Environmental Literacy Summit Planned for March 10

Join us on March 10, 2015 from 10am-3:30pm at the Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque. We’ll present the second draft of New Mexico’s Environmental Literacy Plan and make plans to move it forward. Our keynote speaker is Judy Braus, Executive Director for the North American Association for Environmental Education.

As a long-time environmental education and conservation leader, Judy understands how to reach people, empower them to shape policy and advance environmental literacy efforts. In a 2014 interview on the Voices Across EE podcast, Judy said,

Judy Braus Dec 2011“I think of environmental education as excellent education that is focused on creating a more sustainable society. It also helps people understand what it means to be active and engaged citizens.

 

…People need to understand why a healthy environment is important and how it links to our quality of life. And then we need to help people understand how to get involved in the political process to create change. We’re facing all these enormous challenges…and environmental education helps us navigate through the issues and feel like we can have the power to create the change that we need to see in the world. It’s like Ghandi’s quote, ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world.’ I truly believe that.”

Elena Kayak, Rio Rancho Public Schools’ energy/environmental specialist, will introduce the major revisions in the second draft of the Environmental Literacy Plan. During break-out sessions, we will strategize about building statewide support for adoption. We’ll also hear from Debaura James, retired teacher and past recipient of EEANM’s Outstanding Environmental Educator Award, about a youth-led effort to make climate change education and environmental literacy part of state requirements.

This project is funded by a grant from the Albert I Pierce Foundation.

Fine Food for a Sustainable Future

After the summit on March 10, join us for dinner with NAAEE Executive Director Judy Braus at Scalo Northern Italian Grill in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill. We’ll enjoy fantastic food, hear more from Judy, and celebrate the EE community. Tickets, $35, include dinner and a glass of wine. Purchase in advance at eeanm.org. This fundraiser, sponsored in part by Scalo, will support EEANM’s environmental literacy efforts across the state.


This article was originally published in EE Connections February 2015 [PDF].