The following knowledge, skills and attitude outcomes, developed through environmental education, are the outcomes that we want our students to achieve.

Knowledge

Environmental education should enable students to learn about:

• the resources of the Earth, particularly soil, water, minerals, and air, their characteristics, and their role in supporting living organisms;
• the nature of ecosystems and biomes, their health, and their interdependence within the biosphere;
• the dependence of humans on environmental resources for life and sustenance;
• the characteristics of human societies, including nomadic, hunter-gatherer, agricultural, industrial, and post-industrial, and the impact of each on the natural environment;
• the role of science and technology in the development of societies and the impact of different technologies on the environment;
• the process of urbanization and the implications of deruralization;
• the interconnectedness of political, economic, environmental, and social issues in the present world; and
• cooperative national and international efforts to find solutions to common environmental issues and to implement strategies for a more sustainable future.

Skills

Environmental education should enable students to:

• define such fundamental concepts as environment, community, development, and technology, and apply these definitions in local, national, and global contexts;
• use a range of resources, communications skills, and technologies in addressing environmental questions;
• develop problem-solving skills and critical and creative thinking skills, including the ability to reason and apply logic, to recognize and apply abstract patterns, to identify connections and relationships between ideas and issues, and to test ideas against new information and against personal experience and beliefs;
• work towards a negotiated consensus when there are differences of opinion;
• detect and assess bias and evaluate different points of view;
• recognize the need to incorporate an environmental perspective in decisionmaking models.

Attitudes

Environmental education should enable students to:

• appreciate the resilience, fragility, and beauty of nature and develop respect for the place and function of all living things in the overall planetary ecosystem;
• appreciate that human life depends on the resources of a finite planet;
• appreciate the role of human ingenuity and individual creativity in ensuring survival and achieving sustainable progress;
• become mindful of perspectives other than their own and be prepared to modify their ideas and beliefs when appropriate (e.g., understand and respect First Nation, Métis, and Inuit concepts of knowledge);
• appreciate the challenges faced by the human community in defining and implementing the processes needed for environmental sustainability;
• develop a sense of balance in decisions that involve conflicting priorities;
• maintain a sense of hope and a positive perspective on the future.

Adapted from "Learning Outcomes" on the Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) website, at
http://www.lsf-lst.ca/en/teachers/learning_o