My Personal Philosophy of Environmental Education

My understanding of environmental education has transformed immensely over the past few weeks.  It has become clear to me that as Westerners we are often trying to find ways to adjust the environment to our way of life. However, other cultures, such as Bushmen would do the opposite. In simpler terms, someone who has knowledge of how precious their surroundings are, would adapt their way of life to suit the environment around them, as oppose to adapting the environment to suit their personal needs. As advised by Bill Stapp, founder of Environmental Education (1969) 

“It is imperative that man, wherever he lives, comprehend that his welfare is dependent on the proper management and use of these resources.” 

Moreover, we need to realise that as humans, we hold the responsibility to sustain and conserve our environment. This interrelationship between the community and surrounding land is dependent on the knowledge we have of it.

Having researched environmental education, I have come to the conclusion that it is based on providing knowledge and awareness of the natural environment, and its wealth of resources. The learning process involves not only increasing understanding, but also encouraging people to take responsibility for their actions. This can be achieved through the application of skills that allow for comprehensive decision making to take place.

Bill Stapp - The Concept of Environmental Education. http://hiddencorner.us/html/PDFs/The_Concept_of_EE.pdf

We hold the responsibility to uphold, sustain and conserve our environment. However, how can we do this if we do not have the knowledge required to do so? The children of today need to be educated about our environment so as to develop an eclectic knowledge of all the issues associated with sustainability, rather than specific issues being taught as more important than others. For example, when I was growing up I was taught that global warming was the biggest environmental issue that we have. Whereas the previous generation would have grown up being taught that waste pollution was the greatest issue. The picture below by Norman Rockwell (1960) was painted to represent the severity of waste pollution at this time. 

"Pollution" - Norman Rockwell (1960)

Although each generation appears to have some knowledge regarding environmental subjects, it seems that they do not hold awareness of the environment as a whole, which would be more beneficial for society. As stated by Nelson (1970): 

“We only have one world, we need to take care of her.”

References

Stapp, B. (1969) The Concept of Environmental Education. The Journal of Environmental Education. 32, 33-36.