State Plan Calls For Increased Environmental Education In Schools

Wisconsin's first plan to address environmental literacy and sustainability for schools was released earlier this month.

In an announcement, State Superintendent Tony Evers says the plan offers strategies to increase academic achievement, improve student health, and save schools money.

“This plan suggests ways to share information and experiences on how schools and districts have achieved cost savings through educational projects that reduce consumption and increase efficiency,” Evers said. “It also emphasizes increased collaboration to advance student academic achievement in core subject areas.”

The plan, called “Wisconsin's Plan to Advance Education for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability in PK-12 Schools,” was developed by a 20-member steering committee of the Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition. The coalition represents businesses and independent groups that represent more than 70,000 Wisconsin residents, the state's Department of Public Instruction reports.

“Education for environmental literacy and sustainability provides an avenue for meeting the standards and benchmarks schools are required to reach in ways that are locally relevant and engage student interest,” said Randy Champeau, director of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education. “This education helps students understand the basic life support systems of the planet and how they can play a role in maintaining the health of these systems now and in the future.”

The goals of the plan call for:

• preparing students to understand, analyze, and address the major environmental and sustainability challenges facing Wisconsin, the United States, and the planet;

• providing field experiences as part of the regular school curriculum and create programs that contribute to healthy lifestyles through outdoor recreation and sound nutrition; and

• creating opportunities for enhanced preparation and ongoing professional development for teachers and school leaders by improving environmental and sustainability subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills in teaching about the environmental and sustainability issues, including the use of interdisciplinary, field-based, and research-based learning, effective assessment practices, and innovative technology in the classroom.