Lesson 1 ROOTS OF

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Carbon dioxide plays a crucial role
in the Earth's climate

Without carbon dioxide, Earth

would indeed be cold and
inhospitable. Carbon dioxide plays
a crucial role in the Earth's
atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. It
absorbs and re-emits infrared
radiation, trapping heat and
preventing it from escaping into
space. This phenomenon, known as
the greenhouse effect, helps to
maintain a relatively stable and
habitable temperature on Earth.
• Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE), the world’s greatest threat is
climate change.
• The planet’s natural ecosystems are being severely degraded--danger: the
ability of the planet to sustain life.

Forest Fire Drought Typhoon

• Species of all kinds are dying out -
one thousand times faster than
their natural rate of extinction.
• 150 years ago: man began to mine
fossil carbon and burn it for energy.

• Industrial Revolution: rapid development of industry that occurred in Britain in

the late 18th and 19th centuries by the introduction of machineries, use of
steam power, growth of factories, and the massive production of manufactured
goods.
• Today, we release carbons into the air
more than 100 times faster than natural
processes return it to the Earth.
• Carbons is rapidly building up in the
atmosphere faster than ever before in
Earth’s history.

• Botkin (1990) defines nature as “the

natural world on the Earth as it exists
without human beings or civilization”.
• Life and environment are
interdependent; The environment is
the habitat in which living things
maintain their trade and interact with
each other throughout their lifetimes
(Genc, 2015).

• The UN says: our world is about 1 degree hotter

than pre- industrial times to hit 1.5 degrees in
only 10 years (2030). Can’t slow that warming
down, it could mean catastrophe, to all of us.
 What is Environmental Education?

• Environmental education is • It is the process of

an important, emerging recognizing values
discipline.

• Clarifying concepts
in order to develop
skills and attitudes

• Understand and appreciate the inter-relatedness

among man, his culture, and his biophysical
surroundings.

• It aims to increase citizen

environmental literacy, doing
so by increasing awareness
and knowledge, providing an
opportunity to explore values
and practice skills relating to
environmental issues.
• As a result of environmental
education, it is hoped that people will
take action to protect and improve the
environment, including the social,
ecological, and economic aspects.

• EE’s foundational aim is action

toward the solution of environmental
problems. Environmental Education
is a process that allows individuals to
explore environmental issues,
engage in problem solving, and take
action to improve the environment.

• Environmental Education enhances problem-solving and decision-making skills

where individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and
have the skills to make informed and responsible decisions.
5 COMPONENTS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION
1. General Awareness – Raising awareness of the need for environmental
conservation is the first step in any program and knowing of the
relationship between the environment and the human life.
2. Knowledge –
Understanding of human
and natural systems and
processes and developing
a deeper understanding of
the principles and complex
issues involved.
3. Attitude – Appreciation and concern for the environment and building
personal and societal commitment to conservation.
4. Skills – Problem solving and critical
thinking skills; skills of environmental
citizenship.
5. Participation – Capacity for
personal and collective action
and civic participation; facilitating
changes in behavior and action
that promote sustainable
development as a new mode of
living.
 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TIMELINE: The Roots of
Environmental Education; How the past supports the future

A. EARLY INFLUENCES
(1762) JEAN- JACQUES ROUSSEAU
EMILE- Education should include a focus on environment. Educators
should facilitate opportunities for the student to learn and discusses the
stages of human development and its implications.
(1807) LOUIS AGASSIZ
He urges his students to learn directly from nature.
(1920s) ECOLOGY begins to develop as a scientific field.
B. THE CONSERVATION EDUCATION ERA 1930-1954
The conservation era has its origin in response to wind erosion and other
resource problems in the U. S.
(1930s) Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged
the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian grasslands
during the 1930s.
(1930s) JOHN DEWEY
Progressive Education Movement- which promotes student centered and
holistic approach to education. (learning by doing, lifelong learning,
Project- Based Learning or PBL).
C. MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
(1969) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT was passed to
encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his
environment.
(1970) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACT was passed.
(develop an environmental education curricula). APRIL 22, 1970- first celebrate
the first EARTH DAY.
(1971) NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION was
founded, a professional association for environmental educators.
(1972) UNITED NATIONS conferences were held providing environmental
education as means to address environmental issues worldwide.
(1975) The United Nations Educational, Scientific, ad Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)’s Belgrade Charter which outlines the basic structure
of environmental education.
(1971-1984) Another NEEA 1990 was passed, facilitates, and promotes awareness,
appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship in K12 students.
D. PRESENT PROGRAMS & BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE. 1990- present

(1991) National Environmental Education Advancement Project; Principles of

Environmental Justice
(1992) The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil recognized, in its framework for action Agenda 21, the critical role that
education can play in the transition to sustainable development.
(1994) Education for Sustainability: An Agency for Action
(1993- 2005) The North American Association for Environmental Education initiates
the national project for excellence in environmental education by creating guidelines on
it.
NEE hold trainings and partnerships worldwide on education for sustainable
development.
(2002) The United Nations General Assembly declared the ten years from 2005 to 2014
to be the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), calling on
governments to integrate the principles of sustainability into their educational strategies
and action plans.
(2014) The DESD came to an end and, as the follow up, UNESCO launched the Global
Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development for an initial phase
of five years (2015-2019) at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for
Sustainable Development held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
(2015) The 193 countries of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the
2030 Development Agenda, at its core includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) comprising 169 targets to be achieved by 2030.
Environmental Matters may also feature in other National
Curriculum Subjects, not because they are required, but
because schools choose to take up opportunities to include
an environmental dimension.

Environmental Education in the Philippines

Republic Act 9512 – National

Environmental Awareness and
Education Act of 2008. This is an act
to promote environmental awareness
through environmental education and
for other purposes.
November – Environmental
Awareness Month
Responsible Centers in promoting EE in the Philippines:
1. DepEd, CHED, TESDA
2. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
3. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
4. Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

Some of the programs and Initiatives of the government:

1. Expanded National Greening Program (ENGP)
DepEd Components in relation to ENGP includes Gulayan sa Paaralan,
Tree Planting, and ALS Lingap Kalikasan
2. Philippine Association of Tertiary Level Educational Institutions in
Environmental Protection and Management (PATLEPAM)
Objectives:
• enhance environmental awareness and skills of tertiary level
students and faculty members.
• assist in curriculum development for environmental management
among tertiary level educators.
• conduct collaborative programs on instruction, research and
development and extension in environmental management.
Achievements:
• endorsed a resolution to CHED on the integration of a 3-unit course
on environment and sustainable development into the general
education curriculum
• conducted trainings on environmental impact assessment,
environmental education, environmental management systems and
biodiversity conservation

“ One of the most urgent issues facing humanity is

fixing our broken relationship with the earth, on
which all life depends on.”
- Sir Ken Robinson
 ACTIVITY 1- QUICK CHECK!

Instructions: Assess your surroundings. Do you see

things seemingly as good or strange? In the given
illustration below, identify a specific sustainability issue
(social, environmental, or economic problem) that you
observe in our modern times, (one issue and write it
in the center), and around it list down 4 root causes
of the problem, it can be natural or human activity. On
the lower portion of the diagram, in line with the study
of environmental education, how can the field of your
course as your career path, contribute to the possible
solution/s to address the issue you presented? If you
find it hard to use the diagram, you can provide your
own but make sure to present the issue, its root
causes, and the possible solution/s in connection to
your career path.