Abstract Quality environmental education (EE) is key for supporting sustainable development and use of resources. Educators in rural India face considerable challenges to teach EE in K-12 school settings. This study took place in Assam in Northeast India where non-governmental organization (NGO) educators are working to develop an EE program for students in rural areas. To reveal students’ perceptions of the environment, researchers administered the Draw-an-Environment Test (DAET) to 277 middle school students in government schools. Analysis of students’ drawings of the environment revealed that while students recognized humans have an impact on the environment, they did not fully understand the impact could often be negative and drawings did not necessarily reflect the reality of the local environment. Implications for how these findings can be used to develop responsive EE curriculum that challenges and extends students’ conceptions of the environment and the need for future research are discussed.