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Environmental Education: A Geographical Perspective

a
Rosalyn McKeown-ice
a
Center For Geography And Environmental Education , University Of Tennessee , Knoxville,
Tennessee
Published online: 11 Sep 2007.

To cite this article: Rosalyn McKeown-ice (1994) Environmental Education: A Geographical Perspective, Journal of Geography,
93:1, 40-42, DOI: 10.1080/00221349408979684

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221349408979684

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 Environmental Education: A Geographical
Perspective
by Rosalyn McKeown-Ice
CENTER FOR GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

Geography is an ideal disciplinary vehicle for environmental education; however, non-geographers are rarely
aware of the vast geographic interest, research, and literature related to the environment. Geographers study the
environment in four major ways: 1) the natural environment using scientific methods and techniques; 2) the
impact of human behavior on the environment; 3) environmental influences on human behavior; and 4) the
different cultural perceptions of the environment and how these perceptions are expressed in the surrounding
landscape. Within these avenues of inquiry, geographers examine spatial patterns of environmentally related
topics at different scales-local, regional, and global-and the interconnections of the global environment and
economy. The future role of geography in environmental education is shaped by four current activities: the
development of science and geography standards and assessment frameworks, the formulation of environmen-
tal literacy standards, and the creation of environmental education certification standards. Key words:
geographic education, environmental literacy standards, environmental education.
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Geographers and geography educators have been interested in
environmental research, issues, and education for decades.
This interest stems from geographers’ attempts to understand
spatial patterns. Geographers study both natural and cultural
landscapes, thus forming a disciplinary bridge between the
natural and social sciences. Non-geographers are rarely aware
of this interest or the vast geographic literature about environ-
mental topics. The purposes of this article are 1) to describe
common geographic approaches to the study of the environ-
ment, 2) to describe major contributions of geography educa-
tion to environmental education, and 3) to note four educa-
tional activities which will shape the role of geography in
environmental education.
Inquiry into the Environment
Geographers study the environment through four avenues of
inquiry. First, geographers study the natural environment
using scientific methods and techniques. Second, geogra-
phers study how human behaviors affect the environment.
Third, geographers study how the environment influences
human behaviors. Fourth, geographers study how populations
perceive their surrounding environments and how those per-
ceptions are expressed in the landscape. Within these avenues
of inquiry, geographers examine spatial patterns of environ-
mentally related topics at different scales-local, regional,
and global. Some of these avenues of study are unique to
geography while others are common with other disciplines in
the natural and social sciences.
Study of the Natural Environment
Like biologists, ecologists, geologists, chemists, and geo-
physicists, geographers study the natural environment. Geog-
raphy encompasses the study of both biotic and abiotic ele-
ments of the natural landscape, the distribution of those
elements, and how they change over space and time. Geogra-
phers also inquire into the processes that affect the surface of
the Earth. They study why the wind blows and what it brings
with it, where different types of trees grow and why; they map
the migration paths of different animals and ponder the
pressure those animals put on migration routes. They also
study the frequency of floods and droughts. Geographers
study the changing patterns of vegetation in the tropics since
the last glaciation. Geographers also study the distribution of
streamflow in various physiographic regions, searching for
explanations of why some rivers flow year round while others
flow only after rainfall. In this line of inquiry geographers
often ask, What is the distribution of a natural phenomenon in
nature? What do we know about this phenomenon? What
causes or influences the distribution of this phenomenon?
Geographers also study the processes that change natural
landscapes. These geomorphic natural processes include ero-
sion and deposition by streams, wind, and ice. For example,
geographers study erosional processes which change the
shapes of mountains and beaches.
Study of Human Impact on the Environment
Geographers study the impact of humans on the environment.
In the study of human influence and alteration of the environ-
ment, geography is a bridge between the natural and social
sciences, uniting the study of the natural environment and the
study of human behavior. Geographers look at how human
behaviors affect the environment. For example, biogeogra-
phers study how forest fire suppression affects succession,
and how pollution such as acid rain affects plant and animal
communities. Physical geographers study how damming riv-
ers affects the flood frequency and how soil compaction
affects erosion. Geographers also study how human-induced
environmental degradation affects the economy.

40 JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY
 Geographers also study the cultural processes that affect
landscapes. Some cultural processes are settlement, urbaniza-
tion, land-use change, and the diffusion of ideas around the
world and tangible items (such as food stuffs). For example,
geographers study the diffusion of the potato from the New
World to the Old World and how it changed agricultural and
dietary patterns.
Study of Environmental Influences on Human Behaviors
Geographers look at how the environment affects human
behavior. That is not to say that the environment dictates
human behavior (environmental determinism), but that the
environment influences human behavior. For example, re-
peated flooding and subsequent governmental regulations
often lead to prohibitions against building permanent residen-
tial and/or industrial structures on floodplains. People also
tend to build houses with characteristics that reflect their
adaptation to regional climates. For example, houses in Florida
have less insulation than those in Alaska. Geographers are
currently looking at environmental pressures, such as the
availability of water, which could limit industrial, agricul-
tural, and population growth in the arid American Southwest
during the next decades.
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Study of Cultural Perceptions of the Environment
Geographers study how different peoples and cultures per-
ceive their surroundings and how those perceptions affect the
way people use the environment. In the aerial photography of
Gerster, the presence of roads on the American landscape is
striking. The American people have used acres of farmland
and millions of cubic meters of gravel and asphalt to create an
intricate system of freeways, highways, and roads. The roads
branch into streets and eventually into individual driveways.
We consume millions of gallons of petroleum to fuel our use
of these roadways. We as a society have decided to dedicate
a vast quantity of our resources to make convenient, indi-
vidual use of automobile transport possible. This pattern of
roadways and use of resources is not apparent in South
America or on some of the other continents. A population’s
perception of the value of resources affects more than road
patterns; it influences a society’s awareness, use, andlor
conservation of energy, water, and other natural resources.
Use of Scale in the Study of the Environment
Geographers study resource use and environmental change on
three scales: local, regional, and global. Maps which display
the spatial distribution of phenomena often move geographers
to inquiry. Geographers frequently map a phenomenon and
try to explain the pattern of the spatial distribution.
These four avenues of inquiry and the consideration of
different scales form the foundation for a geographic perspec-
tive for teaching about the environment.
Major Themes of Environmental Education
Environmental education has its roots in nature education,
geographic education, conservation education, outdoor edu-
cation, and science education; however, environmental edu-
JANUARY/FEBRUARY
cation is emerging into a discipline of its own. In spite of many
different disciplinary approaches and little agreement on the
definition of environmental education, several major themes
can be identified. They are: 1) the interrelationship between
natural and social systems, 2) the unity of humankind with
nature, 3) the impacts of a society’s technology and decision
making, and 4) the continuation of learning throughout the
human life cycle (Roth 1991).
Parallels in geographic education are found for each of
the themes of environmental education. 1 ) Geography also
bridges natural and social science, revealing interrelation-
ships between natural and social systems. 2) Geographers
view humans as agents of landscape change, effecting and
affecting processes that modify their surroundings. Geogra-
phers rarely seek places for research that are unaffected by
humans, rather they include humans as part of the study. 3) For
years, geographers have been examining the effects of tech-
nology and the impact of the choice of technologies on the
land and the people. 4) Geography educators, like environ-
mental educators, mathematics educators, science educators,
etc., strive to motivate students to be life-long learners. Given
the parallel nature of environmental and geographic educa-
tion, many educators see geography as the ideal disciplinary
vehicle for environmental education.
Contributions of Geography to Environmental Education
A common and widely adopted approach to geographic edu-
cation in the United States is to organize geography content
using the five themes. The five themes are: location, place,
human-environment interactions, movement, and regions.
The commonalities between geographic education and envi-
ronmental education are perhaps the most obvious through the
theme of human-environmental interactions. Examples of
human-environmental interactions have been described pre-
viously. The other four themes-location, place, movement,
and r e g i o n 4 a n havc strong environmental components as
well. For example, residents of the Love Canal neighborhood
became very concerned about the location of their homes in
relation to the toxic dump, and the physical presence of the
toxic wastes became part of the description of the cultural and
physical components of the place. The movement of the Islip
garbage barge was watched by millions of Americans on the
evening news as its captain tried to find a port that would
accept the garbage. Regions are also being defined by envi-
ronmental parameters, such as the region of increasing deser-
tification south of the Sahara in Africa. Environmental con-
cerns can be studied using all of the five themes.
Some educators hold the opinion that geography’s great-
est contributions to environmental studies and environmental
education are use of scale and emphasis of global interconnec-
tions. The use of three scales (local, regional, and global) is
essential for students to understand the global implications of
local environmental degradation. For example, the draining
and filling of wetlands for development may appear to have
few global impacts; however, the environmental alteration
can destroy nesting and feeding grounds of waterfowl, thereby
affecting hemispheric patterns of waterfowl migration and
41
 population. Through environmental education, students must
realize that local actions can positively or negatively affect
global environmental health. The use of geographic scale and
interconnections are essential to the process of local learning
leading to global understanding of environmental issues.
Maps also illustrate that local problems are often an
important component of global problems. Maps in atlases
such as Gaia: An Atlas of Planet Management (Myers 1984)
or World Resources, 1993 (World Resources Institute 1992)
help students visualize the magnitude of local environmental
degradation repeated around the world. For example, a map of
global production, exports, and imports of oil compared to a
map of visible oil slicks rapidly illustrates the magnitude of
marine pollution. Cartography and map interpretation offer a
strong analytic component to environmental education.
Multicultural Perspective
A current educational trend that is reflected in environmental
education is to create curricula which include multi-cultural
perspectives. Geography inherently uses a multi-cultural ap-
proach, because of its international focus and its study of the
different cultural perceptions and uses of the environment.
Geography provides the opportunity for students to study
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other cultures and compare them to their own. This compari-
son leads to the realization that cultures around the world use
their resources in different ways resulting in different patterns
on the landscape. It also leads to the understanding that
cultural norms are not the same around the world and it fosters
greater tolerance of other peoples and cultures.
The Future of Environmental and Geographic Education
Four major events have the potential to shape the future of
environmental and geographic education in the United States
well into the 21st century. First, environmental literacy stan-
dards are currently being drafted by the American Society for
Testing and Measurement (ASTM). The lack of environmen-
tal education standards, either written or commonly accepted,
has lead to confusion among groups such as grant making
agencies, school boards, curriculum developers, business and
industry participating in and supporting environmental edu-
cation, and the general public promoting quality basic educa-
tion (Roth 1991). Creation of the environmental literacy
standards is a consensus process. Fortunately, the current draft
of the standards has a distinctly geographic nature.
Second, teacher certification standards are being written
for environmental education. These certification standards
are also being created through an ASTM committee process.
Third, many states are creating comprehensive environ-
mental education initiatives. The movement to create these
initiatives is supported by the North American Association for
Environmental Education. which is sponsoring workshops
and publishing a handbook to assist state environmental
education organizations with the process. Representation of
geography in these initiatives will depend on geographers in
each state identifying the beginning of the process and work-
ing to include geography as an integral part of the initiative.
Fourth, national assessment standards and learning out-
42
comes are being written for science and geography. Geogra-
phers have included a major section on environment called
“Environment and Society” in the Geography Assessment
Fi-amewor-k.Geographers also have an environmental educa-
tion advisory committee that assists the writing committee
produce learning outcomes and assessment standards related
to the environment for grades 4, 8, and 12.
Recommendations for Action
The National Council of Governors endorsed a national edu-
cational plan that calls for five core subjects-English, his-
tory, math, science, and geography. Environmental education
has two points of entry into the K-12 curriculum, science and
geography. Despite sentiments to exclude Earth science, and
thus physical geography, from the national science standards,
science and geography educators need to share the responsi-
bility of teaching about the environment. Geography and
science educators should work together to define roles and
responsibilities in teaching environmental education in the K-
12 curriculum. They should not battle for turf or ignore each
other’s efforts. as they have so frequently in the past.
Geographers and geography educators can become in-
volved in the process of teaching science educators and
environmental educators about the geographic knowledge
base, the geographic skills, and the wealth of geographic
resources related to the environment. We can present papers
and workshops at national and regional conferences of the
National Science Teachers Association and the North Ameri-
can Association of Environmental Educators. We can review
working papers and drafts of the National Science Education
Standards, the Environmental Literacy Standards, the Envi-
ronmental Education Teacher Certification Standards, etc.
We can become involved the creation of state environmental
education initiatives. We can assist local schools to integrate
geography into their curriculums. In essence, geographers
must move outside comfortable and familiar circles of profes-
sional communication and talk with professionals of other
disciplines and associations on national and local levels. A
few geographers have been doing this for years. They will tell
you it is not easy, but it is necessary.
Conc1usi on
Geography has a rich knowledge base pertaining to environ-
mental research and education. It is our responsibility as
geographers and geography educators to work with environ-
mental and science educators to assure that geography has a
meaningful role in the assessment frameworks, learning out-
comes, curriculums, statewide environmental education ini-
tiatives, literacy standards, and other educational projects
which will shape the future of environmental education.
References
Gerster, G . 1976.Gru,rr/&.srg~r. 7 % eEur.rhfiot?iuho1.e.New York: Paddington
Press.
Roth, C. 1991. Toward shaping cnvironmental literacy for a sustainable
future. ASTM . ~ ~ u , ~ ~ ~ ~ N ~~
r -M~Y / ;, ~ u r ; ~ ~ ~ i
April.
JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY