September 2021
The Youth Led Environmental Education Poll 2021 was created and conducted by the Alberta Youth Leaders for Environmental Education (AYLEE) with the aim of bringing youth voices to the forefront on environmental education. The poll was conducted in the spring of 2021 through direct and indirect outreach methods to youth across the province and received a total of 318 responses.
The results provide a recent depiction of youth perception regarding the pivotal point in time, where the need for environmental education is of severe urgency for Alberta youth to feel confident, prepared, and equipped with the knowledge to take action for our future amidst the climate crisis. Overall, the results express a widespread concern from youth living in Alberta for the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on their future without environmental education. Over 80% of youth who were polled believed that there should be more environmental education, with 49% stating that there should be much more.
The youth perspective is coherent; youth need environmental education. We are calling on Albertans to speak up about environmental education. Through conversations, spreading awareness about the need for it, taking climate action, and supporting youth leaders in your communities, you can help bring environmental education to Alberta youth. Alberta’s students are also calling for a systemic change in bringing environmental education to schools, it must be integrated throughout the curriculum and teachers must be supported in delivering it.