The Environmental Literacy for Illinois strategic plan is a systemic five-year plan, designed to fully incorporate environmental education into Illinois learning opportunities. This plan prioritizes those needs and outlines strategies to provide the necessary direction for the establishment of environmental literacy as an integral part of lifelong learning.

The Environmental Literacy for Illinois (EL for IL) strategic plan was originally released in July of 1995. In January of 1998 six of the 10 original committee chairs met in Bloomington to revise and update the plan to reflect upon objectives that had been met, as well as the technological advances achieved in the past few years. The original plan was endorsed by over 200 leaders throughout the state, from agency personnel and nature center staff, to educators and Illinois State Board of Education staff. During Conservation Congress 2000, Environmental Literacy for Illinois won the full support of the congressional body and was unanimously passed for statewide adoption. 

In May of 2005, a revision team convened to amend the plan to reflect the accomplishments of the plan’s goals since its conception and modify it for the next five years. The revision was available for review to over 150 environmental educators throughout the state.

In October of 2009, the Conservation Congress voted on a number of recommendations to increase youth involvement and interest in outdoor activities. The top recommendation in the Youth Recruitment and Retention subcommittee made by the congress was to update the Environmental Literacy for Illinois strategic plan. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources engaged the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to develop this plan, with input from over 30 organizations. Governor Pat Quinn signed Executive Order 10-7 on April 14, 2010, supporting the adoption of the Environmental Literacy for Illinois strategic plan.

Download the plan here: http://www.eeai.net/environmental-literacy-plan-for-il-2010.html