The environment continues to experience environmental stresses. Industries, households and
other infrastructures are releasing wastes continuously that threaten the atmosphere as well as
agricultural lands, surface and ground waters. Supplies coming from natural resources such as
forest products that include wildlife, timber, clean water and medicines become limited while
petroleum and minerals are hard to find.
The demand for water, food, energy, housing, space, transportation and other basic
necessities continue to grow as population increases. More environmental problems already occur; lost of biodiversity, ozone layer depletion, pollution in air, water and land, flood, landslide, global warming and climate change. In addition, people’s interests oftentimes come in conflict over the use of resources resulting to crime.
These environmental problems together with the social, political, economic and technological
changes that are going on in the country have created greater demands and challenges to the
educational sector. The school curriculum has been expected to reflect these changes. The
curriculum needs to provide the necessary knowledge, skills and values that will help the learnersnot only to cope with and adapt to these changes but also to help solve these environmentalproblems.
One of the strategies used to respond to these problems is the incorporation or integration of
environmental concepts into the curricula and other educational programs. The strategy of
promoting effective teaching and learning must be included for the learners to acquire
understanding that enable them to accept stewardship and participate in the development and
maintenance of an ecological and sustainable society.
The protection and improvement of the environment have, therefore become imperative goals
of education, because it is the means through which society prepares its citizenry to carry out theirresponsibilities. Schools are the basins where people are molded, the training ground which toinstill necessary attitudes and mindsets that would serve as the core towards proper living in a
demanding world.
If this integration will be implemented, it is envisioned that within the next decades, a great
majority of citizens will think and act with a sense of responsibility to care for, protect and
improve environmental quality that is conducive to the well-being and to support our economy fornational development.
By: Ria A. Cortez | Teacher II | Limay National High School | Limay, Bataan
