Over the past decade considerable progress has been made toward developing a foundation for green chemistry education. Collaborative efforts by the by the Green Chemistry Institute (GCI), the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation in partnership with national leaders in green chemistry education have facilitated the incorporation of green chemistry principles into the curriculum by removing two significant barriers to adoption; (1) educating faculty and students about green chemistry principles (via summer workshops and symposia at national meetings) and (2) increasing the availability of educational materials that can be incorporated into the curriculum. The principle-based approach of green chemistry provides a unique framework for educational materials development and the interdisciplinary nature of green chemistry provides educators with a variety of opportunities to incorporate green chemistry principles throughout the curriculum. As a result, we see a growing number of community college and university faculty who have adopted the curriculum and are now interested in contributing to the development of new educational materials.

A key to sustaining the development of new educational materials is to actively involve faculty from across the country in developing these materials. Empowering a broad range of people to participate in the design and development of new educational materials has solidified a community of educators interested in using innovative strategies to provide a diverse and continuously evolving collection of educational materials. We recognize this cadre of educators as a critical, untapped resource with great potential to contribute capacity to the green chemistry education effort.

Members of this community are working together to facilitate the development of new educational materials in the area of green chemistry by influencing textbook content and creating regional networks of “ambassador sites” focused on collaborative curriculum development. Ambassador sites function as peer-led team efforts to design, evaluate and prepare new materials for dissemination. The opportunity to work with fellow educators who can assist in developing, testing and championing a green chemistry curriculum has been critical for the development of currently available materials.

As new educators are recruited into the network, they actively engage others in development activities, so that initial efforts essentially catalyze a significant increase in the number of faculty involved with and exposed to the green curriculum. This community-based approach not only enhances the capabilities of the members through the exchange of knowledge and experience, but also provides unique opportunities for innovation and rapid change. These types of synergistic community-based activities are dramatically increasing the number of faculty involved with and exposed to the green curriculum while sustaining the development of new educational materials.

The number of educators participating in the ambassador site project is growing. In summer 2004, the program began with five faculty supporting ambassador sites in Oregon, Arkansas and Massachusetts. During the summer of 2006, this network of educators formed the Green Chemistry Education Network (GCEdNet) in collaboration with the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute. Today the network includes twenty faculty members from six states. The goal of the GCEdNet is to coordinate curriculum development efforts at high schools, community colleges, PUIs and universities via regional ambassador sites in New England, the Pacific Northwest, Arkansas, and Minnesota.