Environmental education has many definitions. Below we present two, created by environmental education stakeholders in Alberta, that guide us in our work:
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“Environmental Education helps children and adults develop knowledge, values, skill and behaviours that help them meet present-day needs without compromising the well-being of future generations.”
From ‘Environmental Education: Creating a Sustainable Future for Albertans’ |
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“Environmental education is a learning process that:
From ‘Framework to Advance Environmental Education in Alberta’ |
These definitions are consistent with an abiding definition from the peer-reviewed literature:
“[The goal of environmental education is]…to aid citizens in becoming environmentally knowledgeable and, above all, skilled and dedicated citizens who are willing to work, individually and collectively, toward achieving and/or maintaining a dynamic equilibrium between quality of life and quality of the environment.”
Hungerford, et al, 1980: “Goals for Curriculum Development in Environmental Education,” Journal of Environmental Education (11:3, pp. 42-7)
