ACEE has engaged pollster Ipsos Reid to conduct an Alberta poll of adults and youth in the next few months, and has convened a multi-stakeholder committee to help steer this project.  Our research will answer key questions about Albertans’ environmental literacy, their stewardship actions, and their receptivity to market-based instruments to protect the environment.  See the bottom of this page for more!

Some of our committee, at our 14 July workshop.  From left to right: Sheela Das, Ipsos Reid; Trina Innes, Alberta Environment; Lorraine Lastiwka, Alberta Education; Ed Whittingham, Pembina Institute; Kevin Strange, Calgary Zoo; Neil Mcinnis, Parks Canada; Ian Waugh, Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation; Stuart Peters, Alberta Ecotrust; Sarah Hipkin, Land Stewardship Centre of Canada.

What we already know

With the help of our committee, Ipsos Reid has pulled together a summary of publicly available polling data.  You can download the presentation here, and view some key observations below. 

Support for environmental education in Alberta is VERY high!

• 94% of Albertans think that K-12 public schools should  teach their students about protecting the environment.
• However, only 38% are aware of schools in their community that require their students to learn about protecting the environment.
• 95% of Albertans think that K-12 public schools should should be involved in community environmental action projects such as recycling, bike-to-school days and community gardens.
• 98% of Albertans consider including the issue of the environment in the curriculum to be either 'desireable' or 'highly important.'
• Of these, two thirds of respondents believe environment should be linked with all other subjects at school; one third feel it should be a subject by itself
• There is an appetite – and need – among the public for more information (in Alberta, education on climate change in particular)

What do we think about the environment?

• 70% of Canadians believe the state of the environment is getting worse
• Pragmatism, not altruism, will guide attitudes and behaviours towards the environment.
• Relative to the rest of the country, Albertans score lower in this area – less concerned about the environment, less willing to act
• That said, 84% of Albertans are concerned about climate change

Our willingness to help the environment

• Almost 4/5 Canadians claim they are personally prepared to make significant lifestyle changes in order to stop climate change
• Perceived major barriers to more sustainable behaviour include lack of government leadership, ‘feel unable to solve problems alone,’ and the need to know more about solutions. A sense of collective action is fundamentally important.

Who do we think is responsible to take action?

• Government and businesses are perceived as the best placed to lead the agenda.
• Support for government interventions depends on the nature of the intervention. Some fiscal measures are contentious while others are widely supported (e.g., high support for phasing out incandescent light bulbs).
• 90% of Albertans think they are doing a good job of protecting the environment (but it turns out that their understanding of how to do a good job is low)

Some implications

• Education about solutions and positive examples is more important than ever
• Changing behaviour is complex, and environmental behaviours are very different from one another.
• While there is a growing number of people who will act on principle/belief as it relates to energy and/or conservation, most continue to have a practical personal (economic) interest underpinning their potential behaviour. And within this, immediacy of benefit still tends to rule the day.
• As people are asked to do more by government, business and others, there is an increasing tendency to ‘trade off’ the demands that are being placed on them.
• Who delivers any energy and/or conservation messaging often impacts on receptivity to the messages themselves. Many people tune-out if they don’t associate immediate credibility with the messenger.

Where do we go from here?
Clearly, we need to know more!  ACEE and its committee is currently drafting a poll of Albertans that will take place this fall. We will…

1. Assess Albertans needs vis-à-vis environmental education, so that stakeholders may better design their programs. 
2. Create a ‘case’ by asking Albertans about their support for different elements of environmental education
3. Better understand Albertan’s perceptions of, and support for, market-based instruments and incentives to help the environment – since the polling shows that many drivers of environmental behaviours are financial
4. Discuss the implications of our research, and generate recommendations for EE stakeholders.

Thanks to the following individuals and organizations who sit on the advisory committee for this project:

Preston Manning, Manning Centre for Building Democracy
David Thompson, Sustainable Prosperity
Trina Innes, Alberta Environment
Ian Waugh, Alberta Tourism Parks and Recreation
Sarah Hipkin, Land Stewardship Centre of Canada
Brent Andressen, Alberta Agriculture
Vonn Bricker, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
Stuart Peters, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation
Rob Macintosh, Green Planet Communications and ACEE Board member
Dr. Loleen Berdahl and Rob Roach, Canada West Foundation
Barb Simic, ConocoPhillips Canada
Kevin Strange, Education and Outreach, Calgary Zoo
Neil Mcinnis, Social Science Specialist, Education and Communication, Parks Canada
Lorraine Lastiwka, Alberta Education
Ed Whittingham, Pembina Institute
Dr. Gwen Blue, University of Calgary
Danielle Droitsch, Water Matters
Dr. Susan Barker, University of Alberta