THE NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN EAST AFRICA
Justification
Environmental education is critical to preserving resources, establishing an effective environmental strategy, and keeping peace among nations. The United Nations has consistently espoused education as an essential tool for environmental awareness, declaring that it must be a key part of every national educational curriculum. Experts insist that the need for such education, especially experiential learning, is so overwhelming that it should be included at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
Without assistance, significant progress toward environmental awareness is not likely to happen soon in East Africa. This is primarily due to a lack of available resources, financial constraints, and monumental environmental challenges faced in this region. Most schools in East Africa have little or no funds to provide for basic environmental education. In fact, most schools cannot afford basic educational materials and supplies, let alone the means to transport students to areas of ecological interest. In rare cases, where a school offers environmental courses with outdoor learning, students need to individually contribute to all costs attributed to the course, including materials and transportation. Generally, this is not affordable for the majority of the East African student population. Consequently, current environmental education is so far below what is necessary that environmental awareness is almost entirely non-existent.
Environmental education must be focused, appropriate, ongoing, engaging, and well-funded if it is to have the desired impact. There is a pressing need to supplement existing efforts in the region in order to bring about environmental awareness and, ultimately, preserve East Africa’s coastal/marine ecosystems for the future. KEA hopes to meet this need.
Without assistance, significant progress toward environmental awareness is not likely to happen soon in East Africa. This is primarily due to a lack of available resources, financial constraints, and monumental environmental challenges faced in this region. Most schools in East Africa have little or no funds to provide for basic environmental education. In fact, most schools cannot afford basic educational materials and supplies, let alone the means to transport students to areas of ecological interest. In rare cases, where a school offers environmental courses with outdoor learning, students need to individually contribute to all costs attributed to the course, including materials and transportation. Generally, this is not affordable for the majority of the East African student population. Consequently, current environmental education is so far below what is necessary that environmental awareness is almost entirely non-existent.
Environmental education must be focused, appropriate, ongoing, engaging, and well-funded if it is to have the desired impact. There is a pressing need to supplement existing efforts in the region in order to bring about environmental awareness and, ultimately, preserve East Africa’s coastal/marine ecosystems for the future. KEA hopes to meet this need.
KEA's Integrated Approach to Environmental Education
KEA recognizes that our future rests on our ability to understand and appreciate the interdependency of humans and the physical environment in which we live. Toward this goal, KEA will provide comprehensive environmental education by using local marine/coastal habitats as an educational tool designed to help communities make connections between the ocean’s environment and their lives. KEA will provide integrated, comprehensive environmental education to East Africa, targeting the student population (youth) as well as the community at large. All our educational programs will be offered free of charge to local participants. In providing free, comprehensive environmental education, KEA hopes to inspire stewardship of East Africa’s coastal/marine resources.
Our youth educational programs and community outreach have specific core elements that are fundamental to success. Core elements include clear learning objectives, a sense of community, balanced curriculum, a variety of teaching methods, leadership building, and commitment. Rigorous ongoing self-assessment will allow KEA to gauge our progress and evaluate the success of our programs as a whole.
Below is a graphical illustration of what KEA has determined to be an effective strategy to advance environmental education in East Africa. Our youth-education curriculum is concurrent with the NAAEE (North American Association of Environmental Educators) standards for environmental literacy, and the material is relevant to the science and math being taught in formal classrooms. The following illustrates key components of our educational approach.
Below is a graphical illustration of what KEA has determined to be an effective strategy to advance environmental education in East Africa. Our youth-education curriculum is concurrent with the NAAEE (North American Association of Environmental Educators) standards for environmental literacy, and the material is relevant to the science and math being taught in formal classrooms. The following illustrates key components of our educational approach.
Overview of KEA's Integrated Approach to Environmental Education
