About us

The Harvard School of Public Health's Environmental Health Education Program (EHEP) promotes science and health literacy in Boston's inner-city schools. Through hands-on experiments that emphasize critical thinking and active investigation, scientists and health professionals help young people gain the skills they need to study important health and environmental risks in their own communities and to make good decisions for their health.

Since 1987, the program has reached more than 5000 students and their teachers at 10 schools, providing a selection of classroom activities, after-school science clubs, instructional materials, field trips, health fairs, specialized teacher training, and consultation.Environmental health is a highly relevant focus for science education, Like other youth living in the inner-city nationwide, students in Boston face multiple environmental risks which have consequences for health - indoor and outdoor air pollution, lead paint, mold, illegal waste dumping, excessive noise. Students who learn the essentials of scientific inquiry gain a base from which to identify problems in their neighborhoods, distinguish rumor from substance in current events, and make reasoned decisions as citizens. They may also go on to become environmental scientists, public health professionals, and policymakers able to confront health problems in inner city America.