Environmental educators teach the public about nature and environmental issues through programs at schools, nature reserves, zoos, and nonprofits. Environmental educators are not explicitly tracked by the BLS but may fall under categories such as conservation scientists, park naturalists, or farm and home management educators depending on duties. Median salaries for related roles range from $56,000-$68,000 annually, with related occupations projected to grow 4-5% through 2034.
Environmental educators bridge the gap between complex environmental science and public understanding. Whether you're teaching elementary students about watersheds or helping adults understand climate science, this career lets you combine your passion for nature with meaningful community impact.
From our research, successful environmental educators share a unique ability: they can take highly technical scientific material and transform it into engaging, accessible programs for diverse audiences. An environmental educator works with schools, nature reserves, nonprofits, and other organizations to raise awareness of environmental issues and empower people to live more sustainably.
What Does an Environmental Educator Do?
Environmental educators give talks to schools and other groups about nature and environmental issues. Some are employed by nature reserves, where they lead outdoor walks and answer visitor questions. Others teach through immersive outdoor field trips, with some programs designed explicitly for inner-city or underprivileged children who might not otherwise experience natural environments.
The role involves much more than just teaching. Environmental educators plan events, activities, and programs to educate the next generation about environmental challenges and solutions. For example, you might develop a watershed education curriculum for fifth graders, then spend the afternoon coordinating with teachers to schedule field trips, and finish your day updating social media to promote upcoming programs.
Program planning involves developing curricula, schedules, and logistics. It also requires promoting and publicizing programs through multiple channels. Environmental educators often create web pages, newsletters, and fliers to reach their audiences. Many need to participate in fundraising activities and budgeting-especially those at nonprofit organizations where resources are limited.
Some environmental educators collect and analyze data to assess program success, then report results to managers and funding organizations. Those in managerial positions contribute to organizational strategy and planning. Many supervise volunteers, and some travel regularly to various locations to give talks or attend community events.
The core responsibilities vary significantly by position, but typically include:
- Analyzing and interpreting data from literature reviews, research findings, and scientific studies
- Researching and teaching about leading scientists and environmental theories
- Explaining how environmental events or trends impact ecosystems and human populations
- Communicating lessons to stakeholders on topics like climate change, watershed protection, or recycling
- Engaging audiences and developing environmental awareness through interactive activities
- Developing curriculum-based resources and providing support for other educators
- Writing resource materials in multiple formats-paper, online, oral lectures, and multimedia
- Facilitating discussions between different interest groups to enrich perspectives
- Developing feedback systems to improve program effectiveness
Senior Environmental Educators take on enhanced responsibilities that include management, budgeting, and team collaboration:
- Extracting learning objectives from stakeholders and source material
- Creating comprehensive curricula along prescribed timelines
- Developing themes and activities that reinforce learning
- Coordinating professional development for colleague educators
- Managing budgets and preparing grant proposals
- Creating assessment materials when required
- Providing consultation to agencies, professionals, and researchers
- Planning and participating in outreach campaigns to engage the public
- Establishing efficient work protocols for positive team environments
- Mentoring junior educators
A Typical Day for an Environmental Educator
No two days are exactly alike for environmental educators, but most follow a pattern that balances direct teaching with planning and administrative work.
Morning (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM): You might start by reviewing the day's schedule and gathering materials for an afternoon school program. If you're leading a nature walk, you'll check trail conditions and weather. Many educators spend morning hours responding to emails from teachers requesting programs, updating curriculum materials, or preparing visual aids. Some mornings involve staff meetings to coordinate upcoming events or discuss program improvements.
Afternoon (12:00 PM - 4:00 PM): This is when most direct education happens. You could be leading a group of fourth graders on a wetland exploration, teaching them to identify native plants and explaining food webs. Or you might be presenting to a community group about renewable energy options. Between programs, you're often setting up equipment, troubleshooting last-minute changes, or having impromptu conversations with curious visitors.
Evening (4:00 PM - 6:00 PM): After programs wrap up, you'll typically spend time on follow-up activities-sending resources to teachers, updating program attendance records, or brainstorming improvements based on how the day's activities went. Some evenings involve community events, family programs, or volunteer training sessions. Grant writing and fundraising tasks often happen during these quieter hours.
Where Does an Environmental Educator Work?
The work settings for environmental educators are remarkably diverse, which means you can often find an environment that matches your interests and preferred work style.
Nonprofits employ many environmental educators. Organizations like the National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and local conservation groups all need educators to run their public programs. These positions often offer the most variety in day-to-day work but may come with smaller budgets and require more grant writing.
Zoos, aquariums, and arboretums are popular employers for environmental educators. These institutions typically have established education departments with multiple staff members, offering more collaboration opportunities and structured career paths. The work often involves developing exhibits and programs that connect visitors to wildlife and plant conservation.
National and state parks employ environmental educators as park rangers or interpretive specialists. These positions combine environmental education with visitor services and sometimes law enforcement duties. Parks offer the advantage of working in protected natural areas daily, though positions can be competitive and sometimes seasonal.
Summer camps provide many environmental education jobs, though these are typically seasonal positions available only during the summer months. However, they offer excellent entry-level experience and can lead to year-round positions.
Local government recreation and leisure departments or education offices employ some environmental educators. These roles often focus on community programming and may involve coordinating with schools for environmental literacy initiatives.
Private employers-including arboretums, botanical gardens, and nature centers-offer additional opportunities. Some corporations in industries with significant environmental impact, such as oil companies and utility companies, employ environmental educators as part of their corporate social responsibility programs.
What Is the Average Environmental Educator Salary?
Environmental educators are not explicitly tracked by the BLS, but may fall under categories such as conservation scientists, park naturalists, or farm and home management educators, depending on their duties. Related health education specialist roles earned a median salary of $63,000 as of 2024. Entry-level environmental education positions typically start around $38,000 to $45,000 annually, while experienced educators in senior or managerial roles can earn $75,000 to $95,000 or more.
Salary varies significantly based on several factors. Geographic location makes a substantial difference-environmental educators in metropolitan areas and states with higher costs of living generally earn more. The type of employer also matters: federal government positions typically offer higher salaries than those in nonprofit organizations, though nonprofits may provide other benefits, such as flexible schedules or mission-driven work, that many educators find rewarding.
Your education level and certifications impact earning potential. Those with master's degrees or specialized certifications often command higher salaries. Experience plays a crucial role too-educators who've built strong track records of successful programs and can demonstrate measurable outcomes are more valuable to employers.
Skills Needed to Succeed as an Environmental Educator
Successful environmental educators combine scientific knowledge with strong people skills. From working with educators across the field, we've identified these essential competencies:
Communication Excellence: You need to explain complex scientific concepts in ways that resonate with diverse audiences-from kindergarteners to corporate executives. This means constantly adapting your language, examples, and teaching methods. The best environmental educators can make climate science accessible to a middle school student and then pivot to discussing policy implications with local government officials.
Teaching and Facilitation: Beyond just presenting information, you're creating learning experiences. This requires understanding how people learn, managing group dynamics, and keeping audiences engaged. You'll need to think on your feet when a student asks an unexpected question or when weather forces you to move an outdoor activity inside.
Scientific Literacy: You don't need a PhD, but you do need a solid foundation in environmental science. You should understand ecological principles, be comfortable reading scientific literature, and stay current with environmental research and policy developments. Audiences will ask detailed questions, and your credibility depends on accurate, informed responses.
Program Development: Creating educational programs from scratch requires creativity, planning skills, and attention to detail. You'll design activities that achieve learning objectives while keeping participants engaged and safe. This often involves writing curricula, creating materials, and testing activities before launching them.
Relationship Building: Environmental education is collaborative work. You'll partner with teachers, coordinate with volunteers, work alongside scientists, and engage community members. Building and maintaining these relationships is essential for program success and often leads to new opportunities.
Adaptability and Problem-Solving: Programs rarely go exactly as planned. Rain cancels your nature walk, a school bus arrives late, or your audio equipment fails during a presentation. Successful educators stay calm, adjust quickly, and find creative solutions that keep learning on track.
How Do I Get an Environmental Educator Degree?
Aspiring environmental educators typically earn a bachelor's degree in environmental science, environmental studies, geography, ecology, or a related field. The specific matters are less significant than gaining strong scientific foundations and developing communication skills.
While you're in school, look for opportunities to build teaching experience. Volunteer as a teaching assistant, lead campus environmental groups, or work at nature centers. Many successful educators started by volunteering at conservation organizations or summer camps while still in college. These experiences are often more valuable than coursework alone when you're competing for paid positions.
Some jobs involving local travel require an in-state driver's license. You can continue gaining experience through internships and volunteer positions with conservation organizations, parks, or environmental education centers.
Educator Certification
Professional certification is becoming increasingly important in this field. Some states now certify environmental educators, and more are developing their own certification programs. These certifications typically require demonstrating specific competencies in environmental education, completing professional development hours, and sometimes passing an assessment.
Why pursue certification? It signals to employers that you've met professional standards and are committed to the field. Certified educators often have better job prospects and may qualify for positions that require certification. The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) has developed core competencies for environmental educators and accredits state certification programs.
If you're interested in teaching environmental education in public school settings, you'll need state teacher certification. Certification requirements vary by state but always require at least a bachelor's degree, completion of a teacher preparation program, supervised teaching experience, and, in most cases, passing scores on teaching exams. Most states also require background checks and ongoing professional development to maintain certification.
Teacher certification opens doors to formal K-12 education positions where you can integrate environmental literacy across subjects. Many environmental educators start in informal education (nature centers, nonprofits) and later pursue teaching certification to expand their career options.
What Is the Job Demand for Environmental Educators?
The BLS does not explicitly track environmental educators as a separate occupation, which makes precise employment projections challenging. However, related fields provide helpful context. Health education specialists-a category that includes some environmental educators-are projected to grow 4% between 2024 and 2034, creating approximately 3,200 new positions across the broader field of 71,800 jobs. This growth rate is about average compared to all occupations.
However, the reality is more nuanced than growth percentages suggest. Competition for environmental education positions has traditionally been intense and continues today. High interest in the career, combined with limited opportunities, creates a competitive job market. Most positions are with nonprofit organizations that operate on constrained budgets, which limits the number of available roles. Summer camp positions are plentiful but seasonal, meaning you'll need to find year-round employment or accept seasonal work patterns early in your career.
Career Progression Path: Understanding how careers develop in this field helps set realistic expectations. Most environmental educators start in entry-level positions-often part-time, seasonal, or volunteer roles-at nature centers, camps, or small nonprofits. You might spend 1-2 years building your resume and demonstrating capability.
After gaining experience, you typically move into full-time educator positions where you lead established programs and develop new curricula. This mid-career stage (3-7 years in) often involves taking on specialized areas such as marine education, climate science, or urban ecology. Your salary improves, and you gain more autonomy in program design.
Senior environmental educators (7+ years) often advance into coordination or management roles. You might become an education director, overseeing multiple educators and managing the entire education department for an organization. Some transition into program development, focusing on creating new initiatives and securing funding. Others specialize further, becoming recognized experts in specific environmental education niches.
A small percentage of environmental educators move into academia, developing environmental education programs at colleges or conducting research on effective teaching methods in environmental contexts. This path typically requires a master's degree or a PhD.
Gaining a Competitive Edge: Candidates who start early with volunteering generally have an advantage when paid positions open up. Organizations often hire from their volunteer pool because they've already seen these candidates work with audiences and understand the organization's mission. Additional skills that improve competitiveness include bilingualism, experience with diverse communities, social media and digital content creation, grant writing, and specific technical skills such as GIS mapping or water quality monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What degree do I need to become an environmental educator?
Most environmental educators hold a bachelor's degree in environmental science, environmental studies, ecology, biology, or a related field. The specific major is less important than gaining strong scientific knowledge and developing teaching skills. Some positions, particularly in formal school settings, require state teaching certification in addition to your bachelor's degree.
How much do environmental educators make?
Environmental educators are not explicitly tracked by the BLS, but may fall under categories such as conservation scientists, park naturalists, or farm and home management educators, depending on their duties. Related health education specialist roles earned a median salary of $63,000 as of 2024. Entry-level environmental education positions typically start around $38,000-$45,000, while experienced educators in senior roles can earn $75,000-$95,000 or more depending on location, employer type, and responsibilities.
Is environmental education a good career choice?
Environmental education can be enriching if you're passionate about both nature and teaching. You'll make tangible impacts on environmental literacy and inspire others to care for the planet. However, you should know that the field is competitive, that many positions require extensive volunteering before securing paid work, and that nonprofit salaries are often modest. It's an excellent career for those driven by mission over maximum earnings.
Do I need certification to be an environmental educator?
Certification isn't universally required but is increasingly valuable. Some states offer voluntary environmental educator certification that demonstrates professional competency. If you want to teach in public schools, you'll need a teaching certificate from your state. Even when not required, certification can give you an advantage in competitive job markets and may qualify you for positions that prefer certified educators.
What's the difference between environmental education and environmental science?
Environmental science is the study of environmental systems, problems, and solutions through scientific research and analysis. Environmental education is the practice of teaching others about environmental topics and fostering environmental awareness. As an environmental science professional, you might conduct research on pollution; as an environmental educator, you'd teach communities about pollution's impacts and solutions. Many environmental educators have backgrounds in environmental science.
What Kind of Societies and Professional Organizations Do Environmental Educators Have?
- The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) publishes core competencies for environmental educators, accredits certification programs, and is developing its own nationwide professional certification program. NAAEE offers guidance on environmental literacy plans and assessments. It also holds an annual conference and issues awards.
- The Environmental Literacy Council offers information and curricular materials on basic environmental concepts for teachers and the public.
- The National Environmental Education Foundation was chartered by Congress in 1990 to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advance environmental knowledge. It works with meteorologists, businesses, health workers, and other partners to inform, involve, and protect the public. It organizes National Environmental Education Week and runs the National Public Lands Day volunteer program. It also hosts the Earth Gauge website that provides information on the links between weather and the environment.
Key Takeaways
- Diverse Work Settings: Environmental educators work in nonprofits, zoos, aquariums, parks, schools, and even corporate settings, offering varied career paths and the ability to find an environment matching your interests.
- Competitive but Rewarding Field: Strong competition exists due to high interest and limited nonprofit budgets, making early volunteering experience essential. Those driven by mission and impact find the work deeply fulfilling despite modest starting salaries.
- Bachelor's Degree Required: Most positions require a bachelor's degree in environmental science, environmental studies, or related fields. Public school positions also require state teaching certification.
- Related Roles Earn $63,000 Median: While environmental educators aren't explicitly tracked by the BLS, related health education specialist positions earned a median salary of $63,000 in 2024, with entry-level positions around $38,000-$45,000 and senior roles reaching $75,000-$95,000+.
- Growing Professional Standards: State certification programs and NAAEE professional certification are becoming increasingly important for career advancement and competitive positioning in the job market.
Ready to make an impact through environmental education? Explore degree programs that prepare you for this rewarding career path and connect you with internship opportunities.
2024 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and job growth figures for health education specialists are provided for reference, as environmental educators are not explicitly tracked as a separate occupation. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed January 2026.
