{"id":15375,"date":"2017-06-08T13:52:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T17:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=15375"},"modified":"2017-06-11T19:20:20","modified_gmt":"2017-06-11T23:20:20","slug":"governor-larry-hogan-renews-commitment-to-environmental-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2017\/06\/08\/governor-larry-hogan-renews-commitment-to-environmental-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor Larry Hogan Renews Commitment to Environmental Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Signs New Executive Order Promoting Outdoor Learning For Maryland Youth<\/em><\/p>\n

Governor Larry Hogan is renewing Maryland\u2019s commitment to environmental education to ensure that every child in Maryland has the opportunity to learn about their local environment, develop a connection with nature, and have a better sense of place in their natural surroundings. The governor today signed\u00a0Executive Order 01.01.2017.12<\/a>,\u00a0establishing Project Green Classrooms, an initiative to promote outdoor experiential activities and environmental education through Maryland\u2019s schools, communities and public lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we work together to protect the Chesapeake Bay we also must find new, innovative ways to engage our youth. Project Green Classrooms will continue Maryland\u2019s national leadership in educating and inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards,\u201d said Governor Hogan. \u201cIt will help shine a spotlight on the important role that science and technology will play in finding future innovative solutions to environmental challenges, and it will give young Marylanders insight into potential new career paths.\u201d<\/p>\n

The executive order establishes a panel of experts who will coordinate efforts to provide expanded opportunities for young Marylanders to spend more time outdoors for discovery, healthy play, and learning. The group will serve as an advisory body, making recommendations in support of environmental education programs in schools and greater public access to the outdoors. The new initiative is an expansion and extension of a previous state program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis exciting initiative fits well into our mission to enhance public access to all to our state\u2019s natural beauty and bounty,\u201d\u00a0said Natural Resources<\/a> Secretary Mark Belton, co-chair of the new initiative. \u201cAt the same time,\u00a0we will help foster knowledge, interest, and understanding among our young people to better sustain and value those resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Project Green Classrooms will facilitate field-based environmental study to help teachers utilize our state lands and parks for outdoor experiences and learning laboratories, increase the number of certified Maryland Green Schools, and provide a new emphasis on career development, exploration, and training so students are prepared for 21st\u00a0century \u201cgreen\u201d careers and jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen education connects the great outdoors to classroom instruction, student learning increases exponentially,\u201d said Dr. Karen Salmon, State Superintendent of Schools, co-chair of the initiative. \u201cOur state has been a national leader in environmental education, and this initiative expands on this critical work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s Executive Order specifies updated outcomes toward achieving environmental literacy and connecting children and families to nature, with added emphasis on recommending actions that will align the appropriate resources and capabilities to most effectively impact the state\u2019s youth. This includes expanding nonprofits\u2019 and state agencies\u2019 involvement and participation in the partnership to increase capacity, effectiveness, and efficiency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Signs New Executive Order Promoting Outdoor Learning For Maryland Youth Governor Larry Hogan is renewing Maryland\u2019s commitment to environmental education to ensure that every child in Maryland has the opportunity to learn about their local environment, develop a connection with nature, and have a better sense of place in their natural surroundings. The governor today  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,23,12,33],"tags":[2982,3404,2952,3403,3402,3400],"class_list":["post-15375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-land","category-parks","category-the-bay","tag-chesapeake-bay","tag-environmental-education","tag-larry-hogan","tag-maryland-green-schools","tag-maryland-state-department-of-education","tag-project-green-classrooms"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15375"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15386,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15375\/revisions\/15386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}