Southern Alberta

Educating for Action is a Green Teacher Article providing a framework for thinking about the place of action in environmental education (William F. Hammond, from issue #50)

Learning to Love the Natural World Enough to Protect is an article from Louise Chawla that makes the connection between early childhood experiences outdoors with a caring adult and environmental action later in life.

Canada, Climate Change and Education: Opportunities for Public & Formal Education by Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) and Lakehead University. This nationwide study of 3,196 Canadians provides the first comprehensive snapshot of climate change educational practice in Canada.

EEResearch is a searchable database of research about environmental literacy, the benefits of connecting to nature, fostering environmental behaviors, and more.

Environmental Outdoor Education and Exposure to Nature: The Positive Effects on Student Wellness and Academic Achievement is an annotated bibliography by Bill Bagshaw. It provides an extensive list of research on the effects of outdoor education on mental well-being, abilities and physical wellness.

Connecting Canadians with Nature: An Investment in the Well-Being of Our Citizens from the Canadian Parks Council is a report that provides an overview of the benefits of connecting with nature.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv coined the phrase ‘nature deficit disorder’ to describe the negative effects of children not spending time in nature. He brings forward the growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.

Closing the Achievement Gap prepared by the State Education and Environment Roundtable (Lieberman, Gerald A. & Hoody, Linda L, 1998) presents the results of a nationwide study using the Environment as an Integrating Context for learning (EIC). The report notes, “Using the environment as an integrating context is interdisciplinary, collaborative, student-centered, hands-on and engages students in learning”. Their research shows that student learning shows improvement in reading, writing, math, science and social studies; exhibit increased pride in their accomplishments; greater engagement and enthusiasm for learning; better ability to apply science to real-world situations; better application of systems thinking; increased ability to think creatively; and more advanced skills in applying civic processes to real-life situations.

Benefits of Environmental Education by National Environmental Education Week lists several benefits on the importance of environmental education with numerous research studies to support each one

Back to School: Back Outside from the National Wildlife Federation documents how outdoor time boosts academic performance.