Environmental Education

Changing the attitude of society to the environment is crucial to the long term prosperity of Northern Ireland – the environment is the valuable resource on which our economy is based. Sustained environmental education at various levels (from school to general public) is needed.

NIEL Recommendations

  • Reconnect children with environment and heritage – this has value for the environment in terms of changing how children and society view the environment, and evidence suggests also has value for the student in terms of improved performance across the curriculum
  • Promote outdoor learning
  • Promote science applied in an environmental context
  • Encourage children to take environmental messages into their homes, challenging behaviour beyond the school environment
  • Continued development of the Eco–Schools programme recognising schools as beacons of sustainability within their communities
  • A joint Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and Department of Education ‘Environmental Education Strategy’ for Northern Ireland, which promotes an expectation of outdoor learning and fieldwork both within the curriculum and through lifelong learning
  • A minimum requirement set for outdoor education time for every child

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