Environmental Education at Superfund Sites: Building Long-Term Capacities
Cleanup and restoration provides a window into environmental science, ecology and how natural systems work.
Many innovative Superfund reuses recognize and incorporate these stories as educational opportunities. Education areas, signage, boardwalks and trails, and interactive teaching materials turn sites into classrooms for local children and other community members. Renovating old buildings and preserving reminders of the past – equipment, tools, materials – brings the history of sites alive. Planting gardens provides education opportunities and increases community access to healthy, nutritious food.
These areas can also attract broader regional and national interest, supporting tourism and economic development, and link with surrounding recreation areas and neighborhoods, sustaining healthy communities.
Additional Resources
- EPA Office of Environmental Education: EPA provides environmental education grants as well as resources for educators and students.
- Superfund Classroom Materials: Resources to help teachers and students (grades 2-12) learn about the Superfund program. The website includes several activities, environmental cleanup videos, and a participatory program in which classrooms collect weather data for EPA.
- Superfund Community Involvement Program: EPA provides assistance to communities through a variety of technical assistance and training resources. These resources help communities participate in Superfund decisions at sites in their community.
- Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP)Exit: This partnership was a five-year long program that assisted nearly 2.4 million education professionals. Its website continues to provide a range of environmental education materials and information resources.
- Council for Environmental EducationExit: This nonprofit organization is a nationally recognized leader in environmental education, providing programs and services that promote responsible stewardship of natural resources.
Environmental Education Reuse Examples
Some examples of sites with environmental education reuses are listed below.
- Chemical Commodities, Inc., Olathe, Kansas
- Golden Strip Septic Tank, Simpsonville, South Carolina
- H.O.D. Landfill, Antioch, Illinois
- Palmerton Zinc Pile, Palmerton, Pennsylvania
- Petersen Sand & Gravel, Libertyville, Illinois
- Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Commerce City, Colorado
- Southside Sanitary Landfill, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Torch Lake, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
- Vertac, Inc., Jacksonville, Arkansas
- Woodlawn County Landfill, Colora, Maryland