As defined in the Arizona Comprehensive Plan for Environmental Education:

"Environmental education is that component of education that may include one or more of the following:

• aesthetic appreciation of the natural world;
• basic scientific knowledge of how the natural world works;
• appreciation of the value of environmental quality;
• understanding of how humans affect their environment and the environment affects humans, past and present;
• experience in how personal choices and actions affect the natural environment; and
• experience in methods of local - through - global community responsibility, in order to deal effectively with contemporary environmental issues."

  

Environmental education is often confused with environmental activism (advocacy). Consequently, environmental education has often been accused of indoctrinating the public with messages that tend to promote a 'green' agenda, while ignoring opposing viewpoints.

What is 'education' and what is 'advocacy'? What is environmental literacy? How can the 'EE community' promote environmental literacy among lifelong learners?

AAEE will be addressing these issues in the immediate future, with the goal developing a policy and recommendations that will assist the Arizona EE community in ensuring that environmental education - not activism - is being practice.

Banner photo copyright Ron Blake