Bora Simmons National Project for Excellence in EE Yash Bhagwanji Florida Atlantic University Pilar Tucker Faith Lutheran School

U.S. EPA  Office of Environmental Education EECapacity  EPA funded national EE training program housed in Cornell University’s Civic Ecology Lab

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  U.S. Forest Service  National Environmental Education Foundation  State EE Associations – such as LEEF  Organizational partners – such as Project Learning Tree, Arbor Day Foundation, Project WILD, Keep America Beautiful, Project WET

 Developed Guidelines through a public participatory process  Engaging educators in a deep discussion about quality environmental education practice  Building EE as a profession

 Recommendations for developing & implementing high quality early childhood EE programs  Birth to 8 year olds, focus on ages 3 to 6  Developed through a broad- based comment process

 Guidelines  Indicators  Boxes with Examples  References

1.1 Focus on nature & the environment 1.2 Focus on education of young children 1.3 Culturally appropriate goals, objectives, & practices

1.4 Environmental literacy 1.5 Health & safety 1.6 Evaluation & assessment 1.7 Partnerships 1.8 Interpersonal & intergenerational relationships

2.1 Research & theory 2.2 Authentic experiences 2.3 Child-centered/ directed & inquiry- based 2.4 The whole child

3.1 Natural world & natural materials 3.2 Play & the role of adults

4.1 Social & emotional growth 4.2 Curiosity & questioning 4.3 Development of environmental understandings

4.4 Skills for understanding the environment 4.5 A personal sense of responsibility & caring 4.6 Physical health & development

5.1 Spaces & places to enhance development 5.2 Natural components 5.3 Comfortable for both children & adults

5.4 Maintenance & usability 5.5 Health, safety, & risk 5.6 Environmental sustainability

6.1 Foundations of early childhood EE 6.2 Professional responsibilities of the educator 6.3 Environmental literacy

6.4 Planning & implementing EE 6.5 Fostering learning 6.6 Assessment & evaluation

 Designed for all “center-based” programs serving young children  Public and private child development centers  Nature preschools  Environmental education centers  Builds upon the six key characteristics of ECEE guidelines for excellence  A rating is determined for each indicator through consensus; priorities are determined for improvement  Team identification, development, and maintenance

Implementation Stage and Rating Score: Description: Not implemented: Rating Score of 1 No discussions have been had about this practice. Not implemented: Rating Score of 2 Discussions have been initiated, but there has been no impact on the practice. Partially implemented: Rating Score of 3 There is recognition of the importance of the practice; changes are being discussed and are starting to be implemented. Partially implemented: Rating Score of 4 There is recognition of the importance of the practice; changes are being made but it is not widespread. Partially implemented: Rating Score of 5 The practice is widespread, although there may be gaps or issues that need to be resolved. Fully implemented: Rating Score of 6 The practice is widespread and has been in place for less than a year. Fully implemented: Rating Score of 7 The practice is widespread and has been in place for a year or more.

 Program profile – provides a process for determining the average score for each key characteristic; identification of strengths, areas needing improvement, and determination of priorities  Program action plan – provides a process for identifying concrete outcomes, action steps, responsibilities, resources/supports needed, and timelines

 48 subject matter experts contributed suggestions and recommendations for improvement during the validation phase  12 centers (child development, nature-based preschool, public and private), 2 family day care centers, and 3 environmental education centers served as reliability study sites  Internal consistency ranged between.80 and.86 for all six key characteristics for exact agreements  Internal consistency ranged between.85 and.91 for all six key characteristics for within-1 agreements

rewrite school philosophy Provide field trip experiences in environmental education professional development for staff on environmental education Purchase books and materials for nature exploration provide experiences relevant to children’s environment through learning themes Faith Lutheran’s Action Plan

Photographs of the natural environment Nature walk collections for classroom posters from a child’s point of view Provided natural items to investigate and experience

eelinked.net/n/guidelines

For more information: Akiima Price