The New York State Outdoor Education Association (NYSOEA), a not-for-profit 501(C) (3), is the lead organization and one of the oldest environmental and outdoor education organizations in the country. NYSOEA’s Environmental Literacy Committee was formed in January 2009. Members of this committee meet monthly and consist of the following partners: Audubon New York, Children in Nature New York, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), New York University’s Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education, Scenic Hudson, Sharpe Reservation/ Fresh Air Fund, Teatown Lake Reservation, State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), and Teacher Environmental Education Preparation (TEEP). Members of these organizations have given countless hours, under the umbrella of NYSOEA, in working toward an Environmental Literacy Plan for New York. In the last 10 months, the ELC has hosted 6 regional roundtables across New York with approximately 100 participants. These newly forged relationships signal the beginning of a growing coalition of organizations dedicated to educating our children to become environmentally literate adults who are capable of making informed decisions for a sustainable future. On December 15th, NYSOEA’s Environmental Literacy Committee submitted an Environmental Education Grant proposal to the EPA for a project total of $109,000.  If awarded, the committee will be able to move effectively forward towards developing a state-wide environmental literacy plan…but we aren’t waiting for the money to begin work on an ELP!

The ultimate goal of environmental education is the development of an environmentally literate citizenry who are informed environmental stewards. Linking local and regional efforts with a statewide agenda for environmental literacy and children’s right to access nature will build a strong base to work towards the long-term outcome of environmentally literate citizens. With the capacity building funding from the EPA, NYSOEA aims to unite stakeholders from the formal and non-formal sectors of education, related natural resource fields, state agencies, and not for profits to develop a cohesive and comprehensive environmental education network that encourages both educators and parents to connect their students and children to a vast array of natural resources. Through this effort, we will create the infrastructure to support environmental literacy in New York State.

The ELC, with help and input from a broad group of stakeholders, plans to develop and implement an environmental literacy plan, generate a statewide web-based database for environmental and outdoor education providers and programs, create outreach materials on environmental literacy specific to New York State, develop and offer five regional environmental literacy workshops, and host a state-wide conference chaired by NYSOEA with a theme of environmental literacy, environmental, and outdoor education. We will engage the environmental education leadership needed to develop strong standards that address quality field-based education, service learning, and an authentic outdoor experience every year for students from kindergarten through grade 12 in a comprehensive environmental literacy plan. The planned database will be available to educators, parents, and citizens. This information site will assist in providing an expanded audience with meaningful connections to the natural world and access to information related to environmental education. Our objectives also include creating pre-service teacher, in-service teacher, and non-formal educator professional development opportunities using the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) Guidelines for Excellence while identifying environmental education strands within the K-12 New York State Learning Standards.

The Environmental Literacy Plan will aim to develop critical thinking skills amongst the citizens of New York regarding environmental issues locally and globally to foster environmental stewardship. The target audiences are pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, non-formal educators, parents, environmental leaders, state agencies, health care providers, not for profits, faith-based, and community organizations.

Here’s some of the ways that you can volunteer your expertise, passion, and time over the next 18 months in the work toward an NYS ELP:

• We need conference committee members for the 2011 NYSOEA conference to be held at Honor’s Haven Resort & Spa, Ellenville, NY, Oct 20-23, 2011. The theme will be environmental literacy, environmental education, and connecting children to the outdoors. The plans (keynotes, entertainment, etc.) for the conference should be unveiled in September 2010 at the NAAEE conference co-hosted by NYSOEA.
• Some of the talent we need: connecting with Teacher Centers and BOCES, STANYS, etc, registration, workshops & program planning, fieldtrip planning, advertising/outreach, conference booklet design and printing, hospitality, raffle items, auction items, and of course – conference co-chairs!
• Join the ELC’s Coalition Building and Outreach sub-committee to continue work on coalition building including outreach and partnering with a variety of stakeholders such as state agencies, faith-based organizations, health care professionals, community groups, not for profits, land trusts, schools, and universities.
• Assist with the education subcommittees to document research and begin to develop literature and outreach materials on environmental literacy and the benefits of environmental education and outdoor experiences. Examine other states’ work on these efforts; pull together regional working groups from the 100 participants of the environmental literacy roundtables to begin draft documents for an environmental literacy plan. The ELC will work together to combine all outreach and participation to be as inclusive as possible with various stakeholders.
• Help the ELC and NYSOEA Communications Committee begin a framework for and gathering of information for an online database via NYSOEA website to articulate regional and statewide opportunities for environmental and outdoor education.
• Assist with fundraising and grant writing as needed for NYSOEA to continue work on the ELP.
• Join with the ELC to begin the planning of environmental literacy workshops including framework, outreach, topics, facilitators, dates, and locations in the five regions that NYSOEA has identified in New York.

How you can get involved:

1. Sign up for e-mail updates about New York’s ELP progress including workshops and workgroups and to let us know how you’d like to help with the subcommittees listed above by contacting Susan Hereth – shereth@scenichudson.org; or Tim Stanley – tstanley@freshair.org
2. Have your organization join the No Child Left Inside coalition and add their name to the growing list of supporters from New York – www.ncli.org
3. You do not need to be a member of NYSOEA to participate in the environmental literacy work, but there is strength in numbers, so we’d encourage you to give a NYSOEA membership a try – www.nysoea.org

Tags: Environmental Literacy, Literacy Plan, NAAEE, NYSDEC