ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the significance of identifying educators as environmental communication practitioners and outlines a process by which educators might improve the environmental communication of their pedagogy. As students' knowledge, interests, and desire for action change, the rhetorical situation is altered, and new exigencies and constraints are introduced which will require an alteration to one's pedagogical communication. The students in The Sustainability Semester were a self-selected audience of environmentalists who needed to understand communication and social persuasion to participate effectively in environmental deliberation. Environmental communication courses pair the citizenship training of civic engagement and critical thought often present in communication studies courses with environmental education, and are thus uniquely situated to encourage the practices of ecological citizenship by students. When considering the role environmental communication courses play in training citizens, however, determining what type of roles students are currently prepared for and what they need to move toward adopting ecological citizenship is essential.
