By Melissa Harden

It’s an exciting time for environmental education!  More and more attention is being focused on the need for environmental education and outdoor learning to engage students in learning, prepare them for 21st century careers, and help them lead more active, healthier lives.

President’s Budget Recognizes Environmental Education Is a Priority
On February 1st, President Obama released his proposal for the 2011 budget, and it included some exciting funding increases for environmental education programs.  Overall, the budget would put a freeze on domestic spending, but the funding increases for specific programs show that the President and his administration recognize that environmental education is a priority. 

Some of the highlights of the proposed investments in environmental education for 2011 include:
• A $9 million increase in funding to the Department of the Interior for initiatives to foster the next generation of conservation leaders. 
• $265 million for a new program, Effective Teaching and Learning for Well-Rounded Education, under the Department of Education with an emphasis on environmental literacy. 

You may view a summary of the environmental education programs in the budget proposal here. 

While the President proposed increases for environmental education in the programs listed above, he also proposed $6.4 million for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental education grants.  This is a decrease in funding from last year, and a far cry from full funding for the program at $14 million.  This program has funded Project Learning Tree in previous years, and we will work to build support for full funding of the program. 

No Child Left Inside
We are continuing to work to secure cosponsors on the No Child Left Inside Act (HR 2054/S 866), which authorizes $100 million in new grants to schools, universities, local education and natural resource agencies, and non-profits to support environmental education for students and professional development for teachers. 

Take action today!  Urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to show their support for environmental education and become a co-sponsor the No Child Left Inside Act.

The legislation currently has 87 cosponsors from 35 states/territories in the House and 18 cosponsors from 14 states in the Senate.  To find out who from your state is a cosponsor, follow these links for the Senate and the House, and click on “detailed, up-to-date bill status information.” 

How Can You Get Involved? 
Become an advocate or continue to advocate.  Your advocacy makes a difference for PLT and environmental education.  As educators who care strongly about PLT and environmental education, you can share firsthand how investments in environmental education programs like PLT benefit student learning, and help the environment. 

Share your stories behind the dollars and programs.  Tell your members of Congress about what environmental education means to you, how you use PLT, and the impact it’s had on your students.  If you’ve received a PLT GreenWorks! grant, tell that story, too!

Join the American Forest Foundation’s Grassroots Action Network.  AFF is the national sponsor of PLT and by signing up, you’ll receive email updates and timely action alerts about environmental education legislation.