Washington, D.C. — The Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP) released the results of a recent national survey concerning the role environmental education program providers play in capacity building to improve and increase environmental education (EE) across the country. Project Learning Tree (PLT), the award winning environmental education program of the American Forest Foundation, is a national partner in the EETAP consortium.

The study was conducted to better understand the intersection of capacity building and professional development in relationship to environmental educators. The research findings will help formalize links between EETAP EE provider networks (Project Learning Tree, Project WET, World Wildlife Fund, and Project WILD), state EE associations, and state EE Leadership Teams to avoid duplication efforts, maximize cooperation, and share resources, ideas, and personnel.

Highlights from the survey, which had a 50 percent response rate, found diversity among EE respondents in terms of employers, EE-related job responsibilities, percentage of time spent on EETAP provider network programs, and audiences with whom respondents work. Fifty-four percent of respondents work for a state natural resource agency while universities, colleges, zoos, museums, aquariums, nonprofit organizations, state education agencies, and local governments employ others. Eighty-five percent have EE-related responsibilities in addition to working with EETAP EE provider programs.

Beyond the capacity building efforts of respondents through their own institutions and organizations, 84 percent report that they are currently involved with state EE associations, and 50 percent hold leadership positions in those associations. Seventy-six percent serve in a leadership capacity for other EE and EE-related local, state, and national initiatives and institutions.

Findings also indicate professional development workshops are not homogeneous but are tailored to meet the needs of the specific targeted audience while meeting and adhering to certain standards. Responding EE providers identified classroom teachers as their primary audience. The most common training needs were general EE, integrating EE into the curriculum and the correlations between state standards, and EE materials. Twenty-six percent indicated that limited training resources fundraising and stretching resources were the greatest needs to advance EE training.

The research report, Environmental Education Liaison with State Capacity Building, is available at www.plt.org.

For more information contact Alison Bowers, PLT Program Coordinator, 202.463.2457, Email: abowers@plt.org or Brigitte Johnson, Director of Communications, 202.463.5163, Email: bjohnson@forestfoundation.org.

EETAP is the national training program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education established through the National EE Act of 1990. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) administers EETAP through a cooperative agreement with U.S. EPA. Ten other organizations work with UWSP to coordinate and deliver support services and training to increase opportunities for professional development in EE. EETAP's activities support pre and in-service classroom teachers as well as educators working in non-formal settings such as museums and government agencies. EETAP partners include the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Groundwater Foundation, National EE Advancement Project, North American Association for Environmental Education, Northern Illinois University, Project del Rio, Project WET, The Ohio State University, World Wildlife Fund, and Project Learning Tree.

Project Learning Tree^® (PLT) is the environmental education program of the American Forest Foundation. PLT uses the forest as a "window on the world" to increase student's understanding of our complex environment and to help students learn the skills they need to make sound choices about the environment. Developed in 1976, PLT has a network of more than 300,000 trained educators using six curricula covering the total environment. The American Forest Foundation, a nonprofit organization, works for healthy forests, quality environmental education, and to help people make informed decisions about our communities and our world.