EMA 111: ENVIROMENTAL EDUCATION

The word environment is derived from the French word ‘Environ’ which means the
‘surrounding’. Environment is a complex of many variables, which surround man as well as
the living organisms. Environment education describes the interrelationships among
organism.
Definitions of environment
1. Environment is the total combination of natural objects (living and non-living),
objects made by human beings, the interrelationship between these conditions and
various circumstances which surround people on earth.

2. Environment has been defined as the sum total of all conditions & influences that
affect the development & life of organisms. Or the complex of social or cultural
conditions that affect an individual or community. All external conditions and factors,
living and non-living (chemicals and energy) that affect an organism or other
specified system during its lifetime. Environment is a very broad concept. For
example we human beings are likely to interact with millions of other organisms,
drink a large number of litres of water, breath huge quantities of air and respond to
daily changes in temperature and humidity during our lifetime. This list only begins to
describe various components that make up the environment of an organism.

3. Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical

and biological sciences, (including but not limited to Ecology, Physics, Chemistry,
Biology, Soil Science, Geology, Atmospheric Science and Geography) to the study of
the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. Environmental science
provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of
environmental systems.
Related areas of study include environmental studies and environmental engineering.
Environmental studies incorporate more of the social sciences for understanding
human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment.
Environmental engineering focuses on design and technology for improving
environmental quality.
Environmental scientists work on subjects like the understanding of earth processes,
evaluating alternative energy systems, pollution control and mitigation, natural
resource management, and the effects of global climate change. Environmental issues
almost always include an interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes.
Environmental Education (EE)
1. Definitions of Environmental Education (EE) is defined as an education that helps
individuals to become more knowledgeable about their environment and develop
responsible environmental behaviour and skills so that they can improve the quality of
the environment (UNESCO, 1978)
2. This is a basic science about our earth and its daily activities and describes the
interrelationships among organisms, the environment and all factors, which influence
life on earth, including atmospheric conditions, food chain, the water cycle, the
carbon cycle etc
COMPONENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
The components of the environment are:
1. Living natural physical things:
Plants (different types of vegetation)
Human beings and other types of animals
Small living things like fungi (e g mushroom), bacteria and viruses
2. Non-Living physical things
Land surface and different kinds of rocks
Water in the forms of lakes, lagoon, river, sea, ocean etc
Atmospheric gas
1. Features made by human beings — human settlement and infrastructures, road, bridges etc.
2. Cultural relationship and institutions — political, economic, social/law, religion e.t.c
What is Environmental Education
As educational process, environmental education. (EE) deals with man’s relationship with his
natural and man-made surroundings. Environmental education has been defined in a number
of ways. However, since the early 1970s, they have all tended to emphasize similar points to
those in the Nevada Conference of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
and National Resources.
Accordingly, “Environmental education is the process of recognizing values and clarifying
concepts in order to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the
interrelatedness among man, his culture and his biophysical surroundings”.
Environmental education, therefore:
1. Is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental issues, engages in problem
solving, and takes action to improve the environment. As a result, individuals develop a
deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to make informed and
responsible decisions. EE is a process in which individuals gain awareness of their
environment and acquire knowledge, skills, values, experiences, and also the determination,
which will enable them to act - individually and collectively to solve present and future
environmental problems.
2. Provides learners with awareness and knowledge about the environment including the
relationship of humans to the natural world, and fosters the development of the skills,
attitudes and motivations that enable learners to make informed decisions and take
responsible actions that incorporate environmental considerations. Environmental education,
therefore, entails practice in decision-making and self-formulating of a code of behaviour
about issues concerning environmental quality.
Proceedings of the Organization of American States Conference on Education and
Environment in the Americas, 1971, stated: “Environmental education involves teaching
about value judgments and the ability to think clearly about complex problems - about the
environment which are as political, economic, and philosophical as they are technical.”
3. Focuses on children and youth is a particularly important because it’s an opportunity to
intervene at a key developmental stage of life and because children can be an important
influence on the environmental behaviour of their parents. In summary environmental
education is an action process related to the work of almost all subject areas. It is concerned
with the dynamic relationships between man and nature
NEEDS AND RATIONALE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION & AWARENESS
Need of Environmental Education
The needs to protect the environment hence the rationales for environmental education arise
as a result of the following:
1. Environment is the basis of all life and therefore deserves proper care and management.
2. If the environment is threatened on a continuous basis, numerous problem which would
constitute a danger to human existence could arise.
3. The environment is part of our cultural heritage which should be handed down to
prosperity.
4. Some resources of the environment are not easily replaceable and should be managed on a
sustainable basis, to prevent the extinction of certain components of the environment such as
plants and animals.
5. There is need to enhance the sanity and aesthetic quality of our environment in order to
promote healthy living.
6. The environment is part of nature and needs to be preserved for its own sake.
OBJECTIVE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION & AWARENESS
The general objectives of environmental education include the following:
1. To enlighten the people on the physical components of the environment
2. To inform them about their dependence on the environmental resources
3. To enlighten them about the changes in the environment in the last decade and the
consequences of their present actions.
4. To alert them about the consequences of human actions on the environment both on man
himself and other forms of life.
5. To create concern for environmental quality and conservation and to foster understanding
of man’s relationship and interactions with the ecosphere
6. To develop personal, community and national sanitation and conservation ethics.
7. To rekindle a sense of responsibility that will motivate ordinary citizen to seek and acquire
more knowledge about the environment and its problems and propagate such knowledge to
others in the community.
8. To awaken appreciation of the aesthetic quality of nature in order to encourage its uses for
recreation.
The objectives of environmental education are summarized by UNESCO/UNEP as follows:
1. Awareness: Environmental education should foster appreciation of environment. It should
help different groups and individuals to acquire awareness of and sensitivity to the overall
environment and its allied problems. In Kenya, the knowledge of the various ecological zones
(from mangrove coastal vegetation, rainforest in some parts, through derived savannah to
Sahel is desirable). This will also enhance the appreciation of the type and quality of life
(effects of each zone on human life) in these zones.
2. Knowledge: Environmental education should help social groups and individual gain a
variety of experience in and acquire a basic understanding of the environmental and its
associated problems. The people should he informed of their roles in causing environmental
problems around them — deforestation, overgrazing, bush burning, desertification, erosion,
loss of soil fertility etc
3. Attitude: Environmental education should help acquire a set of values and feelings of
concern for the environment and the motivation for active participation in environmental
improvement and protection programmes. Individuals and groups need to adopt ethical values
that awaken strong feelings for the environment and all its living and non-living components
4. Skill: Environmental education should foster and assist in and conservation practices and
the skill needed to prevent environmental degradation e.g. erosion control through the uses of
biological and mechanical methods. The people should be taught how to mobilize their
human and natural resources to prevent ecological problems.
5. Evaluation: Environmental education should enable the people to assess government
programmes and land management practices that are being introduced.
6. Participation: Environmental education should provide opportunity for social groups and
individuals to be actively involved at all levels involved in working towards resolution of
environmental problems.
OBJECTIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT SCHOOL
Objectives of environmental education at Primary Level
(a) To know and understand true aspects of the environment in general.
(b) To know and understand the interaction between mammals, between human and their
environment and interaction between the various elements and components of the
environment.
(c) Build understanding, awareness and sensitivity towards causes and efforts of the class that
continuously take place in society the world around us.
(d) To build and develop skills in thinking, reasoning, enquiring, evaluating and making
decisions concerning human and the world around them.
(e) Inculcate two attitudes in using the knowledge and skills towards solving problem and
issues relating to individuals, society and the environment.
(f) To build the values and attitudes towards the need and necessity to live together in
harmony in the context of the heterogeneous society.
Focus
1. Human, animal and plants undergo a number of life-processes.
2. Human, animals and plants are continuously adapting themselves to the environment.
3. Human alter and modify the environment with great caution and came in order to fulfil
numerous living needs.
4. Identification between human and nature and between environmental elements giving rise
to various phenomena which affect them.
5. Society would take active steps to conserve the environment and the balance of nature
through careful plans and processing.
Objectives of Environmental Education at Secondary Level
Environmental education to be taught as integrated science in which environmental education
concepts are included.
Objectives
1. To emphasize the relevance of science to daily life.
2. To develop a scientific attitude in student.
3. To create an environmental conducive to greater reliance on the use of principles and
practices of science.
4. To acquaint the students with various natural phenomena.
5. To develop an outlook which emphasizes the method employed in different disciplines of
science.
Aspects of Environmental Education Emphasized At Secondary School level.
(a) Population - growth, arises and problems of unplanned population.
(b) Law - Land use, land reclination and land and soil conservation.
(c) Resources - resource uses, conservation, recycling.
(d) Food and Nutrition - Food production, food adulteration and preservation, balance diet
etc.
(e) Conservation - Causes of wildlife, plant, soil, water and conservation of other non-
renewable natural beauty
(f) Pollution - Pollution of water, air and soil, noise pollution, pollution by insecticide and
other chemicals and waste disposal
(g) Health and Hygiene - Individual, family county and social health and hygiene, health
hazards etc
(h) Humans and Nature - Other compounds of atmosphere, environmental quality and future
on earth