Publicly available databases such as ERIC afford broad and specific searches of the scholarly literature on "environmental education", including peer reviewed material. Cross checking with other databases, such as Trove from the National Library of Australia, will also signal whether the material is freely available or not.

But rather than get overwhelmed with the prospect of finding the proverbial needle in a haystack or the simple matter of 'cognitive overload' from so much evidence and commentary being available, some researchers have been trying to summarise what's significant and worth knowing about on a regular basis, for a public and informed audience.

A few illustrative videos by NAAEE members include the following:

• Thinking about outcomes first - EECapacity TV (5 min)
• Summary of evidence of key EE designs and outcomes - Nicole Ardoin 1/3 (7 min)
• Summary of research on design in schools and school grounds, motivation and student engagement, Environment-as-an-Integrating-Context for learning ... - Nicole Ardoin 2/3 (12 min)
• Summary of implications of significant life experiences research, and beyond - Nicole Ardoin 3/3 (7 min)

Examples published by Nature Bridge and ChangeScale, that echo or extend the points made in the preceding video clips, include ...

1. Ardoin, N.M. 2015. Environmental Education Research Bulletin: Volume VI. July to December 2013. ChangeScale. San Francisco, CA. Download .pdf
2. Ardoin, N.M., & McNally, J. 2015. Environmental Education Research Bulletin: Volume V. January to June, 2013. ChangeScale. San Francisco, CA. Download .pdf
   Ardoin, N.M., & Merrick, C. 2013. Environmental Education Research Bulletin: Volume IV. Winter 2013. NatureBridge. San Francisco, CA. Download .pdf
3. Ardoin, N., & Merrick, C. 2012. Environmental Education Research Bulletin: Volume II. Winter 2012. NatureBridge. San Francisco, CA. Download .pdf
4. Ardoin, N., & Merrick, C. 2012. Environmental Education Research Bulletin: Volume III. Summer 2012. NatureBridge. San Francisco, CA. Download .pdf
5. Ardoin, N., & Merrick, C. 2011. Environmental Education Research Bulletin: Volume I. Summer 2011. NatureBridge. San Francisco. Download .pdf

Why might this regular review for a public audience be important work for the eePRO community? There's clearly a range of possible views on this, but for this blog post, we note that in 1999, Joy Palmer wrote on the topic of "Research matters: a call for the application of empirical evidence to the task of improving the quality and impact of environmental education". She argued:

"for an increase in the application of empirical evidence to the task of improving the quality and impact of environmental education. Whilst the global scene in environmental education appears to portray optimism and great endeavour, there remain key issues to resolve. Such issues include the apparent lack of impact of formal educational programmes on individual's environmental awareness and concern. The paper argues that an empirical research base can illuminate significant findings relating to human motivation and cognition which may help to resolve such issues. It provides an overview and discussion of some of the findings of one particular substantial international research project in order to illustrate the underpinning case for using research to inform both policy and practice and gives some examples of how the evidence generated from this research programme is being used to shape educational policy and practice."

Other widely used summaries that illustrate this line of argument include:

Lieberman, G. A., & Hoody, L. L. 1998. Closing the achievement gap: Using the environment as an integrating context for learning. San Diego: State Education and Environment Roundtable.

• • Executive summary: http://www.seer.org/pages/execsum.pdf

  • Full report: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED428943.pdf

  • Evaluation insights: http://meera.snre.umich.edu/sites/all/files/SEER_Detailed_Profile_SEER.pdf

Stevenson, Robert B.; Brody, Michael; Dillon, Justin; Wals, Arjen E.J. (Eds) 2013. International Handbook of Research on Environmental Education. Routledge. [50 chapters worth of research findings and discussion]

Ardoin, N., Heimlich, J., Braus, J., Merrick, C. 2013. Influencing Conservation Action: What the research says about environmental literacy, behavior, and conservation results. Tools of Engagement: A toolkit for incorporating social strategies into environmental conservation. National Audubon Society. New York.

Ardoin, N. 2009. Environmental Education: A Strategy for the future. Environmental Grantmakers Association. New York. Download .pdf

We will pursue this theme and alternative perspectives on it as this blog develops, but feel free to share your initial as well as considered views on this topic, these resources and their implications, in the group's discussion forum. 

Or add your own examples, suggest others, including at the research database, at https://naaee.org/eepro/research.

Reference

Palmer, J.A. 1999. Research matters: a call for the application of empirical evidence to the task of improving the quality and impact of environmental education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 29(3): 379–395.