US-China Environmental Fund

Stewardship Education

USCEF’s Stewardship Education programs help China’s youth become better environmental citizens by providing a range of formal and informal learning opportunities to convey knowledge of, and respect for, the natural world. Beginning in 1995, in partnership with the China State Environmental Protection Administration, USCEF has been facilitating Sino-U.S. environmental education exchanges among 15 Chinese and U.S. sister cities. Since 1998, USCEF has designed and managed the “Search for Solutions” environmental education initiative supported by the generous financial contribution of Phillips Petroleum Company, now ConocoPhillips. USCEF has refined three broad education areas: Environmental Publications; Experienctial Field Trips; Giving Youth A Voice.

Environmental Publications

USCEF’s municipal “Environmental Handbooks” are historic public information documents that provide a comprehensive overview of local environmental conditions. In 2003, second edition Handbooks were published for Beijing and Tianjin, and first editions exist for Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Lanzhou. Each Handbook includes exercises that turn a city's environmental management systems into a laboratory for study.

“Environmental Field Trip Guidebooks” are another significant USCEF resource to support experiential learning in China. The Guidebooks --published with local Environmental Bureaus for Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Shenzhen -- are a valuable inventory of local environmental sites, that help teachers and youth leaders can make arrangements for field trip activities.

Other major USCEF publications are “Earth Vision Posters,” a series of maps and posters with instructive legends and charts that enable students to visually assimilate environmental information. Topics for these maps and posters range from satellite image of China, to overview of China’s water resources, to China’s national park system. Remote sensing of vegetation, resource data, and distribution of parkland can help students gain new perspectives on important issues.

With The Humane Society of the U.S., USCEF has adapted and translated three publications into Chinese: Jelly Jam, The People Preserver (a children’s environmental activity book); Jelly Jam Teacher’s Manual, and a humane education activity book that teaches young children compassion for animals and respect for the environment.

Experiential Field Trips

For thousands of students, USCEF coordinated field trips are invaluable, hands-on learning opportunities that forge direct and lasting connection between themselves and their local environment, leading to the development of more caring and proactive environmental citizens. With the involvement and support of government officials responsible for environmental education and smaller Chinese NGOs, USCEF field trips have ranged from monitoring water quality in Beijing, a wetland nature reserve in Tianjin, and a beach clean-up in Shenzhen. Experiential field trips are a significant opportunity for sponsors to gain visibility in local communities and to support memorable out-of-classroom learning activities.

Giving Youth a Voice

In the face of enormous environmental challenges, Chinese youth lack avenues to powerfully express their concerns or to effectively proclaim their ideas for environmental solutions. Giving youth a voice to raise environmental awareness is a dynamic strategy to motivate all of us to work together to create a better future.

Theater for Education & Awareness (TEA) is an innovative and interactive approach to environmental education that enables Chinese youth to express their environmental concerns through the performance arts. Since its introduction in April 2001, TEA has used a two-step process to give Chinese youth a voice to promote environmental awareness. First, TEA trains teachers and community group leaders on improvisational theater techniques and script development in intensive multi-day workshops led by U.S. theater professionals. Second, certified Chinese TEA teachers lead students through a series of exercises that enable the students to create and perform their own dramas. The resulting performances in schools and community venues have captured high media visibility on China Central TV, Beijing TV, radio, and in newspapers.