The GEEP was launched by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Taiwan Ministry of Environment (formerly the Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan), and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) in 2014.
In 2014, environmental education leaders from several countries came together to discuss each country’s needs for achieving their environmental protection goals and addressing such issues as climate change through environmental education and citizen engagement. This group, now known as the GEEP, developed a list of more than 25 topics in environmental education, with the following rising to the top as the most important globally in environmental education:
- Professional development
- Globalization of environmental education standards guidelines
- Legislation and national-level policies that support environmental education
- Access to effective and promising practices
- Research and evaluation
- How environmental education can best address key issues, such as climate change, water shortages, and loss of biodiversity
To help countries improve the use of, access to, and quality of environmental education, the leaders recognized a need for a centralized way to share best practices and resources to help practitioners use environmental education more effectively in their countries. No such platform existed at that time. The GEEP was then envisioned as a global network and platform to share best practices and improve the quality and quantity of environmental education around the world.
2023 GEEP Advisory Group Meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland
2022 GEEP Advisory Group Meeting in Tucson, Arizona
2019 GEEP Advisory Group Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2016 GEEP Advisory Group Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin
In 2015, GEEP delegates met to establish the purpose and mission of the GEEP, as well as goals and objectives, through a series of in-person meetings informed by surveys, research, and interviews. The GEEP is designed to provide a space for collaboration among the member countries, including sharing experiences and promising practices and creative thinking, idea generation, and problem-solving. Additionally, in 2015, the NAAEE was named the secretariat of the GEEP.
In 2016, the Advisory Group (formerly the Steering Committee) met in Bristol, England, to discuss the strategy, governance, and audience, as well as options for sustaining the GEEP. In April 2018, a sub-group of the Advisory Group met to update the vision, mission, goals, governance, and membership to reflect the evolution of the partnership.
In October 2017, and in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Tbilisi Declaration, GEEP launched a Call to Action to gather feedback on priorities for the field of environmental education (EE) over the next decade and beyond. To spark discussion, the GEEP identified ten potential actions environmental educators, collectively, could take to advance our shared goals. These actions were developed by a working group of EE leaders from around the world, and mindful of the incredible body of work that has come before, starting with the Tbilisi Declaration of 1977, the Millennium Development Goals, the Decade for Education for Sustainability, the international adoption of a set of ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and others.
In 2021, GEEP hosted the Asia Pacific Virtual EE Forum, a free three-day forum designed to strengthen environmental education in the Asia-Pacific region. This gave people around the world the opportunity to hear from leading EE experts and network with EE professionals from across the region to learn, share, and strengthen collaboration on a plethora of environmental and social issues.
In 2023, a sub-group of the Advisory Group met in Belfast, Northern Ireland, hosted by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, to update and revise the GEEP strategy.
A selection of GEEP Advisory Group members meets every other year at the NAAEE international conference and research symposium to reflect on GEEP programs, receive updates from advisors and their networks around the world, and discuss the goals of the GEEP in the coming year.
