Since 2005, Gilda Wheeler (BA Geography, 1989 and MEd, 1997) has led the Education for Environment and Sustainability Program of the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (AKA, the Washington State Education Agency). Building on a long and rich history of environmental, natural resource, and conservation education, Gilda shepherded environmental education into a next generation program that emphasizes Education for Sustainability.
The focus of the Washington State Education for Environment and Sustainability program is to “support academic success and life-long learning, and to develop a responsible citizenry capable of applying knowledge of ecological, economic, and socio-cultural systems to meet current and future needs.” In practical terms, this has resulted in the development of K-12 Integrated Environmental and Sustainability Learning Standards, a specialty area teacher endorsement, and an Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan, to name a few of the initiatives and policies that Gilda’s office has developed in partnership with teachers, school administrators, community and business partners, and colleges of education.
“We are extremely pleased with how schools are embracing Sustainability, both in campus facilities as well as in (and outside!) the classroom.” For example, Washington State schools participated in the new U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools recognition program, resulting in four Washington schools receiving the prestigious award this year. Gilda is looking forward to year 2 of the Green Ribbon Schools program and engaging a slew of more schools in “going green.”
A new and extremely exciting initiative that Gilda’s office is engaged in is the Washington Alliance for Geographic Literacy, a project housed at the University of Washington and supported by the National Geographic Society. While this new Alliance is still in the strategic planning stage there are some very exciting developments in terms of the focus and direction that it will take. For example, the leadership team has identified some key objectives including a focus on student-centered learning, local and global sustainability, equity, and instilling students with a “sense of place” or connection to the local environment.
Thanks to her experience (over 20 years ago!) at UCSB, Gilda is able to bring a geographic perspective to The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Alliance for Geographic Literacy. “I often reflect on my undergraduate time at UCSB in my current work today. I believe that the UCSB Geography Department promoted sustainability education well before its popularity in higher education. We are hopeful that K-12 schools are now finally following the lead of higher education and embracing sustainability in the K-12 school curriculum, teaching, and facilities.”
Editor’s note: Many thanks to Gilda for providing the material for this article, and kudos to her for her commitment to and advancement of sustainability.
