The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point received a $2.2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday to continue funding the university’s nationally renowned environmental education program.
Known as the National Environmental Education Training Program at UWSP, the program was awarded the competitive grant from the EPA’s Office of Environmental Education.
While the UWSP College of Natural Resources has managed the program since 2000, the program’s funds are determined each year by Congress, with 25 percent provided to UWSP and their partners to continue environmental education. To date, over $19 million have been given to the program nationwide.
According to Richard Wilke, UW System distinguished professor of environmental education and EETAP director, a majority of the grant is geared towards developing certification programs for environmental educators, providing resources for those in environmental education and implementing new standards for the environmental education curriculum.
The program also works to train environmental professionals through online courses, Wilke added.
“We have students from 49 states and 12 countries in our program,” Wilke said. “We are also in the process of developing an online master’s program in environmental education. The master’s program would assist those already working in education as well as working in places like museums, zoos and nature centers to better serve their students and families.”
In addition to UWSP, the environmental education courses are also offered at 12 other universities, including Northern Illinois University and the Ohio State University. The program is offered both online and in the classroom.
According to Wilke, it is estimated nearly five million individuals across the country have been involved with the program.
UW-Madison professor of forestry and wildlife ecology Raymond Guries said environmental education plays a vital role in an evolving world.
“A lot of people are ignorant of what the real costs of our consumption lifestyles are — they do things like drive big cars and waste food and paper products,” Guries said. “We need to continue to remind people that things we take for granted, like clean air and water, would be expensive if we would have to buy them.”
In order to receive the grants for the program, UWSP had to compete against many national organizations, such as The National Geographic Society and The National Association of Science Teachers. UWSP was chosen due to their strong partnership with other national organizations, as well as the strength of their proposal, Wilke said.
Although EETAP is housed at the UWSP College of National Resources, the program also has seven partners, including the North American Association for Environmental Education, National Audubon Society, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and others.
UWSP has housed the EETAP for the past nine years, and will apply again for more funding next fall to continue the program at the university.
For UW-Madison students interested in environmental education, there are many options on campus, according to Guries.
“Students can take courses that introduce the environment both directly and indirectly,” Guries said. “Courses in the soil department, in botany, geography, or through the Nelson Institute can help students learn about the environment and conservation.”
