Public Comment Requested on Framework for Teaching about Lake Erie

Lake Erie Literacy Principles and Concepts complement those approved by the National Science Foundation

Sandusky, OH– Strengthening the understanding of the connections between personal action, environmental improvement and economic impact is a goal of a multi-agency education effort focused on Lake Erie, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

Public comment is being sought for a survey which is open until December 10.

The Lake Erie Literacy Principles and Concepts provide a structure for hands-on, place-based environmental education and serve as a means for researchers to explain the importance of their studies to the public.

Lake Erie literacy is defined as an understanding of the Lake’s influence on you and your influence on our freshwater lake.

The Lake Erie Partnership for Education and Outreach, which is developing the principles and supporting concepts, specifically wants input from formal and non-formal educators, researchers and those with an interest in the Lake Erie watershed.

The Lake Erie Literacy Principles and Concepts survey is open now through midnight December 10 and can be found online by visiting ohiodnr.com/coastal and selecting the “Lake Erie Literacy and Principles and Concepts” icon shown here or by visiting: www.ohiodnr.com/LakeErieLiteracy/survey

The 25 question survey will take approximately 10 to 30 minutes to complete – depending on the amount of feedback one chooses to provide. Feedback is being requested to help ensure the proposed concepts are not overly complex yet fit with current education guidelines and include all important messages.

A Lake Erie Partnership project team initiated the development of the Lake Erie Literacy Principles by adapting Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts to Ohio’s Great Lake. The principles have already been used to help develop the Great Lakes Literacy Principles and Concepts, which were finalized late this summer.

The partnership is comprised of ODNR’s Office of Coastal Management, ODNR’s Division of Wildlife’s Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. Building citizens’ understanding of the natural world is recommended as a means to foster environmental stewardship. Getting people, especially children, outside and interacting with the natural resources is called for in the September 2010 Ohio Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights proclamation and the report on Ohio’s Initiative to Reconnect Children with Nature. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all.

Visit the ODNR web site at www.ohiodnr.com.