What is National Environmental Education Week?

National Environmental Education (EE) Week is the single largest organized environmental education event in the United States. Made possible by Canon, it increases the educational impact of Earth Day by creating a full week of environmentally-themed lessons and activities in K-12 classrooms, nature centers, zoos, museums, and aquariums. Over the span of EE Week 2007 the combined efforts of nearly 1,450 schools, nature centers, museums, zoos, and other educational institutions taught over 3.5 million students about the importance of caring for our natural environment.

EE Week is coordinated by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) in cooperation with thousands of outstanding schools, environmental education organizations, education associations, and state and federal agencies.

The Need for National EE Week:

There hasn't been a time in the past 35 years when we needed the added "push" of National Environmental Education Week so much. Recently, broad education policies have emphasized high-stakes, standardized testing. This means that environmental education, an elective subject, is being squeezed from many of America's classrooms. Moreover, field trips and visits to nature centers or local parks or museums are being scaled-back.

Participation Goals for 2008 Include:

2,000 partner organizations
5 million students
50 million hours of learning

For More Information:

For more information about National Environmental Education Week, contact the 2008 Coordinator Karen Schultz