Nov. 13, 2008
UWSP receives another $2 million for environmental education training
The National Environmental Education Training Program (EETAP) at the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, received $2,209,000 from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue delivering
environmental education training to teachers and other education
professionals.
The College of Natural Resources has managed EPA’s program to
increase the nation’s environmental literacy since 2000. Over
$19 million dollars have been committed to this national program.
According to Richard Wilke, UW System distinguished professor of
environmental education and EETAP director, 442,648 educators have
been provided professional development through EETAP activities. It
is estimated that these educators in turn reached 4,973,975
individuals across the country. Educators from 49 states and 12
nations have participated in EETAP training.
The competitive award comes from the EPA’s Office of
Environmental Education. Kathleen MacKinnon of EPA stated,
“EETAP has done more than any other organization in the
United States to enhance environmental education in the
United States during the last eight years. Through its
workshops, courses, and other carefully tailored strategies,
EETAP is building a cadre of educators who are knowledgeable
about the environmental and have the skills needed to help
children and adults understand complex environmental issues.”
EETAP is managed by the CNR but involves seven other training
providers across the country including the North American Association
for Environmental Education, National Audubon Society, Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center, Project
Learning Tree, the University of Oregon, the Council for Environmental
Education, and National Project WET.
“This partnership is essential in order to meet the wide variety
of training needs of educators ranging from teachers, to education
professionals working at sites such as nature centers, zoos, museums,
aquariums, state and national parks,” said Wilke.
According to Wilke, national support for environmental education and
improving environmental literacy has been growing significantly. A
coalition of over 700 organizations with over 40 million members was
formed in the last two years and was instrumental in convincing the
US House of Representatives to recently reauthorize the National
Environmental Education Act. EETAP funding comes from the National
Environmental Education Act and according to Wilke the EETAP project
fills a critical role in the development of an environmentally
literate public.
Examples of EETAP activities include:
- Providing online environmental education resources through
a Web site visited by over 10,000 educators daily
- Developing and implementing new standards for the environmental
education content of courses and curriculum provided to future
teachers by over 632 colleges and universities through joint efforts
with the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
- Providing resources and training in environmental education
to over 30,000 education leaders through joint efforts with the
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
- Training hundreds of environmental education leaders on how to
work more effectively with culturally diverse audiences
- Developing online courses that have been completed by educators
from 49 states and twelve foreign countries and which have directly
resulted in the improvement of programs serving over 2,020,000
people annually
- Providing support to strengthen state level environmental
education organizations
- Developing professional certification programs for environmental
educators at the state and national level to insure their proficiency.
EETAP is the national training program of EPA’s Office of
Environmental Education, established through the National
Environmental Education Act of 1990. UWSP administers EETAP
through a cooperative agreement with the EPA. EETAP’s Web site
provides more information on its activities at
www.eetap.org.
