ANCHORAGE - It’s a new way to teach kids about environmental science that some say should be required for students across the state. Educators are taking comments on the Alaska Environmental Literacy Plan.
Years in the making and authored by dozens of groups and agencies, the plan aims to get children outside to learn about the natural environment that is specific to Alaska and the communities where they live. The State Board of Education will be asked to consider whether to include the ideas in the science curriculum that is required by the state.
“They get all the concepts they are supposed to get and they meet the state and the national science standards,” said Adriana Amaya with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “But we want them to learn about our ecosystems and the boreal forests and tundra as opposed to a lot of vague concepts or a lot of biomes that we don’t have in Alaska.”
If you would like to take a look at the draft Environmental Literacy Plan or comment on its contents, you can find it at www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/AKELP/home.html.
