Free e-book on Urban EE (2015). Published by NAAEE and Cornell University, written by U.S. environmental educators.

This free e-book is a great collection of chapters on various topics in urban environmental education. Authors are educators from diverse organizations in the U.S. Book chapters review conceptual aspects of urban environmental education—such as positive youth development, water and energy, green infrastructure and urban planning—and illustrate how these concepts apply to practice. In addition, invited authors provide exciting case studies—such as from the California Academy of Science in San Francisco, Clearwater sloop in New York, and Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee. This book is a source of inspiration and useful information for in-service educators or in-training teachers who work or plan to work in cities in the U.S. or elsewhere.

This is what Arjen Wals, EE professor at Wageningen University, Netherlands, says about this e-book: “As more and more people live in urban areas and spend time behind screens, the need to develop meaningful connections between city residents, communities, urban places and the natural world seems more crucial than ever. This impressive collection of innovative and diverse perspectives and practices provides powerful imagery of the possibilities that urban environmental education provides for establishing these connections. Furthermore, the book identifies the capacities citizens need to contribute to the socio-ecological well-being of their community, as well as the different ways these capacities can be developed. A must-read for anyone looking for ideas, inspiration and forms of meaningful engagement in the key challenge of our time: reconnecting people and planet.”