For the past 26 years, the ECO-ACT Environmental Leadership Program at the Missouri Botanical Garden has been educating high school and elementary students in ecology and environmental science. The program has become a stepping-stone for introducing students to educational and/or environmental careers as well as becoming role models and ecologically literate citizens. The ECO-ACT program has had a profound impact on the lives of thousands of high school and elementary children in St. Louis.
ECO-ACT began in 1981 as a result of a gift from a community philanthropist strongly involved in bringing about social change and providing leadership opportunities to urban youth. In 1984, the program became part of the desegregation effort of the St. Louis Public Schools and was funded by the St. Louis Public School Partnership program. Desegregation funding continued until 1999 when the federal court in charge of the case approved a final settlement. In the years that ECO-ACT has been operating, more than 1,400 high school students, and nearly 17,000 elementary school students have participated in the program. In 1983, ECO-ACT was awarded the “Exemplary Science Program Award” by the Search for Excellence in Science Education sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association. More recently, ECO-ACT has been recognized by Choose Environmental Excellence—Gateway Region.
In 2007, a generous endowment led to the program’s being renamed, The Saigh Foundation ECO-ACT Environmental Leadership Program.