Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 June 2015
Over the past decade concern for the environment and, as a consequence, interest in environmental education have undergone a revival in Britain. Interest generated in the late Sixties and early Seventies was followed by a quiescent period during which few significant developments occurred. The publication of the World Conservation Strategy and the UK Response in the early Eighties, coupled with the general realisation that environmental degradation was occurring on a global scale, has caused a substantial increase in environmental interest. Recent developments in the formulation of a National Curriculum in England and Wales have provided a real opportunity to incorporate environmental education into the programs of study for every pupil between the ages of 5 to 16.
The following paper concentrates on the formal education system but important developments are currently taking place in the youth sector. As the National Curriculum proceeds and becomes fully implemented it will further affect higher and further education and environmental education in industry.