This October the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP) selected 8 states to participate in the new EETAP States Program. Based on NEEAP�s successful EE 2000 program, the EETAP States Program was conceived by a group of EETAP partners and an on-line application process was developed in conjunction with WestEd Regional Laboratory. EETAP was able to secure resources for eight states to receive $25,000 in funding for two years plus a "web" of organizational support from ten national partners that make up the EETAP consortium. Altogether 37 states applied to this program. The states selected include Arizona, California, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington.

The EETAP States Program focuses on building the capacity to deliver model comprehensive state environmental education (EE) programs. Each state will participate in the program over the next two years to implement their unique Scopes of Work in addressing priority areas for the field of EE such as 1) pre-service EE teacher training, 2) certification in EE for non-formal educators, 3) searchable directories of EE resources for educators, 4) leadership clinics to link schools and communities, 5) state EE centers, and 6) model EE school programs. All states selected for the program demonstrated the leadership, organizational capacity, and commitment to cultural diversity to implement project goals. "A priority focus of the EETAP States Program is not only to build capacity in diverse communities", stated EETAP partner Hyder Houston of the Greater Washington Urban League, "but to increase the participation of people of color in both leadership and stewardship roles in the EE field."

"This is by no means a cookie cutter approach," said Abby Ruskey, Co-Director of the National EE Advancement Project (NEEAP), the consortium member with oversight of the EETAP States Program. "We will work on a custom basis with each state to provide support where it makes sense to do so, while encouraging all state organizations to draw upon their own resources and expertise and that of their peers in other states to develop comprehensive EE programs." At the end of the two year program, EETAP leaders anticipate promoting eight models of state-level processes that resulted in ground breaking EE initiatives. The models created and lessons learned will be shared across the nation.

Partnerships are key to the success of this project. The application process challenged each state to form multi-stakeholder teams to develop their proposal. Now each state team will further refine their objectives and build the cohesiveness needed to increase EE training programs. The program utilizes a multiple-role team approach to link the roles of state and national partners towards increased communication and synergy to achieve ambitious workplans in a short 2-year time frame. "We will be very interested to see how this core team approach pans out over the course of the next two years.", stated Robert Olson, NEEAP�s Outreach Coordinator. NEEAP staff will be taking a close look at the dynamics of teams and the likelihood of sustainability of the programs created in each state.

EETAP partners supporting the project include the Greater Washington Urban League, Groundwater Foundation, North American Association for Environmental Education, Northern Illinois University Project Learning Tree, Project WET, and World Wildlife Fund. By pooling resources, EETAP partners themselves are modeling a team-integrated approach to strengthening EE. Each partner brings a valuable set of resources to the process, and together partners can better assist the states selected than any one organization could do alone. The new level of synergy in EETAP will contribute valuable lessons about how diverse interests can develop mutual understanding and respect, form collaborative strategies and increase their ability to serve the growing field of environmental education.

To view summaries and updates of each of the EETAP States visit NEEAP�s website at http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/neeap. The developments of the project and related capacity building materials will also be posted on this site over the course of the 2-year project. The EE Advocate will also feature an update from each of the eight EETAP States in a regular column for the duration of the program.

If you attended the 2001 NAAEE Conference in Little Rock, then you likely stopped at The Gathering Place�a long wall chock full of colorful posters and handouts�to read folks� ideas and to record your own. The Gathering Place gave conference attendees a chance throughout the conference to share information and to hold conversations about various environmental education initiatives. The following were featured at The Gathering Place.

NEEAP was pleased to host these activities at the NAAEE conference this year. Consider hosting your own Gathering Place to share ideas and information at your next meeting or conference. For more information on these and other capacity building activities, contact NEEAP at neeap@uwsp.edu or 715-346-4748.

Dear Readers:

As fall tumbles into winter, the NEEAP staff would like to wish you a cozy and peaceful holiday season.

This issue of the EE Advocate aims to deliver information, inspiration and resources that will support you in your work to strengthen environmental education. Much of the issue is devoted to developments that have taken place in EETAP. EETAP partners have waded at least waist deep into new collaborative territory this year with all of the challenges and advantages of undertaking true synergy. In essence, we are "practicing what we preach" in crafting an effective collaborative by challenging ourselves to develop and deliver programs that mesh our creativity and resources and that provide essential products and services to the EE field that no one organization could produce on its own. In the process, we are having to forge understanding, respect and tolerance for each other, and this is not easy. But it is well worth it because environmental literacy will only be achieved when we learn to overcome cultural, racial, organizational and other barriers in the process of achieving the infrastructure to support quality environmental education.

Year one of EETAP was focused on building plans and programs and establishing strong, working relationships among partners. We are still working at this as we launch forward with state and local partners in the EETAP States Program, the Demonstration Communities Project, and a new Preservice Teacher Training initiative. Visit NEEAP�s website (http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/neeap) to learn more about the EETAP States Program. Other EETAP initiatives such as a Nonformal Institute for EE will be starting anew this year and the EE Advocate will keep you posted along with the EETAP website at http://eetap.org/.

As always, regular features such as News from Here and There, At the Grassroots, Resources and Opportunities and What�s New With EETAP? bring you current information about the work of your peers, as well as ideas and resources you may be able to tap into. Be sure to read about current developments with the NAAEE state-level Affiliates Partnership as well.

In closing, I would like to request your involvement in this newsletter. Please tell us what you think about the newsletter and how we can improve it to better serve you. Provide us with suggestions for articles or offer to submit a feature or information for one of our regular columns. We need your input, so please take a few minutes and send your ideas to neeap@uwsp.edu.

Happy Holidays,

Abby Ruskey, Co-Director, NEEAP

The University of Georgia and the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia are collaborating on an initiative entitled The Georgia Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. Utilizing the NAAEE �Guidelines for the Initial Preparation of Environmental Educators� as its framework, the project will design, implement, and evaluate the establishment of core environmental education and continuing education requirements that will reflect professional standards and competencies for EE providers. This will be accomplished via a rigorous EE certification program that will raise the bar of excellence in environmental education through a purposeful and deliberate program of study that promotes and fosters lifelong learning experiences that significantly enhance the content knowledge and skill level of environmental educators. The format will follow a train-the-trainer model: once certified, individuals will, in turn, coordinate EE training at the community level to meet locally-based needs. Training at the local or site-based level will reflect the philosophy and multidisciplinary nature of the state-wide certification program and yet have the flexibility to meet specific local content knowledge and skill requirements. As a result of the project, certified EE providers will
(1) participate in a peer-approved and research-based program of study that promotes and provides lifelong learning experiences that sharpen their knowledge and skill level; (2) understand and personify the professional standards and competencies associated with being an EE provider; and (3) promote community-based learning experiences that ultimately increase the environmental literacy of Georgia youth and adults. For more information, contact Richard E. Osorio at The University of Georgia (rosorio@uga.edu).

To be involved in future Affiliate workshops or other efforts, please contact Tim Brown at tbrown@mail.usee.org Be sure to look for information on the next pre-conference workshop, which will be at the 2002 NAAEE Conference in Boston, MA. There will also be important information on the Affiliates Partnership in the coming year on the NAAEE website at http://naaee.org/.

EETAP partners and managers are increasing their emphasis on pre-service teacher training. During the planning process for the second and third years of EPA�s national EE training program, (EETAP) partners proposed and then rank ordered a variety of EE training objectives to determine priorities for the next two years. The objective focusing on increasing training for pre-service teachers ranked near the very top of all objectives proposed. This is not surprising, since without adequately trained teachers environmental educators will never accomplish their goal of integrating EE throughout K-12 education.

This year EETAP efforts in the area of pre-service teacher training have largely focused on planning the development of an on-line "Fundamentals of EE" course and the formation of a Pre-service Teacher Training Advisory Committee.

A draft of the course has been developed and will be reviewed and piloted early next year. EETAP Project Director and NEEAP Co-director Rick Wilke has provided leadership in developing the plan for the course. According to Wilke, "We hope to market the course nationally with the assistance of our EETAP partners". The course will be available for credit to both pre-service and in-service teachers through the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP). The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) will assist in marketing. The course will also be offered to other colleges and universities. Wilke hopes that campuses that do not currently offer an EE course will adopt this course as their own, and thus increase the number of pre-service teachers receiving training in EE. Recently, Dr. Dan Sivek from UWSP and Susan Toth from Florida Atlantic University joined Wilke and graduate student Rebecca Weber in efforts to complete the course.

EETAP is undertaking several other pre-service efforts next year in addition to offering an on-line course. The Pre-service Teacher Advisory Committee formed by Wilke and Judy Braus, Education Director for World Wildlife Fund, an EETAP partner, recommended most of the new efforts. A session organized by Braus and Wilke at the October NAAEE Conference provided an opportunity to gather additional input on future directions for EETAP in the area of pre-service teacher training. Two of the new EETAP pre-service initiatives are an effort by NAAEE to influence teacher training through the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and an effort led by Project Learning Tree to provide additional EE training to teacher educators from colleges and universities.

For more information on EETAP�s new efforts to improve and expand pre-service teacher training contact Rick Wilke at rwilke@uwsp.edu or (715) 346-4766.

Partnerships are two or more organizations working together to accomplish a specific purpose. These purposes include sharing knowledge, accessing new or different markets, developing new programs or services, or accessing funds. Partnerships are flexible, do not impact each organization�s individual status, and are relatively easy to exit.

Management service organizations are entities that take on administrative functions (e.g., staff recruiting, training, benefits, fiscal responsibilities, fund-raising, contract management, marketing, quality assurance, etc.) for two or more non-profits. They increase efficiency and effectiveness of the operations, and can help consolidate overhead, increase the quality of the management infrastructure and link similar organizations. Management service organizations can also assist with third party contracting.

Umbrella arrangements are a collection of two or more organizations, combined under a common umbrella. This type of alliance promotes some combining of powers and services, and some autonomy of power and services. This arrangement allows organizations to act separately or collectively when it is beneficial. Umbrella arrangements work particularly well when services should be integrated or when the entities want to foster "economy of scale" in certain activities such as fund-raising or fast growth areas.

Mergers are two or more organizations that combine so completely that they become a new entity � the original organizations no longer exist. Mergers can reduce duplication and overhead and allow weak programs to be salvaged. The largest challenges to successful mergers are integrating different cultures and planning the transition from two or more organizations to one.

Resources for At the Grassroots...
Arsenault, J. 1998. Forging nonprofit alliances. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Austin, J. 2000. The collaboration challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Bell, C. and H. Shea. 1998. Dance lessons: Six steps to great partnerships in business and life. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Bergquist, W., J. Bitwee, D. Mevel. 1995. Building strategic relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Clearing magazine has been published out of the Pacific Northwest for nearly 20 years, providing perspectives, teaching strategies, resources, activities, and background information on environmental issues for K-12 and non-formal educators. Published four times a year, Clearing is a valuable resource for teachers throughout the US and Canada. For more information, visit Clearing online at http://www.clearingmagazine.org or call (503) 238-8571.

The latest issue of the Journal of Environmental Education (Vol. 32 No. 3) features a
comparative study that NEEAP conducted of comprehensive state-level EE programs. Titled: "A Survey of the Status of State-Level Environmental Education in the United States-1998 Update", this article can be ordered from NEEAP by sending an email to neeap@uwsp.edu. You can immediately view the results of the research on NEEAP�s website at http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/neeap. One result of NEEAP�s research shows that there was a significant increase in the achievement and pursuit of EE initiatives across the United States between 1995 and 1998. Seventy-one components of a comprehensive EE program were developed during the 3 years researched and many more were begun. Find out what has changed in your state and what you can do to help strengthen EE programs by visiting the NEEAP website.

If you are moving or changing positions and would like to stay informed about environmental education capacity building efforts by receiving The EE Advocate, send us your updated contact information at neeap@uwsp.edu or 715-346-4748.

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