The Status of Environmental Education at Field Centers of Ontario Schools

Abstract

The provision of environmental education in Ontario schools makes extensive use of specialized field centers. Such use has increased from near zero in 1960 to 20.6% of school children in the province in the 1988–89 school year. Of the 172 boards of education in the province, 24.4% have at least one day-use outdoor education center and 11.6% have at least one residential center. Many boards purchase their residential programs from private camps, conservation authorities, or the provincially operated Leslie Frost Outdoor Education Centre. The large, urban boards of education are much more likely to have developed environmental education field centers than are the smaller, rural boards. The public boards make more use of such centers than do the Catholic boards.