In June of 2001, for the first time in 150 years, large numbers of mayflies emerged out of Pittsburgh's rivers and descended upon its downtown area.

Although they hatch annually in more rural areas around Pittsburgh, it has been several generations since the city's rivers have been clean enough to sustain a major hatch of these extremely pollution-sensitive aquatic insects.

The emergence of the mayflies in 2001 is an uplifting indication of the improved quality of Pittsburgh's rivers. It serves as a reminder that individual and group efforts to change how we perceive and treat the environment have been successful. Most importantly, however, it provides the hope, encouragement, and motivation necessary to continue our quest for the education of environmentally aware citizens. We do so in hopes that successes like this will become more and more common, and more and more appreciated.

The purpose of this site is to incorporate environmental literacy as one of the major goals of secondary and post-secondary education. Our overall objective is to enable students to become informed, active, and capable participants in environmental decision making at the individual and social level.