Environmental education returned to B.C. education curriculum
Environmental educa- tion has been returned to B.C’s education curriculum, thanks in
large part to the efforts of Sierra Club BC and its supporters. Sierra Club BC, alongside other leaders
in Environmental Education, discovered that ecological principles and key earth sci- ence systems were largely absent from the new B.C. curriculum. In response, Sierra Club BC wrote to the Ministry of Education about the value of environmental education and launched a petition advocating for it to be reinstated in the new B.C. curriculum. Over 7,000 people signed the petition and wrote to the Minis- ter of Education. The result was the development of a new curriculum team to revise the science curriculum. The team included experts in EE – teachers who actively incorporate en- vironmental education in and beyond their classrooms, as well as representatives from environmental education organizations in B.C. The team ensured environmental edu- cation content was integrated at each grade level and that the concepts of environmen- tal responsibility and stewardship were reincorporated throughout.
—from Sierra Club BC website at https://
sierraclub.bc.ca/education
Idaho Envirothon The Idaho Envirothon: is a hands-on en-
vironmental problem solving competition for high school aged students in the Idaho. Participating teams complete training and testing in five natural resource categories: Soils & Land Use, Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Wildlife, and the current issue. Winning teams from each state and province ad- vance to the North American Envirothon for an opportunity to compete for recogni- tion, scholarships, and prizes.
Major Victory in Washington State: First to pass legislation to support funding for climate and science
literacy! With the signing of ESSB 6032 Tues-
day, March 27, Governor Inslee achieved a major victory for climate education and K-12 students across the state. With this bill, Washington also advances to leading the nation in K-12 climate literacy having become the first state in the country to dedicate significant support for climate education included in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It is also the largest general fund allocation for sup- port of climate education, included in NGSS, ever dedicated in a Governor’s budget and approved by a state legisla- ture.
Originated through the Governor Inslee’s budget request of $6.5 M for science and climate education, $4 M was approved by both the Senate and House in the March 8th supplemental budget bill ESSB 6032. The funds are directed to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for teacher profes- sional development to implement Next Generation Science Standards includ- ing those related to climate science and healthy environments. The language also stipulates that $1M of the $4M be al- located for projects proposed in partner- ship with nonprofit organizations. “Neil Armstrong noted when he stepped on the surface of the moon, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The same can be said for science education in Wash- ington with the legislatively approved $4M funding for climate science teacher professional learning and alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards. Students, teachers, and Washington will benefit from this meaningful investment in teacher professional training,” stated Gene Sharratt, Executive Director for the Association of Educational Service Districts.
The funding request was supported
by E3 Washington and its partners including Center for Environmental Lit- eracy, NatureBridge, Islandwood, Pacific
CLEARING Spring 2018
www.clearingmagazine.org ..and students from Everett with the
Washington Green School’s Energy Matters Project.
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Education Institute, WA STEM, Washing- ton Green Schools, the Suquamish Tribe, National Wildlife Federation, Institute for Systems Biology and numerous other partners. With its successful passage, Washington state has taken a major step towards ensuring that all WA students become more knowledgeable about climate science and impacts and more prepared for careers in a clean energy economy.
“This is a major victory for our stu- dents and our state and a significant step in a generational shift towards a climate- informed citizenry. We applaud the Gov- ernor and our legislature for ensuring our students will have access to sound climate science and the information and resources they need to help create a future we want to see,” stated Susan Carlson, Board Chair of E3 Washington, Washington state’s umbrella organization for environmental education. For more information, please contact:
info@e3washington.org
Governor Jay Inslee talks with students
from Eatonville SD about their composting project...
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