Summary
Environmental education (EE) prepares people of all ages to understand environmental issues and take informed action. In Pennsylvania’s AML/AMD context, EE connects communities to the science of watershed health, builds the next generation of practitioners and volunteers, and sustains long-term public support for restoration work. This page introduces what environmental education is and how this section of AML-Connect is organized.
What Environmental Education Is #
Environmental education is a lifelong process with the goal of preparing environmentally literate people to make informed decisions and take positive action to protect natural resources. It is not advocacy for a particular position — it develops skills in observation, inquiry, and evidence-based decision-making that people can apply to any environmental question.
Effective environmental education combines classroom learning with direct experience in the environment — field investigations, water monitoring, site visits, and hands-on experiments. Pennsylvania’s adoption of the PA STEELS (Science, Technology, and Environmental Education and Literacy Standards) framework embeds environmental literacy across all science disciplines from PreK through grade 12.
What’s in This Section #
This section organizes EE resources relevant to AML/AMD and watershed work in Pennsylvania into four areas:
- Educator Resources and Training — Programs, workshops, curricula, and professional development for teachers and non-formal educators
- Student and Youth Programs — K-12 and college programs with hands-on watershed and environmental science components
- Community and Public Programs — Programs for adults, volunteers, and the general public
- AMD-Specific Education — Programs and materials focused specifically on acid mine drainage and AML
Related Pages #
- Educator Resources and Training
- Student and Youth Programs
- Community and Public Programs
- AMD-Specific Education
- Developing a Monitoring Plan (Watershed Tools) — for groups moving from education to monitoring
Source and Last Reviewed
Last reviewed: 2026-03
Tags: education, volunteer, practitioner, pa
