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There are calls for increased public involvement in environmental management processes but this will require a public that is both motivated to care about the environment and environmentally literate. The research reported here found that one aspect of environmental knowledge in school pupils in the UK, their ability to name common bird species, is poor. Their limited knowledge did not improve with age and appears to be derived from indirect sources, such as television programmes, motifs on Christmas cards and nursery rhymes, rather than actually seeing birds in the wild. Knowledge can be improved by involving children in bird surveys and it is argued that there is a strong case for reversing the current decline in field-ecology teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]