In recent years, Michaela Zint, an associate professor of environmental education and communication at the University of Michigan, found herself fielding an increasing number of calls from fellow environmental educators. All expressed a similar concern: how to evaluate their programs.

Environmental educators - whether K-12 teachers or instructors working for government agencies or non-profit organizations including universities - expressed a strong need for information to assess the quality of their programs.

These evaluations have become more important for environmental education programs as budgets shrink at funding agencies and foundations.í‚   As the cuts occur, there is more pressure on environmental educators to prove their programs are worth the investment and making a difference. In fact, many agencies and foundations now do not fund programs unless they incorporate evaluation.

Reflecting on her colleagues' needs, Dr. Zint initiated a project to develop a web-based tool to assist and empower environmental educators in conducting their own evaluations. The result was "My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant" or MEERA, the latest version of which was launched this month. The site's URL is www.meera.snre.umich.edu.

"Whether you are an environmental educator or just interested in the process of evaluation, this site provides guidance on all aspects of evaluating a program, including about how evaluation can help you improve your program," said Dr. Zint, who has appointments in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and School of Education at U-M.

Funded by and in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service, MEERA enables visitors to learn about different types of evaluations; helps them choose an appropriate evaluation; guides them through the evaluation process step-by-step; and offers suggestions and insights from a number of sample environmental education program evaluations.

Early reviews of the site have been favorable. One environmental educator, Kimberly Benson from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated: "I find the site to be inviting, understandable, and manageable."

"[MEERA] offers a great clearinghouse of resources and guidelines for [Environmental Education] program evaluation and it really serves a need.í‚   There isn't anything else like this available on the internet," said Rainey Kreis, an environmental educator at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. "Plus, it's a free resource."

MEERA's visitor traffic recently spiked after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Education Division asked potential applicants of their Environmental Education Grant Program to visit the site for guidance on project evaluation.í‚   All grant applicants must include an evaluation plan as part of their proposal which explains how they will ensure their project meets the goals, objectives, outputs, and outcomes of the project.

The Forest Service also aims to make MEERA an important part of its efforts to improve conservation education program evaluation agency-wide.í‚   The agency is currently undertaking an initiative to provide capacity building assistance to field practitioners, and plans to incorporate MEERA into its popular More Kids in the Woods internal funding initiative next year.

Before MEERA existed, environmental educators and others interested in evaluation had to locate, search and choose from a large number of evaluation resources. MEERA simplifies that process. The site contains carefully selected and reviewed evaluation resources.í‚   MEERA also indicates whether the resource is most appropriate for educators with little, intermediate or advanced evaluation skills.í‚   MEERA also includes a database of sample environmental education program evaluations that offer insights from those who conducted these evaluations.

Site visitors' comfort level with conducting evaluation is important. When faced with the prospect of evaluation, many feel intimidated and overwhelmed. MEERA addresses those concerns by being easy to navigate, providing links to additional information and resources and suggesting handy tips and warnings about common pitfalls. MEERA breaks down the daunting work of evaluation into manageable pieces, thereby making it possible for environmental educators of every skill level to conduct quality evaluations of their programs.

Dr. Zint believes that MEERA is well on its way to becoming the most commonly used evaluation resource by environmental educators. í‚  Through word of mouth alone, the site has had more than 1,500 unique visitors per month from more than 60 countries.

About the School of Natural Resources and Environment:

The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff, and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.

About the School of Education:

The School of Education's mission is to contribute visibly and effectively to improving the quality of education across the lifespan through research, and through the professional programs the School designs, delivers, and studies. The school, currently engaged in redesign of its teacher preparation program, aims to develop professional education that will prepare novices to do the complex relational, psychological, social and intellectual work of teaching, while studying these efforts and disseminating systematic evidence about effective teacher education.