In 2003, a group of citizens in Ontario elected to do what Canadian governments had not yet done:  create a strategic plan for an environmentally literate future.  Environmental Education Ontario (EEON), a charitable NGO, was founded to design a collaborative process that would invite a wide range people from across public sectors to draft outcomes, needs and strategies for the advancement of environmental and sustainability education (ESE).

GREENING THE WAY ONTARIO LEARNS: A PUBLIC STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION
The result was a 127-page document containing practical, complementary strategies for 17 public sectors or "audiences."  Prominent Ontarians (including Margaret Atwood and Thomas Homer-Dixon) endorsed it.  Government policy advisors read it.  Thousands of Ontarians received full or summary copies to invite them to participate in the adoption of "green learning" strategies in their areas of choice.
Greening the Way Ontario Learns is available on line at www.eeon.org.  It may be downloaded in its entirety, or by sections of particular interest.  It includes strategies for formal education (4 sections) as well as for non-formal education in 13 other sectors.  The strategies are not specific to Ontario; they would be of interest to citizens anywhere who seek ideas for making environmental education and training a part of regular practice in a wide variety of contexts.

The EEON Audiences in the plan include:
Aboriginal Peoples, Businesses, Consumers, Families, Governments/Agencies, Labour Organizations, Media, Medical/Public Health Professionals, New Canadians, Outdoor Recreation Users, Post-Secondary Faculty, Post-Secondary Students, Preschool-12 Students, Preschool-12 Teachers, Religious Groups, Rural Landowners and Farmers, Youth and Citizens' Groups.

"The EEON initiative is not merely important, it is crucial.

We all need to support it."

- Margaret Atwood -