Our Strategy

The Campaign's strategy is to focus our work on three levels:

Inside Congress

Headquartered in Washington, DC, Campaign staff members are reaching out to allies in Congress to secure and expand current EE funding and are coordinating with prominent and supportive EE champions to continually increase the base of our ever-growing list of advocates. By blending direct advocacy tactics with grassroots mobilization and media work noted below, the Campaign is aggressively working towards immediate restoration of EE funds cut from the President's FY 06 Budget while proactively shoring up support for increased federal dollars dedicated to EE in outlying years.

Our immediate efforts are focusing on reaching those legislators whose daily decisions directly impact EE funding, primarily the members of the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees as well as policy makers known as Environmental Literacy Champions—those who have consistently demonstrated past support for expanding the EE field.

Inside the EE Field

The Campaign is helping to organize and mobilize the EE field - including over one hundred national groups that endorse environmental education initiatives - so that their unique and compelling perspectives are conveyed to Congress. We are providing EE and related organizations with a multitude of opportunities to make their voices heard by co-signing letters to Congress, participating in collective Hill visits, or utilizing our "one-click" tools, tips, and information on the web so their members can easily voice support for more environmental education in our communities, in our schools, and in our daily lives.

Within the General Public

The Campaign is working closely with leaders in the EE community to manage an online outreach strategy to educate stakeholders, the public, and members of the media and government agencies of the need for more EE funds. Advocates engaged with the Campaign's online activities will receive a monthly e-newsletter filled with inside information from Capitol Hill and ways to access federal funds. Advocates also have access to online Campaign tools to help educate others about the need for more federal funding while encouraging them to join the Campaign.

Securing the resources and influence of the federal government is a mission that must be tackled on a daily basis. We have already achieved significant initial gains while building momentum for the ultimate end goal: more federal funds dedicated to EE. Fortunately, many legislative opportunities already exist to advance various aspects of environmental schools, and new ones are bound to arise. Going forward, our battles should no longer be about why the federal government should not cut EE funds but, rather, why more should be invested.