The Leopold Education Project (LEP) is a conservation and environmental education curriculum based on the writings of conservationist Aldo Leopold, specifically A Sand County Almanac. The Leopold Education Project uses multi-disciplinary activities which foster critical thinking to teach about humanity's ties to the natural environment.  The mission of the LEP is to create an ecologically literate citizenry so that each individual might develop a personal land ethic.

On October 1, 2007 the South Dakota Discovery Center signed a memorandum of understanding with the Leopold Education Project to serve as the coordinating agency for the LEP within South Dakota.  The mission of the LEP supports the SD Discovery Centers goals of: providing effective and exemplary training and resources to educators and staff of youth and community organizations, involving South Dakotans in the stewardship of the environment.

The South Dakota Leopold Education Project will be funded, in part, by the 319 Information and Education (I&E) project, a grant from the US EPA through the SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources.  The 319 I&E project concerns itself with outreach that informs or educates South Dakotans about issues that pertain to watershed management, non-point source pollution prevention and water quality.  South Dakotans face if not new decisions in these areas, then decisions with new options and ramifications.  Developments in the alternative energy field will only broaden and complicate the issues before land managers now.

Pheasants Forever is the parent organization of the Leopold Education Project. Pheasants Forever undertook the national coordination of the LEP as part of its mission to protect and restore pheasant and quail habitat in 1992, assuming full oversight for the LEP in 1995. Currently, there are  trained educators in every state with most states having trained facilitators as well. Additionally, twenty six states have a state coordinator.

Getting the Leopold Education Project off the ground in South Dakota will not be difficult.  South Dakota already has 70 trained educators and approximately 20 facilitators, those that have been trained to conduct LEP workshops.

The short term goals of the SD LEP are to:

1.  Build awareness within South Dakota of the Leopold Education Project and its objectives.

2. Identify and network those who have been trained in the LEP.

3. Develop a facilitator network.

4. Conduct educator trainings throughout the state in cooperation with local Pheasant Forever members and chapters.

If you would like to bring a Leopold Education Project training to your community, please contact Anne Lewis at 605-224-8295 or via email at annelewis@sd-discovery.com.