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| Woolsey Votes to Strengthen Environmental Education in America’s Schools | | September 18, 2008 | |
| -Cites local education program as successful example-
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A long time advocate of education reform, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey today joined a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives in passing legislation to strengthen environmental education opportunities for millions of children. The No Child Left Inside Act, H.R. 3036, would improve existing environmental education programs by providing states with resources to train teachers, develop research based programs and create environmental literacy plans to ensure that students understand the role of the environment as a natural resource. It passed by a vote of 293 to 109.
“Educators and groups in and around my district have been leaders in bringing environmental education into schools,” Woolsey told her colleagues on the House floor. “They have done this through programs like the school garden project and the Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) Project. These programs have given children hands-on opportunities to learn about the environment and have given teachers the opportunity to integrate other subjects, like math, science, and writing, so students see real world applications in what they learn.”
Woolsey was referring to a program started in 1993 in Marin, which now reaches 1,200 K-12 students each year. Students in STRAW work with a host of community partners, including scientists and environmental agencies, on hands-on environmental programs, which complement what the students are learning in the classroom. Each year these students plant an average of 2,200 native plants at 25 different sites, restoring about four acres of creek bank annually.
“As we look for the best ways to prepare our children for the future, we cannot forget that the best education teaches the whole child,” said Woolsey. “Environmental education is a great way to tie together so many important subjects and lessons while also teaching students about the environment and how to play an integral role in preserving it for their future.”
In addition to providing increased funding for environmental education, H.R. 3036 will: support states that incorporate environmental activities into their academic curricula; encourage mid-level environmental professionals to become teachers; and create a competitive grant program to help non-profits, state and local education agencies, and institutions of higher education create and strengthen state environmental literacy plans. |
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