Educating ourselves and our communities about conservation of aquatic resources
through environmental education outreach programs.
Abstract: Despite growing public awareness about environmental concerns,
environmental literacy is still a major impediment to protection of our
life support base. The challenge of how to improve environmental education
and outreach was examined at a workshop co-sponsored by the Ecological
Society of America and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
in St. Louis in 1998. The workshop examined three related, critical themes
within the framework of environmental education and outreach: effective
communication styles; ethical responsibility for engaging management and
policy decisions; and the need for informed professionals to be more proactive
in problem resolution. A basic message that came from the workshop was
that protection of our aquatic resources depends on effective education
of all sectors of society. Additionally, multi-disciplinary educational
efforts that involve many institutions (e.g., the media, governmental and
nongovernmental agencies, private sector, scientists, and professional
societies) can be very effective in shaping policies to protect freshwater
resources.
Bjorkland, R. and C. M. Pringle. 2001. Educating ourselves and our communities about conservation of aquatic resources through environmental education outreach programs. BioScience 51:135-138.
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