EECOM

Awards of Excellence

Nominations for EECOM’s Awards of Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication are open!

Consider nominating a deserving candidate!

The EECOM Awards of Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication are given out in eight separate categories:

  • Outstanding Organization;
  • Outstanding Individual in an Organization;
  • Outstanding Educator;
  • Outstanding Early Childhood Educator;
  • Outstanding K-12 Class, School, or School District;
  • Outstanding Post-Secondary Educator;
  • Outstanding Post-Secondary Institution, Department, Program, or Club;
  • Outstanding Youth Action (Leader or Organization).

Nominations in each award category are judged according to the following five criteria:

  • Commitment;
  • Impact;
  • Collaboration;
  • Mentorship;
  • Innovation.

Judging for the EECOM Awards of Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication is done by a committee of volunteer EECOM members.

Nomination forms are completed online and are accessed by clicking here.

Outstanding Organization

Awarded to an organization (governmental, NGO, non-profit, or private) that has significantly contributed to an environmental education or communication project. The project which the organization contributed to should have:

  • demonstrated an increase in public awareness about the environment and/or acted as a catalyst to foster environmental education or communication initiatives;
  • had a scope ranging from in-house to national or international;
    shown concrete results;
  • resulted in clearly describable outcomes in terms of engagement with its target audience and/or its contributions to knowledge/research in environmental education or communication.

Outstanding Individual in an Organization

Awarded to an individual who is associated with an organization (governmental, NGO, non-profit, or private), and who has made significant contributions to environmental education or communication in one or more of the following ways:

  • made visible contributions to environmental education or communication research, innovations, curricula, legislation, or similar;
  • demonstrated outstanding environmental actions, positions or stances with respect to environmental education or communication;
  • shown excellence in reporting or communicating environmental issues for the purpose of public education.

Outstanding Educator

Awarded to an individual who is working as a formal (K-12) or informal (outdoor/community-based) educator, and who has successfully developed and/or carried out transformative environmental education or communication programs, which may have included:

  • fostering a greater understanding of ecological principles or environmental issues;
  • fostering of environmental ethics;
  • re-imagining curriculum to incorporate environmental and outdoor learning;
  • developing skills;
  • implementing environmental action projects.

Outstanding Early Childhood Educator

Awarded to an individual who is working as an early childhood educator, and who has successfully developed and/or carried out environmental education or communication initiatives or projects, which may have included:

  • environmental action projects that aim to reduce energy and/or resource consumption;
  • development of nature-exploration themed educational activities that aim to increase children’s connection to nature and respect the environment;
  • outdoor play space redesign projects that prioritize natural elements, including natural play materials (wood, soil, plants, and similar).

Outstanding K-12 Class, School, or School District

Awarded to a class, school, or school district that has gone above and beyond the call of duty by developing and implementing innovative environmental education or communication programs, which may have included:

  • fostering a greater understanding of ecological principles or environmental issues;
  • fostering of environmental ethics;
  • developing skills;
  • implementing environmental action projects.

Outstanding Post-Secondary Educator

Awarded to an individual who is working as a post-secondary educator, and who has successfully developed and/or carried out transformative environmental education or communication programs, which may have included:

  • fostering a greater understanding of ecological principles or environmental issues;
  • fostering of environmental ethics;
  • re-imagining curriculum to incorporate environmental and outdoor learning;
  • developing skills;
  • implementing environmental action projects.

Outstanding Post-Secondary Institution, Department, Program, or Club

Awarded to a post-secondary educational institution, or a department, program, or club at a post-secondary institution, that has demonstrated excellence in developing and implementing innovative environmental education or communication programming, which may have included:

  • specific courses, unique projects, or an on-going commitment to environmental education;
  • fostering a greater understanding of ecological principles or environmental issues;
  • fostering of environmental ethics;
  • developing skills;
  • implementing environmental action projects;
  • reducing the human use of energy or resources.

Outstanding Youth Action (Leader or Organization)

Awarded to an individual who is under the age of 30, or to an organization that is led by individual(s) under the age of 30, who/which has taken leadership or significant action in regards to an environmental education or communication initiative, which may have included:

  • fostering a greater understanding of ecological principles or environmental issues;
  • fostering of environmental ethics;
  • developing skills;
  • implementing environmental action projects.

Judging Criteria

The EECOM Awards of Excellence in Environmental Education and Communication judging criteria:

Commitment — Shows commitment to the advancement of environmental education and communication.

Impact — Demonstrates a tangible (and potentially lasting) impact as an agent of change.

Collaboration — Collaborates with other individuals, communities, organizations, etc.

Mentorship — Evidence of fostering environmental understandings, ethics, skills, and/or actions in others.

Innovation — Displays courage and originality in the design, realization, and development of environmental education and communication.

Learn more about Award Recipients and view past Award Recipients