Written by Preethi Mony, EE grant and program manager, NAAEE

Environmental literacy for everyone, everywhere is an inspiring vision that ee360+ is actively bringing to life. Through its innovative coalition of higher education institutions, nonprofits, and federal agencies, ee360+ creates powerful synergies in training, resource development, and professional standards. This collaborative approach is transforming the practice and professionalization of the field of environmental education. By connecting researchers, practitioners, and policymakers across North America through its extensive partner networks, ee360+ facilitates dynamic knowledge exchange and amplifies the field's collective impact.

Funded by EPA, ee360+, NAAEE manages the coalition of 12 training partners and 14 dissemination partners. Each of the 12 training partners brings to the table expertise in a particular aspect of environmental education and specializes in working with specific audience groups. For example, Earth Force has created an effective model for teaching environmental civic action, while Florida A&M University has developed an EcoRead program to integrate environmental literacy with reading literacy education for preservice education students. University of Florida uses its CAPE (Community Action Projects for the Environment) curriculum to train museum educators. Antioch University New England specializes in training trainers in the use of the Community Engagement: Guidelines for Excellence, while Cornell University brings together researchers and practitioners to drive discussions around the application of these Guidelines in the field. Project Learning Tree, Project WET, and Project WILD specialize in developing environmental education materials that are correlated to various state and national standards thereby making it easier for formal and nonformal educators to incorporate EE into their programs. The Center for Diversity & the Environment specializes in training organizations to harness the power of diversity to transform the environmental movement. The NAAEE Affiliate Network represents over 20,000 EE professionals working in communities around the U.S. and Canada. While these descriptions barely scratch the surface of what each of these amazing organizations does, they do highlight the breadth of work and audiences impacted through ee360+.

Similarly, ee360+ dissemination partners represent professional organizations and federal agencies that work with professionals around the country, and in some cases around the world. This includes professionals in the fields of conservation, science, and social studies education, university extension programs, zoos and museums, and others. Dissemination partner networks help to connect these professionals to the work being done by the ee360+ training partners, thereby increasing access to resources and professional development opportunities.

As the lead organization, NAAEE coordinates the efforts of these training and dissemination partners, and rounds out the work of advancing the field by focusing on capacity building and setting standards. They host fellowship and leadership programs, and publish best practices for the field. They manage program accreditation and educator certification programs in conjunction with University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and the NAAEE Affiliate Network. Finally, NAAEE also maintains the eePRO online platform which serves as a global hub for all things EE.

While the work of NAAEE and each of the partners differs, they are united by a common vision of building an environmentally literate and engaged public that is working towards a more sustainable future for all. All of the activities are organized under the following goals, which create a framework for understanding how these come together to advance the field of EE.

• Goal 1 addresses training formal and nonformal educators in environmental education and civic engagement.
• Goal 2 focuses on capacity building, leadership training, and developing standards for the field.
• Goal 3 targets developing new resources and increasing access to these resources and the professional development opportunities from the first 2 goals, by leveraging partner networks and maintaining a robust online presence to share information.

At the 2024 NAAEE Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, partners, advisors, and others involved in ee360+ came together at an ee360+ Partner Gathering to celebrate the successes of the coalition and to look ahead at further strengthening partnerships and collaborations. An activity to identify existing collaborations showed that every ee360+ partner had worked with at least one other partner to develop training programs, conduct joint events, consult on something specific or even share resources. Partners expressed their gratitude for the camaraderie and support they experienced working together through ee360+. There was mutual respect for the work being done by each partner and interest in exploring more opportunities for collaboration.

The Partner Gathering highlighted the success of the ee360+ coalition in bringing together and amplifying the efforts of small and large organizations (or sometimes even single individuals), to make meaningful progress towards meeting large and complex goals. ee360+ serves as a model for advancing the field and strengthening the practice of environmental education.