Encountering Friends of Coal: Relationships and environmental education

In their work, environmental educators are being confronted with growing skepticism of science and distrust in governmental institutions. While recent discussions about combating these trends have largely focused on transparency, personal messaging, and accessibility of language, the role of trust and relationships merits more attention. This research, which includes interviews with 40 environmental educators in Kentucky and survey data from the Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance (SEEA), suggests that to reach populations who may be skeptical about environmental education, relationship-building that leads to trust must be prioritized. Yet the field faces a profound challenge: despite the urgent need for a relational approach to EE, surveys of EE providers indicate that much EE remains one-off, short-term, and episodic. I conclude by suggesting that funding and policy agencies should support educators in their efforts to prioritize the repeated, in-depth engagement opportunities that can promote relational trust.