Albertans on Environmental Education

Calgary, AB - A recent Ipsos Reid study commissioned by the Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE) shows that the majority of Albertans (75%) agree that schools in Alberta should give top priority to providing students with opportunities to do environmental action projects. Support varies by type of action project, with 90% of Albertans saying they would support Kindergarten to Grade 12 students being involved in neighbourhood clean-up, 78% would support students educating others about local environmental issues, and 67% would support students presenting to politicians on an environmental issue.

Apart from environmental action projects, there is strong agreement that environmental education should help learners increase their environmental knowledge (88%) and environmental education should give learners citizenship skills that help them solve environmental issues (81%).

Though the majority of Albertans support students participating in public actions, their own engagement in public actions is very low. Just 14% say they communicate their environmental concerns to a political representative as much as they possibly can (rating of 4 or 5 on a five-point scale where 5 means you do it as much as you possibly can), only 9% say they write a letter to the editor about an environmental issue as much as they possibly can and only 8% say they organize community action to protect their local environment as much as they possibly can.

Further, environmental knowledge among adult Albertans is low on a number of issues. Less than half of Albertans provide ratings of 4 or 5 (on a five-point scale where 5 means you know a great deal and 1 means you know very little) on five environmental issues evaluated: global climate change (45%), urban sprawl around Alberta town and cities (42%), pollution of water in Alberta (33%) and endangered species in Alberta (29%).

Additionally, just over half (53%) of Albertans incorrectly think that `recycling all your paper and tins helps the environment more than moving to a smaller more fuel-efficient home.'

While the need for government action in environmental education was not assessed, two thirds (66%) of Albertans agree that more government action is needed to help environmental problems facing Alberta.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid telephone poll conducted between January 12 and 21, 2009. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 801 Albertans aged 18 or older. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Alberta been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Alberta population aged 18 or older according to 2006 Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Jamie Duncan
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid
(403) 969-3235
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels.

Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, health and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, visit www.ipsos.ca

About Ipsos

Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999.

In 2008, Ipsos generated global revenues of e979.3 million ($1.34 billion U.S.).

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.