The author, drawing on 7 years of experience as a community volunteer, recommends ways in which teachers can increase their own understanding of environmental problems and thus become more competent teachers of the subject. These include extending their understanding of the community outside the school; emphasizing local issues as a prelude to involvement in state and national issues; cooperating with the new media; knowing adversaries, including legislators, public officials, school administrators, industrialists, and businessmen; being aware that civil rights and the environment are not separate issues but part of the same problem; circulating information by more effective use of the mimeograph and photocopier; and corresponding with public officials and elected representatives. The National Environmental Education Act and the First Annual Report of the U. S. Council on Environmental Quality are quoted to illustrate the extent and urgency of the problem, and a list of educational priorities is given which includes the need to establish sound, ecologically-oriented attitudes; to achieve an understanding of man's interrelation with his environment; to adopt innovative approaches; to make imaginative use of television and other media; and to involve all segments of society. (MBM)