Back to Definitions in Environmental Education: The Case of Inland Northwest Camps

Abstract

A census of resident environmental education camps in Idaho and the eastern halves of Oregon and Washington was conducted to determine both the intent and content of their education programs. Comparison of findings with commonly espoused ideologies in the environmental education literature was a second major goal. Mail questionnaires were used to gather data on the camps' goals and objectives, major curricular foci, program content, and major habitat types available for study. Results indicated that few camps actually had goals or objectives and curricular emphasis was on biological sciences with human ecological topics largely absent. The camps generally focused on forest environments despite the prevalence of high desert in the study area. Implications for design and administration of resident environmental education camps are discussed.