The travel cost method: a valuable tool for organizers quantifying the economic value of environmental education—a case study from Oklahoma

Environmental education (EE) and training is integral to public involvement in environmental stewardship. Although entities supported by grants and public funding provide a range of benefits, determining the economic value of the EE delivered is essential in quantifying the scope of its benefit. Data on this subject are limited; this study aims to address this gap. As a non-market good, evaluating education requires a non-traditional economic approach. An approach offering a methodological value to evaluate EE is the travel cost method (TCM), which is a non-market valuation approach in the field of environmental economics. Conventionally, TCM has been used to assess the economic value of recreational sites. For this study, the TCM is applied to indirectly value EE by using the costs of travel as a proxy for what consumers pay to travel to educational events and what they would be willing to pay (WTP) in addition to the same educational experience if higher travel costs were to be incurred. This study also considers the feasibility of TCM as a method for evaluating the value of EE, particularly for EE event organizers. Data collected via the distribution of surveys at EE events within the state of Oklahoma were incorporated into an econometric model and used to observe demographic predictors associated with a willingness to travel farther to access EE. To quantify the value of EE, the difference between the actual costs and WTP was assessed. This expressed valuation of EE is intended to assist in informed decision-making on allocation of monetary resources for agencies supported by grants and public funding.