Albertans are becoming more aware of the serious consequences of
environmental issues like climate change, and they want the government
to do something about it, starting in our elementary schools.
A new Ipsos Reid poll released Friday by the Alberta Council for
Environmental Education indicates an overwhelming
percentage of Albertans want environmental education and citizenship
skills taught in Alberta’s schools.
The poll findings were reported at
the “Building Bridges, Crossing Boundaries” International
Eco-Conference, presented by the Faculty of Social Work at the
University of Calgary, May 7 through 9.
“Our research clearly shows that Albertans want the government to make
environmental education a bigger priority in our school systems,” says
ACEE executive director Gareth Thomson.
“Fortunately, the elementary
science curriculum is currently under review. It’s imperative that
revisions to the curriculum include more environmental education and
opportunities for student action projects, so we can build the
sustainable society that we Albertans say we want.”
Mishka Lysack, Eco-Conference co-chair and assistant professor at the
University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work, says it's
imperative to move from mere understanding of environmental issues to
behaviour change.
“Starting from an early age, people need to learn how
to encourage government to ‘do the right thing’ to protect the
environment,” he says.
Poll findings include:
• Support was high for projects such as neighbourhood clean-ups (90 percent), educating others about local environmental issues (78 percent), and presenting to politicians on environmental issues (67 percent—over two-thirds of Albertans).
• Most Albertans also believe that environmental education should help students increase their environmental knowledge and understanding of environmental issues (88 percent), and build citizenship skills that can help develop solutions to our most pressing environmental issues (81 percent).
• Albertans are generally uninformed about important environmental issues. Less than half of Albertans claimed to know a great deal about any of the issues they were asked about, including global climate change (45 percent), urban sprawl around Alberta towns and cities (42 percent), pollution of water in Alberta (33 percent), and endangered species in Alberta (29 percent). The majority of Albertans (53 percent) incorrectly believe that “recycling all your paper and tins helps the environment more than moving to a smaller, more fuel-efficient home.”
• The polling also shows a deficit in Albertans’ skills and participation in public action to protect the environment. Only eight percent of Albertans say they organize community action to protect the environment as much as they can and 14 percent of Albertans say they communicate their concerns about the environment to their elected officials as much as they can.
