learning across the curriculum
    (Archie, 2003).

    EE Helps Build Critical Thinking, and Relationship Skills Environment-based


    education emphasizes specific critical thinking skills central to good science
    questioning, investigating, forming hypotheses, interpreting data, analyzing, developing
    conclusions, and solving problems (Archie, 2003).

    EE Instructional Strategies Help Foster Leadership Qualities Environmental


    education emphasizes cooperative learning (i.e., working in teams or with partners),
    critical thinking and discussion, hands-on activities, and a focus on action strategies with
    real-world applications (NAAEE & NEETF, 2001).

    Self Control/Self Discipline Benefits for Children with ADD Taylor and her
    colleagues found that children with attention-deficit disorder (ADD) benefited from more
    exposure to nature the greener a childs everyday environment, the more manageable are
    the symptoms of ADD (Taylor, 2001).

    Increased Focus/Improved Cognition Wells observed that proximity to nature, access


    to views of nature, and daily exposure to natural settings increases the ability of children
    to focus and improves cognitive abilities. (Wells, 2000).

    Health Benefits At the school environment level Bell and Dyment observed that
    children who experience school grounds or play areas with diverse natural settings are
    more physically active, more aware of good nutrition, more creative, and more civil to
    one another. (Bell, 2006).

    Growing the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards


    The future of the environment, natural resources, and our quality of life begins with the
    education of todays youth.
    Project Learning Tree helps educators teach the next generation what our environment provides
    and what it requires to remain healthy and sustainable for the future. Students develop
    awareness, knowledge, and an appreciation for the environment. Through the community action
    components of many PLT activities, plus PLTs service-learning programs GreenSchools and
    GreenWorks!, PLT encourages students to improve their school, home, and neighborhood based
    on what they learn in the classroom.

    How Project Learning Tree Makes a Difference


    PLT provides educators with peer-reviewed, award-winning curriculum materials to engage
    students in learning about the environment. We show teachers how easy it is to incorporate
    environmental education into their everyday lesson plans using our hands-on, multi-disciplinary

    materials that are aligned to state and national academic standards. Our trainings also focus on
    developing teachers confidence and skills for taking students outdoors to learn.
    More than 675,000 teachers have received training in Project Learning Tree since the program
    began in 1976 making PLT one of the most widely-used environmental education programs in
    the United States.
    By teaching students how to think, not what to think, about complex environmental issues, PLT
    is helping young people learn the problem-solving skills they need to make informed choices
    about the environment. We are also helping to prepare a 21st century workforce faced with
    devising solutions to increasingly complex environmental issues, like climate change and energy.
    Learn more about Project Learning Tree.

    MAKE LEARNING FUN

    ATTEND A TRAINING
    Get our educational materials and professional development by participating in an in-person
    workshop or an online course.

    CONTACT YOUR COORDINATOR


    Get information relevant to your state, plus local assistance and connections to resources and
    professionals in your community.

    APPLY FOR A GRANT


    Get funding to help your students complete an action project to improve their environment.
    Deadline to apply is Sept. 30.

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