Support for Environmental Education
The Conservation Issue
The next generation of conservation leaders are enrolled in the schools of our Commonwealth today. We need a strong, knowledgeable, and diverse corps of individuals to sustain and grow efforts to protect birds, and the environment they need, today and tomorrow!
Lead Contributor: Leigh Altadonna, Wyncote Audubon Society
ADOPTED: January 15, 2023
The Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology, adopted in 2002, marked an important milestone in the curriculum requirements for K-12 public school education. These standards made explicit the need for students in our schools to have the opportunity to learn and master the basic knowledge to equip them for the environmental challenges they will need to contend with as citizens in the twenty-first century. We are witness to the continuing need to understand, judge, and act at the local, state, and Federal levels to address the environmental and conservation challenges we increasingly face. The Academic Standards form the foundation of curriculum and instruction in our public schools. These standards are the basis on which local school boards make decisions on the curriculum they adopt and the in-service training they provide to teachers for effective instruction. Colleges and universities that prepare teachers need to ensure that pre-service teachers are grounded in the science behind these standards. Environmental education centers, nature centers, zoos, and state parks build their programs on the foundation provided by these standards. Support for adequate funding for schools and these programs in ecology and the environment is an imperative.
Audubon chapters have the opportunity to partner with their local schools and environmental education centers to provide support for teachers and programs that benefit from the expertise that our volunteers can bring. There are also opportunities for chapters to support individual teachers with assistance to attend programs such as Educators’ Week at the Audubon Camp in Hog Island, Maine.
Chapter Role
Council Role
Audubon Partner Role
Individual/Member Level
Provide information and background on the PDE K-12 Environment and Ecology Standards and the importance of their inclusion in the curriculum of area schools. Reach out to parents to ensure their children benefit from programs that fully integrate the Ecology and Environment Standards in their school program. Provide scholarships to teachers to attend Educators Week at Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine.
Provide a platform for chapter-to-chapter sharing of information, handouts, best practices, and approaches used to reach out to members and groups in the communities they serve. Focus on dissemination of quality, online and print resources that can be used by chapters for school-based programs.
Connect with Audubon Centers, state parks, nature centers, etc. to collaborate on messaging to members.
Community/Municipal Level
Promote and support effective environmental programs in the schools and school districts in your chapter territory. Sponsor Audubon Adventures or other age/grade appropriate materials for students. Consider a volunteer program to provide “school yard bird walks” or other programs. Encourage school-wide projects that enhance native plant gardens, protect birds from window collisions, incorporate solar panels and renewable energy sources, etc.
Provide workshops and webinars for our Audubon chapters, Pennsylvania Bird Towns, Environmental Advisory Councils, and others to support and strengthen environmental education. Establish partnerships with PAEE and other environmental education partners to collaborate on this issue. Provide workshop at conventions or webinars including NEA, AFT, PAEE, and others.
Collaborate with community partners to support effective environmental education programs in schools. Reach out to Parent Teacher Organizations.
State/Federal Level
Support PDE and State funding for local schools and school boards that enhance environmental education. Encourage targeted support by PDE for environmental education that focus on underserved schools, especially in rural and urban areas through Title I and other Federal funding sources. Advocate for expanded support for the educational programs offered through state parks and area environmental centers.
Coordinate efforts to reach out and educate our Pennsylvania General Assembly and Congressional delegations when there are opportunities for education and action on the issue of Environmental Education. Advocate for continued inclusion of Ecology and Environment Standards in statewide curriculum development.
Work with partners at the state and Federal levels for effective evaluation of environmental education in schools.