April 26, 2002
Dear Environmental Educator/Dept. Chair,
The enclosed two-page survey is for middle and high school environmental educators in Suffolk County. We are trying to reach environmental educators through science teachers, social studies teachers, and department chairs. We hope to learn about: 1) the current status of environmental education in Suffolk County; 2) ways teachers link environmental education to New York State standards; and 3) additional resources teachers need to expand environmental education.
The results of this survey will directly benefit local educators; we will create an online database of curricula, programs, resources, and contacts. Survey respondents will receive printed brochures summarizing the project’s results and invitations to events promoting environmental education.
Respondents may complete the attached paper survey, or respond online at: www.631enviroed.org. Internet responses are easier to process and are strongly encouraged. (If the web site is not available, try: http://www.southampton.liu.edu/news/eesurvey.) Next fall, the web site will feature valuable results from this survey and a second survey targeting environmental program providers.
If you are aware of teachers in other disciplines, i.e. health, technology, language arts, visual arts, etc., who address environmental issues, please provide them with copies of the survey. The survey has been sent to the curriculum administrator throughout Suffolk County..
This study is a project of Southampton Graduate Campus and the Institute for Sustainable Development at Long Island University. The broader goal of this project is to promote environmental literacy in Suffolk County. We define environmental literacy as:
Possessing sufficient knowledge about the
environment so that students are capable of,
and inclined to, further environmental learning and action.
Thank you very much for your assistance and participation.
Sincerely,
Dr. Scott Carlin
Co-Director, Institute for Sustainable Development at Long
Island University