Tracking Environmental Education in Maine: How Teach ME Outside Is Updating a Groundbreaking Census

The 2019 Teach ME Outside Community-Based Outdoor and Environmental Learning (CBEL) census reached just over 400 educators across Maine. For the updated 2022 census, that number more than doubled to 917 people across 622 schools and out-of-school programs.

As the team embarks on a third iteration — a rarity among similar U.S.-based research initiatives — they plan to gain insights from more than 1,000 Mainers. With more participants than ever before, the survey is poised to paint a more comprehensive and accurate picture of Maine’s environmental education landscape, including how things have evolved over the past few years.

Currently, the team — comprising experts from the Maine Math and Science Alliance (MMSA) and the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) — is hard at work designing and developing the survey, which will launch this summer. Data analysis will occur in the fall and winter, with a new report coming out thereafter.

What’s changing? What new insights does the Teach ME Outside team hope to glean? How will this third census influence programs across the state? We sat down with MMSA researchers Alexandria Brasili, Programmatic and Research Director, and Mike Froehly, Research Associate, to answer these questions and more.

How a Statewide Census Is Born

The primary goal of the CBEL census hasn’t shifted: to gather data to help ensure all Maine youth have access to high-quality environmental programming rooted in community and place. “We have our core set of questions that we want to be tracking over time — Where are programs happening? Where are they not happening? What do teachers and educators need?” says Brasili. “We can’t change systems unless we measure how they’re evolving.”

Yet, Brasili, Froehly, and their team balance continuity with nuance, adjusting questions slightly where needed to account for cultural or programmatic changes. To create the upcoming census, the team will follow four key steps:

1. Community Engagement

Brasili and Froehly partner with MEEA researchers to carefully evaluate every question on the survey. Did the question previously lead to useful data? How has the field changed, and how can we capture that information through our questions? What do people want to know, given what’s happening in the world around them?

That last question requires deep investment in community listening, so the team actively seeks out answers from environmental educators, school administrators, teachers, and program directors through open-door facilitated discussions. “We try to see what matters to them now,” says Froehly. “What questions do you want us to ask? What data could help you in your own job? Are previous questions still relevant?”

2. Survey Development

After gathering insights from the environmental education field, the Teach ME Outside team engages a community advisory committee comprising leaders and educators from the field. Together, they develop and test questions to ensure they’re asking the right things in the right ways.

Learning from the last census and this year’s community listening sessions, the upcoming survey will include:

• A significantly expanded section focused on the early childhood nature-based environmental ecosystem

• Additional questions regarding sustainable school initiatives, which will be particularly useful for informing Maine Department of Education decisions

• Questions regarding perceptions of the outcomes resulting from environmental education programs, which can potentially drive future opportunities

• Additional questions relating to Wabanaki environmental studies

• Fewer open-ended questions

Based on what they’ve heard from the field, the Teach ME Outside team intentionally reaches out to various subgroups, such as climate education specialists or organizers of the Maine Outdoor School for All program, to track shifts in those areas.

“We try to ask the right questions so we can give those groups the kinds of data that could help them make informed decisions and understand their impact,” says Brasili.

3. Data Analysis

While the survey will remain open until November, the Teach ME Outside team will conduct preliminary analyses as data trickles in over the summer and fall. This helps them assess how questions are landing with the community and begin to identify emerging trends.

From there, the team will clean the data and spend months coding, categorizing, and analyzing it. The process is iterative, as Froehly will regularly bring certain data points back to the core team for deeper analysis before expanding outward once again.

4. Report Development and Distribution

The completion of data analysis leads to the report and a concerted effort to get it into the hands of as many people as possible. “We always want to meet people where they’re at with the findings, so we make it as approachable and as customized as possible for the folks we’re presenting to,” says Brasili.

When the 2022 census led to interesting insights relating to land trusts, for example, Brasili and her team built a special presentation tailored to that audience. This year, the team plans to do the same by customizing presentations to various groups across the state.

To complement the quantitative data in the report, the Teach ME Outside team builds case studies to highlight successful programs in Maine. And they seek out local, national, and international conferences to spread the word about the study and its findings. “We want to put this project on the map and share our valuable process with others to show how they can do it in their states, too,” says Froehly.

For a Better Future in Maine

The 2019 and 2022 CBEL censuses made a clear and significant impact on Maine’s environmental education sector. Based on data from the report, the state has implemented a climate change education program and passed a Wabanaki studies bill. New positions have opened up, new funding opportunities have arisen, and access to various environmental education programs has expanded throughout Maine.

What changes will this year’s census spark? That remains to be seen. But Brasili and Froehly are eagerly anticipating what’s to come, understanding the immense value a report like this has to offer. “Whether it’s a five-minute nature walk in the school’s garden or an overnight trip, these environmental education programs are so valuable,” says Froehly. “Quantifying how many students have access to them drives my passion for this work.”

For Brasili, the report illustrates the wide variety of educators, approaches, and programs in the state. “I’m always excited to see the creativity of the educators in this field,” she says. “Hearing about the different projects happening across Maine really lifts my sails.”

As the winter and the new year approach, look to Teach ME Outside for the latest CBEL census — a report that will set the direction of environmental education in the state for years to come.