Hi Eileen, It looks like everything has already been provided for you, but one book that I love and keep on my shelf that I got in grad school is "Essential Readings in Environmental Education" I have the 3rd edition from 2005, I am not sure if there are newer versions, but it includes several of the readings listed above.

Found my Intro to EE class readings...

Intro To Environmental Education – Class Readings
Dr. Joe Baust

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Nature Principle – Richard Louv

Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson

Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Two Hats – John Hug

“Man’s Search for Himself.” Rollo May
“The Responsibility of Being Human,” Naomi Tutu
“Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain,” Matt Richtel
“ How Nature Shapes Childhood,” Will Nixon

“Environmental Education in the U.S.:Definition and Direction” – McCrea and Archie
“The Concept of Environmental Education,” William Stapp.
“Defining Environmental Education,” John Disenger and Martha Monroe
“What is EE,” (University of Wisconsin – Stephen’s Point – Intro Course Reading)
“ Some Widely Agree-Upon Environmental Education Objectives,”
“What is EE?” and “Expanding the Definition of EE” – All of Unit 1 from the site below.
The Tbilisi Declaration: Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental: October 14-26, 1977.

“Should Action Be a Goal – Yes” – Wilke
“Should Action Be a Goal – No” – Kwong
“The Politics of Environmental Education” – Holsman

“Tensions in Environmental Education” – John Disinger
“The Myths of EE” – Revisited – Harold Hungerford
“When Did the Environment Become a Problem?”
“So You Want to Teach Issues?” – Ramsey and Hungerford

Hope this helps you....

Joe

Hi Eileen,

I was looking for my Intro to EE class...so far I cannot put my hand on it; however, I put this bibliography together for novices to address what was EE. So here it is:

1. Bowler, D. E., Buyung-Ali, L. M., Knight, T. M., & Pullin, A. S. (2010). A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health, 10(1), 456.
2. Chawla, Louise. “Learning to Love the Natural World Enough to Protect It,” in Barn nr. 2 2006:57-58. © 2006
3. Cheng, J. C. H., & Monroe, M. C. (2010). Connection to Nature: Children's Affective Attitude Toward Nature. Environment and Behavior.
4. Cottrell, S., & Raadik-Cottrell, J. (2010). Benefits of outdoor skills to health, learning and lifestyle: A literature review: Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies' North American Conservation Education Strategy. This report is available online at: http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/Education/pdf/BenefitsofOutdoorSkills_Whit...
5. “Developing a Framework for Assessing Environmental Literacy.” Washington, North American Association for Environmental Education, 2011.
6. “Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in California.” American Institutes for Research: Palo Alto, CA: 2005. Available on the Sierra Club web site. http://www.sierraclub.org/youth/california/outdoorschool_finalreport.pdf
7. Foltz, J. L., Cook, S. R., Szilagyi, P. G., Auinger, P., Stewart, P. A., Bucher, S., et al. (2011). US adolescent nutrition, exercise, and screen time baseline levels prior to national recommendations. Clinical Pediatrics, 50(5), 424.
8. Godbey, G. (2009). Outdoor Recreation, Health, and Wellness: Understanding and Enhancing the Relationship. Washington DC: Resources for the Future. This report is available online at:http://www.rff.org/documents/RFF-DP-09-21.pdf
9. Gopinath, B., Baur, L. A., Wang, J. J., Hardy, L. L., Teber, E., Kifley, A., et al. (2011). Influence of Physical Activity and Screen Time on the Retinal Microvasculature in Young Children. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 31(5), 1233.
10. Heimlich, Joe and Barringer-Smith. “Environmental Education and Pre-Service Teacher Preparation, A National Study. (A study funded by the Tides Foundation through the World Wildlife Fund)Columbus, The Ohio State University, 2010
11. Hine, R., Pretty, J., & Barton, J. (2009). Research project: Social, psychological and cultural benefits of large natural habitat & wilderness experience: University of Essex. This report is available online at: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ces/occasionalpapers/Kerry/Literature%20Review%20...
12. “Hull Springs: Relationship to Longwood’s Educational Commitment: final report and recommendations to President Patrick Finnegan from the Hull Springs Farm Strategic Planning Task Force, Farmville, 2011.
13. “NCATE Standards for the initial preparation of environmental educators. Washington, North American Association for Environmental Education, 2007.
14. “Guidelines for Learning (K-12).” Washington, North American Association for Environmental Education, 2011.
15. “Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators.” Washington, North American Association for Environmental Education, 2004.
16. Jack, G. (2010). Place Matters: The Significance of Place Attachments for Children's Well-Being. British Journal of Social Work, 40(3), 755-771.
17. Kellert, Stephen R. “Nature and Childhood Development.” In Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2005.
18. Kimbro, R. T., Brooks-Gunn, J., & McLanahan, S. (2011). Young Children in Urban Areas: Links Among Neighborhood Characteristics, Weight Status, Outdoor Play, and Television-Watching. Social Science & Medicine.
19. Kuo, F. E. (2010). Parks and other green environments: essential components of a healthy human habitat: National Recreation and Park Association. This report is available online at: http://www.nrpa.org/uploadedFiles/Explore_Parks_and_Recreation/Research/...(Kuo)%20Reserach%20Paper-Final-150dpi.pdf
20. Lederbogen, F., Kirsch, P., Haddad, L., Streit, F., Tost, H., Schuch, P., et al. (2011). City living and urban upbringing affect neural social stress processing in humans. Nature, 474(7352), 498-501.
21. Larson, L. R., Castleberry, S. B., & Green, G. T. (2010). Effects of an Environmental Education Program on the Environmental Orientations of Children from Different Gender, Age, and Ethnic Groups. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 28(3), 95-113.
22. Lieberman, Gerald A.; and Linda L. Hoody. “Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning.” SEER: Poway, CA, 1998. “California Student Assessment Project.” SEER: Poway, CA, 2000.
23. Louv, Richard. “The Web of Life” Weaving the Values that Sustain Us.” Berkley, Conari Press, 1996.
24. Louv, Richard. “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.” Chapel Hill, Algonquin Books, 2008.
25. Louv, Richard. “The Nature Principle.” Chapel Hill, Algonquin Books, 2012.
26. McCurdy, L. E., Winterbottom, K. E., Mehta, S. S., & Roberts, J. R. (2010). Using nature and outdoor activity to improve children's health. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 40(5), 102-117. This study may be available in a library near you or can be purchased online through the publisher at: http://www.cppah.com/article/S1538-5442(10)00044-1/abstract http:/
27. “The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education.” Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education, National Education Association. Washington, 1918.
28. “Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education.” UNESCO in co-operation with UNEP. Tbilisi (USSR), 14-26 October 1977.
29. Townsend, M., & Weerasuriya, R. (2010). Beyond blue to green: The benefits of contact with nature for mental health and well-being. Melbourne, Australia. This report is available online at: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=59.1284
30. Trent-Brown, S. A., Vanderveen, J. D., Cotter, R., Hawkins, K., Schab, A., Dykstra, S., et al. (2011). Effects of a nature-based science enrichment program on preschool children's health, activity preferences, self-efficacy, and cognition: Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway.
31. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2010). The state of play: Gallup survey of principals on school recess. This study is available online at: http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/stateofplayrecessreportgallup.pdf
32. Ridgers, N. D., & Sayers, J. (2010). Natural play in the forest: Forest school evaluation (Children): Natural England.
33. Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8-to18-year-olds. Kaiser Family Foundation. This report is available online at: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia030905pkg.cfm
34. “Standards for the Initial Preparation of Environmental Educators.” Washington, North American Association for Environmental Education. November 2007.
35. Van Den Berg, A., & Van Den Berg, C. A comparison of children with ADHD in a natural and built se Pretty, J., Angus, C., Bain, M., Barton, J., Gladwell, V., Hine, R., et al. (2009). Nature, childhood, health and life pathways: University of Essex. http://www.essex.ac.uk/ces/occasionalpapers/Nature%20Childhood%20and%20H.... Child: Care, Health and Development.
36. “What is environmental education: Promoting Excellence in Environmental Education.” Washington, North American Association for Environmental Education, 2011.
37. White, Randy. “Young Children’s Relationship with Nature: Its Importance to Children’s Development & the Earth’s Future.” http://www.cnaturenet.org/02_rsrch_studies/PDFs/White_YoungChildren.pdf
38. Wilson, Ruth. “Starting Early: Environmental Education during the Early Childhood Years. ERIC Digest. ED402147, 1996-03-00. ERIC Clearinghouse for Science Mathematics and Environmental Education, Columbus, OH.

When I find more...I will send it on to you.

Sending my best,

Joe Baust

Hi, Eileen! It sounds like you have lots of great experience in EE, so I apologize if I only give suggestions you are already familiar with. I took my first real EE course in graduate school and this is where it started: NAAEE's Guidelines for Excellence series, Across the Spectrum: Resources for Environmental Educators (especially Chapter 1, p. 9-28), and two journal articles: "A Framework for Environmental Education Strategies" (Monroe, Andrews, Biedenweg, 2007) and "Environmental Education for the 21st Century: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we headed?" (Hungerford, 2010). While this is a more generic response, I also have seen lots of online courses/workshops/trainings posted on eePRO that could be useful - I know at least some of them are self-guided. NAAEE has two eeLEARN modules (one on the history of EE and another on the foundations of EE) too. I'll link all of these to this post. Hope this helps some!

Links: Online courses on eePRO

Links: Workshops/trainings on eePRO

Links: eeLEARN modules

Links: Across the Spectrum

Links: Guidelines for Excellence

Hello Eileen, I'd like to offer an additional and different take on the traditional reading list for EE. These practical how-to classics from the interpretation field go deeply into how if you want to change attitudes and action, you'll get more impact from thoughtful connections with your audience, revealing essential facts and concepts, and then provoking action -- rather than relying solely on knowledge and instruction.

Freeman Tilden. Interpreting Our Heritage (published in 1957 and still the best work on interpretation!)

Sam H. Ham. Environmental Interpretation: Making A Difference on Purpose (first published in 1992, vastly revised edition published in 2016)

I will second The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv and the Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. The former really inspired me as a middle school teacher to get my students outside for our field trips, and every opportunity. Many are from families that move around based on the technology job market and have lived all over the world, but can't tell me a thing about the environment in which they lived. I'm working hard to give them a sense of place, and connection with nature.

An additional resource can be found at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which has some great video selections on various ecological and environmental issues.

Links: Howard Hughs Medical Institute

Hello! I know that you posted a year ago, but I couldn't resist this thread being a book lover myself. I just joined the site, and just graduated from ASU with a bachelors in Elementary Education and a certificate in Environmental Education. I wanted to echo the resources that Mr. Joe Baust shared above because I have read a few of them and can personally say they are incredible. My professor always found the best resources for her classes… especially:

"The Nature Principle" by Richard Louv

"The Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold

Additionally, I read two children's chapter books on "Earth Heroes" which provides a wonderful, brief review on some of the most influential figures in Environmental Education history. These books are especially excellent for sharing with children or others interested in EE who might recognize the names but not know too much about the figures themselves.

Earth Heroes - Champions of the Wilderness by Bruce and Carol Malnor

Earth Heroes - Champions of Wild Animals by Bruce and Carol Malnor

The publisher of these books (Dawn Publishing https://dawnpub.com) is FABULOUS and provides children's books on everything you can think of for Environmental Education. I have started collecting several of these books myself to use in my future classrooms. They are beautiful, comprehensive, engaging, and I loved reading them myself!

Good luck on your studies with Environmental Education. As someone just entering the field myself - I can say it is so much bigger, informative, and much more important than I would have ever imagined!

Hi there! Thank you to everyone who posted. I can't wait to come back when I have a bit more time to compile a list of all of these fantastic resources! Next on my reading list is a speed-reading book so I can make the most of it.
I know one thing I find particularly helpful is a resource that provides programming support and ideas for EE. When reading about EE programs and activities, being the passionate environmental educators we are (or we wouldn't be on this forum), our mind-wheels start churning out more ideas, adaptations, and variations. One book is by the famous Richard Louv, "Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature Rich Life". It is further titled "500 Ways to Enrich the Health & Happiness of Your Family & Community*
*and Combat Nature-Deficit Disorder". The book is full of inspiration for getting kids involved in nature. Rather than listing specific protocol for certain activities, the book provides descriptions of each activity and its intent. However, it doesn't get so detailed that the reader loses his or her ability to apply some creative thinking. If you're looking for a modern, useful, easy-to-read resource for EE activity and programming inspiration, "Vitamin N" is your book!

Thanks for sharing, Amber! I will have to check some of these out. I am in the certification course too! ;)

Wow! This is an invaluable source of reading material. Thank you all. I see reoccurring titles, and I could not agree more. I have to hark again on Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods because it not only complemented my environmental education experience but also inspired me to pursue further learning in the fields of community development and urban planning. I will definitely have to check out his “Vitamin N” and “Nature Principle”. I would like to share a handful of titles that have not yet been mentioned. Some of these do not focus directly on environmental education per say, but they certainly strengthened my understanding of important environmental issues.

Interpreting for Park Visitors – William J. Lewis: This is a classic in the field of interpretation and a must read for any park ranger. The focus is placed on the interface between parks and those who visit, but it provides great strategies for communicating effectively with audiences that can easily be applied in broader environmental education settings.

Wild Earth Wild Soul – Bill Pfeiffer: This one may be too “out there” for some, but I found the overarching message to be powerful. It addresses the need to feel connected with each other and the earth in times when society seems lost, confused and distracted by so many modern so-called conveniences.

The End of Night – Paul Bogard: This book combines personal narrative, natural history, cultural history, environmental science and more to discuss the dangers of disappearing darkness and the negative effects of artificial light on all lifeforms.

Thank you for the suggestions Joe Baust! Nature Principle – Richard Louv is first on my list.

Hello,
You have really got a great list going from everyone's comments.
I have been working as an EE in parks for over 3 years and my favorites are:
-"Interpretation-Making a difference on purpose" by Sam H. Ham
-"Speak Well" by O'Brien
-"The 175 Best Camp Games" by Kathleen, Laura, and Mary Fraser
-"The Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv
-"Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold
-"Conducting Meaningful Interpretation" by Ward and Wilkinson
-"Adventures of a Nature Guide" - Enos Mills

National parks and California State parks have some helpful interpretation information available on their web pages. You may have to do some digging, but it is worth it.

As far a training goes I am currently enrolled in the Arizona Association for Environmental Education certification course. It has been a great reminder of things I learned at University and on the job. Colleagues of mine have taken the NAI interpretive guide training and had good things to say about it.

I also take seminars and workshops from local environmental groups when I can. For example, there are a lot of resources out there from the Arizona Game and Fish Dept. that are marketed towards school teachers that are helpful to EE too! In your area there may be something like this as well. Even out local power companies provide EE training to teachers. Most of these are for free.

Sincerely,
Amber