Achieving Environmental Literacy: Health, Environment, Curriculum
The 2013 New England
Environmental Education Association Conference & Sustainable Schools Summit
November 1-3, 2013
At Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
Questions? conference@neeea.org
Our states’, our country’s, and our planet’s future relies on a well informed and engaged generation of stewards that can meet the challenges of the world they will inherit. In order to create environmentally literate citizens who can face these challenges, we must ensure that our students experience and understand the interconnectedness of human and natural systems by embedding environmental education into all strands of preK-20 curriculum.
Hosted by the Rhode Island Environmental Education Association, the 2013 NEEEA Conference will be a cross- pollinating partnership with the Sustainable Schools Summit.The goals of the joint NEEEA and SSS Regional Conference are simple but bold – to create connections across environmental and educational fields to increase the ability for students, citizens, and our environment to sustain and thrive in the 21st century. We can achieve these goals by leveraging the environmental education community’s expertise and by expanding the conversation to build meaningful relationships across curriculum subjects, across professional disciplines, and outside of the classroom into our rich and diverse communities. Together we can find ways to deepen the inroads environmental education is making into curricular delivery and promote greater participation and stewardship in all the interconnected disciplines that impact school health and student success.
The conference is organized around three strands: curriculum, environment, and health. These strands are well aligned with the federal Green Ribbon Schools program, which evaluates and celebrates schools with Healthy School Environments, minimal Environmental Impact, and strong Environmental Education. These strands will cover a wide variety of topics, including:
Health – Implementing programs and initiatives to improve health and safety at schools and their surrounding communities.
Environment – Improving classrooms, schools, and the surrounding environment by reducing consumption, improving water quality, saving energy, and reducing waste production. Curriculum – Teaching and learning about the dynamic relationship between human, environmental, and energy systems.
These strands, both separately and combined, are instrumental to creating a comprehensive approach to increasing awareness
and knowledge about the interrelatedness of natural ecosystems, the built environment, and human behavior. This regional conference will provide a unique opportunity for cross- sector networking and collaboration to increase environmental literacy and help create and maintain effective, safe and healthy green schools throughout New England.