School Notes: School of the Environment
September/October 2025

Gauging the environmental literacy of urban youth

Neighborhood conditions—from tree cover to economic stress—influence urban teens’ environmental awareness and actions in myriad ways, according to a Yale School of the Environment–led study. 

The study, recently published in the journal Cities, confirms the significant role that a community plays in shaping young people’s understanding of and engagement with environmental issues. It adds to the growing body of evidence that environmental literacy is not shaped solely by school-based learning but is also affected by the social and ecological context of children’s daily lives via informal learning.

“Having grown up in Philadelphia, I remain acutely aware of how early childhood experiences can promote, and infrastructure delinquencies can hinder, youths’ connection to nature in urban environments,” said Nyeema Harris, the Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation and lead author of the study.  “Perhaps the most notable result that affirmed the importance of park accessibility was that youth participants exhibited a stronger sense of place the closer they resided to urban parks in Detroit.”

Three YSE faculty members retire

After decades of mentoring students and enriching the academic community, Robert O. Mendelsohn ’78PhD, the Edwin Weyerhaeuser Davis Professor of Forest Policy; Gaboury Benoit ’76, the Grinstein Class of 1954 Professor of Environmental Chemistry; and Timothy Gregoire ’82For, ’85PhD, the J. P. Weyerhaeuser Jr. Professor of Forest Management, are retiring.

“These scholars have each changed the shape of their respective fields through their scholarship, profoundly impacting our understanding of the delicate balance between humanity and nature,” Dean Indy Burke says. “They have also mentored and taught generations of students, who, as alumni, are bringing systems thinking and a science-to-solutions approach to environmental challenges all over the world. The legacies of Professors Mendelsohn, Benoit, and Gregoire extend far beyond the classroom, with each of them leaving a lasting imprint on their field that will inspire future generations.”