The environmental literacy Master Plan for Oklahoma is the culmination of two years of careful deliberation by over 100 individuals representing schools at all levels of education, businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, which actively participated in its creation with simultaneous implementation through OKCEL—the Oklahoma Consortium for Environmental Literacy. Funding for the Plan’s development came from EETAP (Environmental Education and Training Partnership) which is underwritten by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education through a cooperative agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Beginning in the fall of 2003, the founding grant project manager Suzanne Spradling, Ph.D. led a two day Fall Institute at the Oklahoma City Zoo where vision and mission statements for the OKCEL Master Plan were developed by the 60-plus people in attendance. The trust and confidence in the process was evidenced by the scope of participation and the diversity of interests represented. The vision for the Master Plan for Environmental Literacy in Oklahoma is to increase sustained positive environmental behaviors through the cooperative efforts of an inclusive and diverse environmentally literate community

Our mission defined how this vision would be implemented: To promote environmental literacy through the cooperative actions of the entire environmental education community.