GEEP Webinar—Strengthening Environmental Education in Your Country

Learning

GEEP Webinar—Strengthening Environmental Education in Your Country

Aerial photo of turquoise waters and colorful buildings with a blue overlay with text that reads "Strengthening EE in Your Country A Discussion Guide Dec. 11 10-11:30 AM EST"

Learn from the GEEP, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), and NAAEE in this engaging webinar on strengthening environmental education (EE) efforts in your country, region, state, or province. Explore the newly published guide, Strengthening EE in Your Country: A Discussion Guide, designed to help assess EE programs, policies, and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Learn more about the Greening Education Partnership (GEP), gain insights on strengthening EE/ESD programs in your region, and learn practical steps to advance your work. 

Watch the recording >

This webinar was held on December 11, 2024.  

 

Speakers:

PPramod Kumar Sharmaramod Kumar Sharma | Senior Director of Education, Foundation for Environmental Education

Dr. Pramod Kumar Sharma is working as Senior Director of Education with the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). Dr. Sharma is an Education for Sustainable Development professional with a broad experience of 20 years. Before joining FEE, he was working with FEE member organization Centre for Environment Education in India where he handled a portfolio of school programmes dealing with quality education and education for sustainable development.  He has participated and presented papers in more than 15 international conferences organized in 13 countries dealing with education and sustainable development. His current area of interest is the development of measurable outcome indicators for SDG Target 4.7 and peace education. 

 

Olivia CopseyOlivia Copsey | Director of Education, Foundation for Environmental Education

As Director of Education for the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Olivia Copsey has over twenty years of experience in the design and management of education for sustainable development (ESD) projects in the Channel Islands, the Western Indian Ocean, and East Africa for NGOs, government, inter-governmental organizations, and international agencies. She specializes in participatory processes for monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and empowering multi-stakeholder collaborations for sustainable community development.

 

 

Bora Simmons

Bora Simmons | Founding Director, National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education

Bora Simmons serves as the founding director of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) initiated the Project in 1993 to help educators develop and deliver effective environmental education programs. The Project has drawn on the insights of literally thousands of educators across the United States and around the world to craft guidelines for top-quality environmental education.

After twenty years as a professor of environmental education and teacher education at Northern Illinois University, Bora retired in 2007 and moved the Project to the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon. Bora has been actively involved in environmental education research, evaluation, and professional development for over forty years. She served as president of NAAEE, serves on numerous steering committees and boards of directors, and was an executive editor of the Journal of Environmental Education. She serves as co-chair of NAAEE’s Advisory Council and is a founding editor of the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education.

 

Ian Humphreys

Ian Humphreys | Board Member, Foundation for Environmental Education

Ian Humphreys is currently a board member of the Foundation for Environmental Education, which supports Eco-Schools around the world, as well as a number of initiatives, including Young Reporters for the Environment and more. Ian is the former Executive Director of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB). He spent 14 years with The Conservation Volunteers before he joined KNIB. He has strong environmental and research credentials, including a PhD from The Queen's University of Belfast. At Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful Ian helped oversee the rapid growth in Eco-Schools, with every school now participating. His focus was on tackling issues through partnership, which led to a successful civic pride campaign, Live Here Love Here, which was launched in 2014. He has conducted research focusing on the effects of interventions on behavior and developing civic leadership in young people. He is involved in the running of Copeland Bird Observatory in a voluntary capacity. Ian says, "All our work seeks to bring about changes in people's behavior to create a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Northern Ireland."

 

About the Guide

 Strengthening EE In Your Country: A Discussion Guide is designed to help you and your colleagues and partners answer the following questions and others. 

  • What does a strong environmental education program in a country or region look like? 
  • How does a strong program link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals? 
  •  What needs to be in place to ensure that people of all ages have opportunities to develop the awareness, knowledge, skills, and motivations to tackle the environmental and social issues we face as a global society? 
  • What is the status of environmental education in your country or region? 
  • How does EE change our society, its values, and broader systems (such as economic, political, and educational) that share our interactions with the environment? 
  • How does EE in your country contribute to long-term social prosperity?

This guide will help you assess environmental education (EE) efforts in your country or region and how well your programming and policies address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Use it to discuss where your strengths are, what gaps might exist, and how to make improvements.