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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 2, 2008

Contact: Michaela Zint or Kevin Merrill

ZINT: 734.763.6961

MERRILL: 734.936.2447

zintmich@umich.edu

U-M launches MEERA, a new online resource

for environmental educatorsANN ARBOR - In recent years, Michaela Zint, an associate professor of

environmental education and communication at the University of

Michigan, found herself fielding an increasing number of calls from fellow

environmental educators. All expressed a similar concern: how to

evaluate their programs.

Environmental educators whether K-12 teachers or instructors

working for government agencies or non-profit organizations includinguniversities expressed a strong need for information to assess the quality

of their programs.

These evaluations have become more important for environmental

education programs as budgets shrink at funding agencies and

foundations. As the cuts occur, there is more pressure on environmental

educators to prove their programs are worth the investment and making

a difference. In fac t, many agencies and foundations now do not fund

programs unless they incorporate evaluation.

Reflecting on her colleagues needs, Dr. Zint initiated a project to

develop a web-based tool to assist and empower environmentaleducators in conducting their own evaluations. The result was My

Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant or MEERA, the

latest version of which was launched this month. The sites URL is

www.meera.snre.umich.edu.

Whether you are an environmental educator or just interested in

the process of evaluation, this site provides guidance on all aspects of

evaluating a program, including about how evaluation can help you

improve your program, said Dr. Zint, who has appointments in the School

of Natural Resources and Environment and School of Education at the

University of Michigan.

Funded by and in partnership with the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency and the U.S. Forest Service, MEERA enables visitors to learn about

different types of evaluations; helps them choose an appropriate

evaluation; guides them through the evaluation process step-by-step; and

offers suggestions and insights from a number of sample environmental

education program evaluations.

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Early reviews of the site have been favorable. One environmental

educator, Kimberly Benson from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration stated: I find the site to be inviting, understandable, and

manageable.

[MEERA] offers a great clearinghouse of resources and guidelines

for [Environmental Education] program evaluation and it really serves aneed. There isnt anything else like this available on the internet, said

Rainey Kreis, an environmental educator at the University of Wisconsin-

Stevens Point. Plus, its a free resource.

MEERAs visitor traffic rec ently spiked after U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency's Environmental Education Division asked potential

applicants of their Environmental Education Grant Program to visit the site

for guidance on project evaluation. All grant applicants must include an

evaluation plan as part of their proposal which explains how they will

ensure their project meets the goals, objectives, outputs, and outcomes of

the project.The Forest Service also aims to make MEERA an important part of its

efforts to improve conservation education program evaluation agency-

wide. The agency is currently undertaking an initiative to provide

capacity building assistance to field practitioners, and plans to

incorporate MEERA into its popular More Kids in the Woods internal

funding initiative next year.

Before MEERA existed, environmental educators and others

interested in evaluation had to loc ate, search and choose from a large

number of evaluation resources. MEERA simplifies that process. The site

contains carefully selected and reviewed evaluation resources. MEERA

also indicates whether the resource is most appropriate for educators withlittle, intermediate or advanced evaluation skills. MEERA also includes a

database of sample environmental education program evaluations that

offer insights from those who conducted these evaluations.

Site visitors comfort level with conducting evaluation is important.

When faced with the prospect of evaluation, many feel intimidated and

overwhelmed. MEERA addresses those concerns by being easy to

navigate, providing links to additional information and resources and

suggesting handy tips and warnings about common pitfalls. MEERA breaks

down the daunting work of evaluation into manageable pieces, thereby

making it possible for environmental educators of every skill level toconduct quality evaluations of their programs.

Dr. Zint believes that MEERA is well on its way to becoming the most

commonly used evaluation resource by environmental educators.

Through word of mouth alone, the site has had more than 1,500 unique

visitors per month from more than 60 countries.

About the School of Natural Resources and Environment:

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The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching

objective is to contribute to the protection of the earth's resources and

the achievement of a sustainable soc iety. Through research, teaching,

and outreach, faculty, staff, and students are devoted to generating

knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help

practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resourcesto meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.

About the School of Education:

The School of Educations mission is to contribute visibly and

effectively to improving the quality of education across the lifespan

through research, and through the professional programs the School

designs, delivers, and studies.

The School, currently engaged in redesign of its teacher preparation

program, aims to develop professional education that will prepare

novices to d o the complex relational, psychological, soc ial and

intellec tual work of teaching, while studying these efforts anddisseminating systematic evidence about effective teacher education.