In Minnesota, supplemental K-12 programs like Environmental Field Days require significant investment and educate over 10,000 4th-6th graders about issues related to our natural resources, environment, and conservation. The key to success is collaboration between outside organizations like state and federal agencies, and nonprofits along with the…

This article reports on a study investigating the role of the local community in achieving the objectives of Education for Sustainable Development in Cyprus. The data presented was collected from 21 teachers who participated in a nationwide, exploratory research program aiming at offering them training in implementing environmental projects based…

This article addresses the content and use of children's literature to teach about recycling. Twenty children's books were examined using a coding system created to compare and generalize about the content of the books. It was found that although the books can be useful for providing basic information they fall short in asking children to think…

This study combined the activity involvement and place attachment scores of trout anglers at Montauk State Park (Missouri, USA) into a typology of recreation specialization. The framework was used to explain anglers' knowledge of park resources. Highly specialized anglers were more knowledgeable about the park than those who were less specialized.…

Results are presented from a formal evaluation of The Pennsylvania Bureau of State Park's Watershed Education (WE) curriculum developed for students in grades 6-12. The primary research objective was to measure the impact the training and subsequent use of the WE curriculum had on teachers' behavior, confidence, and self-efficacy in teaching about…

Field trips to the Michigan 4-H Children's Garden must provide rich science learning experiences for students and teachers. A key to this is getting students to ask questions. To facilitate student question asking we developed the Wonder Wall, a "wall" where students could write their questions. Student questions were answered as part of the field…

"Every boy and every girl...should be a producer. The growing of plants...should therefore become an integral part of the school program." With these words, the federal Bureau of Education launched the United States School Garden Army (USSGA) during World War I, targeting urban and suburban youth. It represented one of the earliest federal efforts…

During a fieldstudy of children's gardens in the United States in 2005, the author became aware that possibilities for providing learning experiences in children's gardens are bountiful and different styles are emerging. Anecdotally this appears to be a contested area with some within the discipline favoring a narrower definition of children's…

A Clemson University introductory landscape design class collaborated with South Carolina Botanical Gardens (SCBG) staff and coordinators of Sprouting Wings to design an exploratory Children's Garden within the SCBG. Service learning provides students with invaluable real-world experiences solving problems and interacting with clients while…

Using teachers as co-researchers to collect and analyze data, this case study explored preschool and kindergarteners' learning when they were engaged in hands-on activities in the garden and greenhouse areas of a model outdoor classroom. Key findings suggest that when young children are participating in garden and greenhouse activities they are:…

Despite the rapidly growing interest in children's gardens and attention to the positive benefits of gardening for children, little is known about the ways in which young people actually form interests in gardening. Using a sample of 9- and 10-year-old children at a school garden site in New York State, this study examined the ways in which…

Fueled by concerns of a pending global crisis, environmental educators ask the question: How can we promote a responsible attitude and caring view of the planet among young people? Although nurturing an emotional connection with nature is a prominent theme and goal for environmentalists (Berry, 1987), little is known about how to translate…

Much attention is currently being paid to rising rates of obesity, especially among youth. In this context, garden-based education can have a role in improving public health. A qualitative study conducted at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) Children's Garden provides supporting evidence for the claim that growing vegetables can improve the…

This article summarizes a 2000 study of school garden programs and their variation and the impact of such variation on 427 third-grade students' sense of responsibility and attitudes toward science and the environment. A teacher questionnaire was developed to gain insight into how teachers use school gardens with their students and in their…

This article presents the development process of a consumer-oriented, illustrative benchmarking tool enabling consumers to use the results of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to make informed decisions. LCA provides a wealth of information on the environmental impacts of products, but its results are very difficult to present concisely…