If you've ever watched a preschooler's face light up when they harvest their first carrot, or seen a teenager's expression shift from "climate doom" to "climate action" after an engaging science center visit, you know the power of experiential environmental education. But in a world of limited time and resources, which approaches truly make an impact?

Recent research, gathered together for this collection, offers exciting insights into what's working across diverse settings. Spoiler alert: it's not more lectures or worksheets! Let's dive into six fresh studies that might just transform your teaching approach. 

View eeRESEARCH Collection: Informal Environmental Education

National Parks: Climate Education Goldmines Hiding in Plain Sight

Did you know that 84.6% of national parks offer climate change educational resources, with most completely free of charge? Beaver and Navy (2023) found that these parks collectively provide a treasure trove of place-based learning opportunities—from field trips (69.2%) to teacher workshops (58.9%) and classroom visits (53.8%).

What makes these resources powerful is their local relevance. Instead of abstract global statistics, they connect climate impacts to familiar landscapes that students can see and touch. As one park employee noted, they help "younger students to develop a deep-seated love for the natural world surrounding them."

Pro tip: Start your climate education locally using resources from nearby national parks, then expand to national and global perspectives. Don't see what you need? Contact park employees directly—they're often eager to collaborate!

Birding Clubs: Binoculars, Bonding, and Budding Scientists

Move over, robotics club! An elementary school birding club (Britton et al. 2024) showed remarkable results in building scientific literacy, social skills, and nature connection. Students learned to use specialized equipment, practiced observation techniques, and developed identification skills in authentic contexts.

The magic happened when traditionally struggling students found their element. One shy student with reading difficulties gained newfound confidence through her uncanny ability to mimic bird calls. Her mother observed that birding "boosted her confidence because she struggled in school... she didn't have something that was hers. And then once she started doing the birding thing... she was good at mimicking sounds."

Try this: Create opportunities for authentic scientific inquiry using your school grounds or nearby natural areas. Multi-age groupings allow younger students to learn from older ones, while hands-on tools like binoculars transform "just walking around outside" into serious scientific business.

Science Centers: From Knowledge to Action in 60 Minutes Flat

How do you motivate climate action without inducing paralysis? A study of science center visitors (Moreau et al. 2025) revealed that 92% felt motivated to take climate action after their visit. The secret sauce? A careful balance of scientific evidence (28%), specific climate impacts (23%), and emphasis on urgency (20%)—all delivered with an optimistic tone (11%) and interactive elements that engaged entire families.

Interestingly, visitors gravitated toward individual actions like reducing their carbon footprint (79%) or waste production (44%), with fewer planning community-level actions (21%). This suggests that while science centers effectively spark motivation, educators might need to emphasize collective approaches more explicitly.

Steal this strategy: Design climate experiences that balance honest information with actionable solutions. Use interactive, choice-based approaches that engage entire families, leveraging what researchers identified as a key motivator: parents' concern for their children's future.

Citizen Science: Beyond Data Collection to Transformation

If you're running a citizen science project that only involves participants in data collection, you're missing out on its full educational potential. A systematic review of 100 studies (Ballard et al. 2024) found that projects involving participants in multiple phases—from planning and data collection to analysis and reporting—yielded the strongest outcomes for environmental behavior change.

The research documented impressive results: increased science content knowledge (56 studies), improved inquiry skills (32 studies), enhanced community connectedness (30 studies), and greater environmental stewardship (29 studies). But these benefits were maximized when participants engaged with the full scientific process.

Level up your approach: Involve participants in formulating research questions, analyzing their own data, and sharing findings. Create opportunities for collective planning and group discussions—these social learning elements significantly enhanced environmental behavior outcomes.

Urban Parks: Finding Awe and Solitude Among the Skyscrapers

Who says you need remote wilderness to connect deeply with nature? Research (Mateer, 2022) suggests that urban parks can foster meaningful nature connection through two psychological experiences: awe (that transcendental feeling of being in the presence of something vast) and solitude (self-reflective thoughts when alone).

While traditional outdoor recreation often emphasizes fun and physical activity, this study highlights the value of contemplative experiences that foster eudaimonic well-being—meaning, purpose, and authenticity. These deeper connections, in turn, correlate with pro-environmental behaviors.

Design challenge: Create spaces within urban environmental programs that allow for both active learning and quiet contemplation. Consider establishing "awe zones" featuring mature trees or water features, and quiet spaces that minimize anthropogenic noise while ensuring participants feel safe.

Preschool Gardens: Tiny Hands Creating Big Change

Never underestimate the influence of a four-year-old with a freshly harvested radish! Research (Kelly & Brännlund, 2024) on a preschool community garden in Ireland found that young children not only learned about food and nutrition but became agents of change within their families.

Parents reported their children developed greater willingness to try new fruits and vegetables, more knowledge about food sources, and even influenced family shopping choices by requesting healthier options. Beyond nutrition, children gained confidence, social skills, and pride in their growing expertise.

Plant this idea: Community gardens offer multidimensional learning opportunities for young children. Involve parents and community members to reinforce healthy eating messages across environments, and incorporate cooking activities to help children connect growing food with preparing healthy meals.

The Common Thread: Experience, Relevance, Action

Looking across these studies, clear patterns emerge. Effective environmental education:

1. Emphasizes direct experience over passive information transfer
2. Makes environmental issues locally relevant and personally meaningful
3. Balances honest information about environmental challenges with solutions that build agency
4. Engages social support networks, particularly families
5. Provides authentic context for developing scientific literacy
6. Creates space for both structured learning and reflective experiences

As environmental educators, we're not just teaching facts—we're cultivating the next generation of environmental citizens. These research-backed approaches give us powerful tools to nurture both knowledge and action in an era when both are urgently needed.

What innovative approaches are you using in your environmental education work? Share your experiences in the comments below!