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Summary of Activities with Federal Agencies
As per section 9(c)(1) of the National Environmental Education Act, the Environmental Education Division (EED), Office of Children's Health Protection and Environmental Education (OCHPEE), works with "other Federal agencies to assure the effective coordination of programs related to environmental education, including environmental education programs relating to national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges." Since 1992, EED has invested approximately $7.6 million in more than 40 projects with 14 Federal agencies, who in turn contributed $7.6 million in collaboration with their state and local partners. EED is currently funding the following projects:
Department of Agriculture
U.S. Forest Service
Earthcare Program
This program expands the U.S. Forest Service's partnership with Project Learning Tree (PLT) to include collaboration with Earth & Sky Radio's environmental and natural-resource education program called EarthCare. Go to http://www.earthsky.org/shows/earthcare/ 
to learn more.
Department of Agriculture
U.S. Forest Service
Environmental Educator's Web-based Consultant to Effective Evaluation
The goal of the project is to provide an online, one stop shop for EE
evaluation. Once the Web site is operational the project will provide
funding for various organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of EE programs.
Department of Agriculture
U.S. Forest Service
Non-formal Environmental Education Evaluation
In collaboration with the University of Georgia, this project will develop and pilot test an evaluation model for a non-formal environmental education project at the Sewee Environmental Education Center in Georgia. The goal of the project is to increase capacity at the local level in environmental education by providing a practical system for evaluation.
Department of Agriculture
Natural Resource Conservation Service
Partners in Resource Education - Hands on the Land
Funding supports an innovative, multi-agency initiative which brings the educational, historical, cultural and environmental resources of our country's public lands into the nation's schools. Go to http://www.handsontheland.org to learn more.
Department of Agriculture
Graduate School
President's Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA)
The USDA Graduate School assists EED to implement this program, which recognizes young people across America for projects that demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Youth in all 50 states and the U.S. territories can participate in the program. Go to the PEYA page to learn more.
Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Environmental Literacy Assessment
This project will conduct a national assessment of the environmental
literacy of middle schools students in the United States to determine
the effectiveness of EE programs in developing environmental literacy.
Department of Interior
Fish and Wildlife Service
Learning and the Environment
In collaboration with the Institute for Learning Innovation and the National Association for Interpretation, this project will implement A National Initiative to Improve Environmental Education Outside the Classroom. The over-arching goal of the Learning and the Environment initiative is to apply the best and most current understandings of how the public learns about the environment through non-formal learning experiences to the development of frameworks for improving the practice, evaluation, and future research efforts of the environmental education community.
Department of Interior
National Park Service
Capacity Building in the Columbia River Basin
In cooperation with the North Cascades Institute, this project builds on the existing networks, experiences, and perspectives of EE programs across the Columbia River Basin and across the country to establish region-wide systems of needs assessment, communication, professional development, and program delivery that will serve local level program providers and program users across the bio-region in an efficient and effective way.
Department of Interior
National Park Service
Improving Education Programs and U.S. Nature and Environmental Centers
In collaboration with the National Association for Interpretation and Colorado State University, this project will investigate the current state of education at the nation's federal and non-profit nature and environmental education centers. The goal of the project is to improve the quality of educational programs and materials offered by these important community education centers.
