by editor | Sep 7, 2025 | Conservation & Sustainability, Critical Thinking, Environmental Literacy, Experiential Learning, Learning Theory, Questioning strategies, Service learning, Sustainability
Empowering Elementary Students through Environmental Service-Learning
by Eileen Merritt, Tracy Harkins and Sara Rimm-Kaufman
“We use electricity when we don’t need to.”
“When we use electricity we use fossil fuels and fossil fuels pollute the air and fossil fuels are nonrenewable.”
“We use too many non-renewable resources to make energy.”
“One problem that we have with the way that we use energy is that we often taken it for granted, leaving lights on when it’s unnecessary, and plugging in chargers without using them.”
“We are literally putting pollution on the blanket of the earth!?”
The problems listed above were identified by fourth grade students in the midst of an environmental service-learning unit. These powerful words, and many similar ideas shared with us by other fourth grade children, show that children care a lot about our planet. They notice when we waste resources, pollute our air, water or land, or cause harm to other living things. Their concerns must be heard, to motivate others to confront the environmental crises that we are facing today. Greta Thunberg has recently demonstrated how powerful one young voice can be, mobilizing people around the world to take action on climate change.
How can educators help students develop skills to be change agents, offering creative and feasible solutions to problems they see around them? Service-learning is one powerful way to build students’ knowledge and skills as they learn about issues that matter to them. Recently, we worked with a group of urban public school teachers to support implementation of environmental service-learning projects in their classrooms. In environmental service-learning, students apply academic knowledge and skills as they work together to address environmental problems. High quality service-learning, according to the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), provides opportunities for students to have a strong voice in planning, implementing and evaluating projects with guidance from adults and engages students in meaningful and personally relevant service activities that address content standards (NYLC, 2008). We designed Connect Science, a curriculum and professional development program, with these goals in mind (Harkins, Merritt, Rimm-Kaufman, Hunt & Bowers, 2019). As we have analyzed student data from this research study, we have been inspired by the strength of conviction that students conveyed when they spoke about the environment and the creative solutions they generated for problems they noticed. In this article, we describe key elements of lessons that fostered student agency (see Table 1). First, two vignettes below exemplify service-learning projects from two classrooms.
In another classroom, students launched a campaign to reduce the use of disposable plastic containers at their school. They made posters to educate others about single-use plastics, explaining how they were made from petroleum (see Figure 1). Students and teachers in their school were encouraged to take a pledge to use reusable water bottles, containers and utensils in their lunches. Sign-up sheets were placed near posters around the school. Several hundred people took the pledge.
What both groups have in common is that they participated in a science unit about energy and natural resources. In the first part of the unit, they discovered problems as they learned about different energy sources and how these energy sources produce electricity. They began to recognize that fossil fuels that are used for transportation, electricity production and plastic products, and that their use causes some problems. This awareness motivated them to take action. Later in the unit, each class honed in on a specific problem that they cared about and chose a solution. Below, we summarize steps taken throughout the unit that empowered students.
1 Choose an environmental topic and help students build knowledge
Students need time to develop a deep understanding of the content and issues before they choose a problem and solution. Many topics are a good fit for environmental service-learning. Just identify an environmental topic in your curriculum. Our unit centered around NGSS core idea ESS3A: How do humans depend on earth’s resources? (National Research Council, 2012). Students participated in a series of lessons designed to help them understand energy concepts and discover resource-related problems. These lessons can be found on our project website: connectscience.org/lessons. Fourth grade students are capable of understanding how the energy and products they use impact the planet (Merritt, Bowers & Rimm-Kaufman, 2019), so why not harness their energy for the greater good?
There are many other science concepts from NGSS that can be addressed through environmental service-learning. For example, LS4.D is about biodiversity and humans, and focuses on the central questions: What is biodiversity, how do humans affect it, and how does it affect humans? Environmental service-learning can be used to address College, Career and Civic Life (C3) standards from dimension 4, taking informed action such as D4.7 (grades 3-5): Explain different strategies and approaches students and others could take in working alone and together to address local, regional, and global problems, and predict some possible results of their actions (National Council for the Social Studies, 2013). Language arts and mathematics standards can also be taught and applied within a service-learning unit.
2 Generate a list of related problems that matter to students
Partway through the unit, each class started a list of problems to consider for further investigation. Collecting or listing problems that kids care about is an effective way to get a pulse on what matters to students. Fourth graders’ concerns fit into three broad categories:
• Pollution (air, water or land)
People need to stop littering. Before you even throw everything on the floor, think about it in your head… should I recycle, reuse? I can probably reuse this…
• Not causing harm to people, animals or the environment
Plastic bags suffocate animals.
• Wasting resources (e.g. electricity, natural resources or money)
If people waste energy, then their bill will get high and it will just be a waste of money.
Co-creating a visible list for students to see and think about legitimizes their concerns and may help them develop a sense of urgency to take action.
3 Collectively identify an important problem
The next step was for students to choose ONE problem for the upcoming service-learning project. Each teacher read the list of problems aloud, and students could cast three votes for the problems that they cared about the most. They could cast all 3 votes for one problem, or distribute their votes. Most teachers used this process to narrow in on one problem for their class to address. One teacher took it a step further by allowing small groups to work on different problems. Either way, allowing students to CHOOSE the problem they want to work on fueled their motivation for later work on solutions. Different classes honed in on problems such as wasting electricity, single-use plastics, foods being transported a long distance when they could be grown locally, and lack of recycling in their communities.
4 Explore possible solutions and teach decision-making skills
Students were introduced to three different ways that citizens can take action and create change. They can work directly on a problem, educate others in the community about the issue or work to influence decision-makers on policy to address the problem. They broadened their perspective on civic engagement as they brainstormed solution ideas in each of these categories. After deciding to work on the problem of lights left on when not in use, one class generated the following list of possibilities for further investigation (see Figure 2)
After considering ways to have an impact, students were ready to narrow in on a solution. Teachers introduced students to three criteria for a good solution. This critical step provides students with decision-making skills, and helps them take ownership of their solution. Our fourth graders considered the following guiding questions in a decision-making matrix:
- Is the solution going to have a positive impact on our problem?
- Is the solution feasible?
- Do you care a lot about this? (Is it important to the group?)
At times, this process prompted further research to help them really consider feasibility. Of course, teachers needed to weigh in too, since ultimately they were responsible for supporting students as they enact solutions. When discussing impact, it’s important to help students understand that they don’t have to SOLVE the problem—the goal is to make progress or have an impact, however small.
While many groups chose the same problem, each class designed their own unique solution. Most focused on educating others about the topic that mattered to them, using a variety of methods: videos, posters, announcements, presentations to other students or administrators, and an energy fair for other members of the school community. The process of educating others about an issue can help consolidate learning (Hattie & Donoghue, 2016). Some groups took direct action in ways such as improving the school recycling program or getting others to pledge to use less electronics or less plastic (as described above). These direct actions are very concrete to upper elementary school children since impacts are often more visible.
5 Support students as they enact solutions
Social and emotional skills were addressed throughout the unit. During project implementation, teachers supported students as they applied those skills. Students developed self-management skills by listing tasks, preparing timelines and choosing roles to get the job done. At the end of the unit, students reflected on the impact that they made, and what they could do to have a larger impact. One group of students noticed that every single student in their class switched from plastic to reusable water bottles. Another student felt that their class had convinced people not to waste electricity. Some groups recognized that their solution wasn’t perfect, and wished they could have done more. For elementary students, it’s important to emphasize that any positive change makes a difference. Critical thinking skills develop when students can compare solutions and figure out which ones work the best and why. The instructional strategies described in this article have been used by educators across grade levels and subjects for other service-learning projects, and can be adapted for different purposes (KIDS Consortium, 2011).
Student-designed solutions yield deeper learning
One challenge that teachers faced when implementing environmental service-learning was that it took time to work on projects after the core disciplinary lessons, and curriculum maps often try to fast forward learning. Deeper learning occurred when teachers carved out time for service-learning projects, allowing students to apply what they know to a problem that mattered to them. There are always tradeoffs between breadth and depth, but ultimately students will remember lessons learned through experiences where they worked on a challenging problem and tried their own solution. School leaders can work with teachers to support them in finding time for deeper learning experiences. The students that we worked with cared a lot about protecting organisms and ecosystems, conserving resources and reducing pollution. They had many wonderful ideas for solutions that involved direct action, education or policy advocacy. For example, one student suggested the following solution for overuse of resources, “Go out and teach kids about animals losing homes and people polluting the world.” The voices of children around the country can be amplified through civic engagement initiatives such as environmental service-learning. Citizens of all ages are needed to actively engage in work toward solutions for climate change. Why not help them begin in elementary years?
References
Harkins, T., Merritt, E., Rimm-Kaufman, S.E., Hunt, A. & Bowers, N. (2019). Connect Science. Unpublished Manual. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia, Arizona State University & Harkins Consulting, LLC.
Hattie, J. A. & Donoghue, G. M. (2016). Learning strategies: A synthesis and conceptual model. Science of Learning, 1, 1-13.
KIDS Consortium. (2011). KIDS as planners: A guide to strengthening students, schools and communities through service-learning. Waldoboro, ME: KIDS Consortium.
Merritt, E., Bowers, N. & Rimm-Kaufman, S. (2019). Making connections: Elementary students’ ideas about electricity and energy resources. Renewable Energy, 138, 1078-1086.
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). (2013). The college, career, and civic life (C3) framework for social studies state standards: Guidance for enhancing the rigor of K-12 civics, economics, geography, and history. Silver Spring, Md.: NCSS. Accessible online at www.socialstudies.org/C3.
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts and core ideas. Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
National Youth Leadership Council. (2008). K-12 service-learning standards for quality practice. St. Paul, MN: NYLC.
Acknowledgements:
The research described in this article was funded by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (R305A150272). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the funding agency. We are grateful to the educators, students and colleagues who shared their ideas throughout the project.
Eileen Merritt is a research scientist in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech and former Assistant Professor in Teacher Preparation at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. She developed her passion for environmental education along the banks of the Rivanna River with her students at Stone-Robinson Elementary. She can be reached at egmerritt@vt.edu.
Tracy Harkins, of Harkins Consulting LLC, works nationally guiding educational change. Tracy provides service-learning professional development and resources to educators to engage and motivate student learners. https://www.harkinsconsultingllc.com/
Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman is a Professor of Education in Educational Psychology – Applied Developmental Science at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. She conducts research on social and emotional learning in elementary and middle school classrooms to provide roadmaps for administrators and teachers making decisions for children.
by editor | Sep 2, 2025 | At-risk Youth, Environmental Literacy, Equity and Inclusion, Learning Theory, Service learning
Developing the “Whole Person”
By Emily J. Anderson
Photos by Emily McDonald-Williams
Practitioners in the field of environmental education have a variety of personal reasons for pursuing this work. Many cite their desire to connect youth with nature, introduce youth to careers in the sciences, and generally, create an environmentally literate society. While we are deeply focused on these goals, there may be even more compelling outcomes under the surface. Environmental educators are creating successful, healthy, contributing members of society. In other words, we are supporting “whole-person development” through our rich educational programs.
While environmental educators may recognize these broader impacts on the youth they serve, we rarely design our programs to support positive youth development outcomes with intentionality. Nor do we measure these outcomes through evaluation and assessment. Rather, we are often highly focused on learning outcomes and meeting science standards. Designing environmental education programs within a research-based positive youth development framework and then measuring outcomes, not only adds tremendous meaning to our efforts, but also adds credibility and value to our field. If we begin thinking of ourselves as positive youth development educators, in addition to content specialists, our program outcomes expand, leading to greater organizational growth.
Positive Youth Development, or PYD, emphasizes building on youth’s strengths, rather than on the prevention of problems. Meaning, programs seek not only to prevent adolescents from engaging in health-compromising behaviors, but also to build their abilities and competencies (Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003). This approach suggests empowering youth in their own development through relationships with peers, mentors, family, school, and community. The research supports the importance and power of a holistic approach to youth development, comprehensively infusing youth programs with core PYD elements. These include opportunities for belonging, opportunities to make a difference, supportive relationships, positive social norms, opportunities for skill building, and integration with family, school, and community efforts (Sibthrop, 2010).
Case Study: Designing and Evaluating
4-H Junior Master Naturalist”
4-H is the nation’s largest youth organization with a long history of positive outcomes. One of the many characteristics that makes 4-H unique and adds to its strong reputation is that its programs are deeply rooted in positive youth development (PYD) theory. One of 4-H’s mission mandates is science and there are countless environmental education programs that fall under that umbrella. One such program is Oregon’s Junior Master Naturalist. As with other 4-H programs, Junior Master Naturalist was intentionally designed within a positive youth development framework: the Oregon 4-H Program Model. To measure the success of this design, participants completed evaluations for both environmental literacy outcomes and PYD outcomes. Junior Master Naturalist serves as a worthy example of situating environmental education programming within a PYD context.
Junior Master Naturalist is an experiential, place-based, science program. It targets underserved youth through after-school and weekend sessions as well as a four-day residential camp experience. Participants engage in six units of study: ecoregions, geology and soils, watersheds and water resources, forests and plant communities, wildlife, and marine science. Approximately 75% of experiences are field based, while 25% are hands-on classroom activities. All sessions are family-friendly and content is often youth-driven.
The goals of Junior Master Naturalist are to connect youth with their local landscape, develop a sense of stewardship, introduce participants to natural science careers, and improve environmental literacy. Additionally, following the Oregon 4-H Program Model, developmental outcomes sought are academic motivation and success, reduction in risk behaviors, healthful choices, social competence, personal standards, and connection and contribution to others.
Content goals for Junior master Naturalist are achieved through curriculum design and field experiences. However, developmental outcomes required consideration of several programmatic factors. These include 1) high program quality, 2) appropriate intensity and duration, and 3) healthy developmental relationships. It was important to program staff to ensure that not only would the curriculum and activities be of high quality, but the opportunity for youth to connect with one another and have positive adult role models were present as well. Furthermore, participants have the opportunity to pursue deeper study of topics they most connect with and are offered a wide range of field experiences, including camping, citizen science, service learning, and outdoor recreation. There is a continual focus on health and well-being, independent exploration, and making connections to their local communities.
In 2017, participants from three Junior Master Naturalist cohorts completed evaluations measuring several desired outcomes. The evaluation tool first asked participants to rate their feelings about their interest in science, their perceived competency in science, their interest in a science career field, and their desire to learn more about science. As anticipated, results demonstrated growth in all areas. Next, the evaluation measured positive youth development outcomes based on the framework used in program design.
Indicators of program quality included participants’ sense of belonging in the program.
94.9% reported feeling welcome
96.1% said they felt safe
90.9% said they felt like they mattered
Measuring the presence of developmental relationships included adults in the program expressing care, challenging growth, and sharing power.
98.6% felt respected by adults in the program
94.9% said adults paid attention to them
92.9% believe adults expected them to do something positive
While this is only a snapshot of PYD evaluation results from the Junior Master Naturalist program, it illustrates the tremendous potential of measuring and sharing the developmental outcomes achieved in environmental education programs.
Integrating Positive Youth Development in Your Program
One of the fortuitous qualities about environmental education programs is that short- and long-term developmental outcomes inherently occur whether we are intentional about positive youth development, or not. However, if you want to get more out of your program, challenge yourself to incorporate PYD principles during the planning phase of your program. Alternatively, for existing programs, consider self-evaluating with a proven PYD framework to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
The Oregon 4-H Program Model is a framework specifically designed for 4-H programs. However, there are other prominent models with broader application for use in a variety of youth programs. These include The Five Cs, Community Action Framework for Youth Development, and Character Counts!. According to experts in the field, however, the Developmental Assets Framework is likely to remain among the most useful approaches to positive youth development for the near future. The scientific depth and practical utility of this model provide extensive resources for assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation for programs serving youth and communities in a variety of settings (Arnold & Silliman, 2017).
The Developmental Assets Framework, developed in 1990 by the Search Institute, identifies a set of skills, experiences, relationships, and behaviors that enable young people to develop into successful and contributing adults. According to research, the more Developmental Assets young people acquire, the better their chances of succeeding in school and becoming happy, healthy, and contributing members of their communities and society. The list of 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents, broken down by age groups, can be found on the Search Institute’s website (Search Institute, 2017)
Becoming familiar with the Developmental Assets and thinking about how you can support this development in your program’s participants is the first step to infusing a healthy layer of positive youth development in your program. Digging in to the research and consulting experts in the field will help to identify the best way to integrate PYD principles and design evaluation instruments that measure effectiveness. Perhaps starting by including several PYD questions in your existing participant evaluation will provide valuable baseline data to inform growth potential.
In summary, environmental educators are doing noble work with endless benefits for youth, ecological systems, and our society as a whole. It is important that we recognize the value in our work that often goes unseen and celebrate our, often, hidden successes. Youth in our programs are building confidence and independence, developing healthy lifestyles and pro-social behaviors, and becoming contributing members of their communities. While these victories are already something to be proud of, why not take it up a notch by putting some intentionality behind our efforts to reach even greater outcomes? While designing high quality environmental education, we should challenge ourselves to support development of the “whole person” by incorporating positive youth development principles. Not only will these efforts have lifelong impacts on our program participants, but they will support our organizations as well. Sharing evidence of positive developmental outcomes will help promote our programs, recruit more participants, and appeal to potential funders for increased financial support. ❏
References
Arnold, M.E. & Silliman, B. (2017). From theory to practice: a critical review of positive youth development program frameworks. Journal of Youth Development, 12(2), 1-20.
Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). What exactly is a youth development program? Answers from research and practice. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 94-111.
Search Institute, (2017). Developmental assets. Retrieved from http://www.search-institute.org/research/developmental-assets
Sibthrop, J. (2010). A letter from the editor: Positioning outdoor and adventure programs within positive youth development. Journal of Experiential Education, 33(2), vi-ix.
Emily Anderson is a 4-H Youth Development Educator in Lane County, Oregon. She has written previously for CLEARING.
by editor | Aug 18, 2016 | Service learning
These tips, developed by The Straub Environmental Learning Center, may be helpful for teachers who are beginning to integrate a service learning component into the classroom:
1.Start small, and find other teachers who are interested in doing a community project. Support and collaboration are critical for success as you begin this work.
2. Use available community resources. Don’t let issues like transportation and funding stand in your way. Be creative and persistent, and employ all available community resources.
3. Get to know community partners. Be prepared to make calls and meet with prospective partners. They will probably be more than willing to work with you, and may have resources you can use.
4.Don’t let your class become a work crew. The work you do should be the work of your partner. This is not a field trip or guest presentation, but authentic involvement in your partner’s work.
5. Be organized and plan ahead. You can never foresee all possibilities, but staying organized will make you more successful with students and partners.
6. Promote the program. It’s not about you; it’s about the students and their capacity to serve as a resource for their community.
7. Involve students in the selection of their work, and in designing their products. This may be the first time they have some control over their learning. It can be empowering for them.
8. Consider sustainability. As your work expands, think about ways for the program to sustain itself after you leave.
9. Don’t worry about having to know the content, or being in charge of direct instruction. You will become a facilitator; instruction comes from the community partner and the curriculum resources you organize. One of the great joys of this approach is that you often get to learn along with your students. Sometimes, they can even teach you. In other words, the teacher is not the “sage on the stage,” but the “guide on the side.”
10. Remember: This is about community! The work students do must have a clear context. They should come out of their study knowing what their community is, how it functions and how they can participate. This approach also fosters community building within the classroom, as students reconnect with themselves and each other.
by editor | Jun 20, 2015 | Place-based Education, Service learning
Sowing the Seeds of Place and Community-based Learning
by Becs Boyd
Place and Community Based approach can be transformative for students and teachers, schools and communities. Making this approach work means taking a fresh look at the school community, the wider community and the environment, and working out how they can best support each other. Change takes time, and success, naturally, relies on a healthy physical and social learning environment, with good relationships between educators, administrators and students. Many schools will already be connecting students with their local place and helping them discover how to make their own Place in the world a positive one.
Here are some pointers drawn from the experiences of real schools, students and teachers to help plant the seeds of Place in new school communities. (more…)
by editor | Oct 13, 2014 | Place-based Education, Service learning
To view this article in .pdf format, click here: MyMcKenzie
An environmental education professional development program using
place-based service-learning
by Kathryn Lynch
University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program
here does your drinking water come from? It is a simple question, and given that humans can survive only a few days without water, a critical one. Yet, too many people cannot answer this most basic question. In Eugene, this lack of connection is often compounded by the transient nature of a large sector of the population (university students) who are often just passing through on their way to careers elsewhere.
To respond to this serious disconnect with nature, the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) launched a set of new EE projects in 2012 focused on helping students develop a connection to the sole source of their drinking water, the McKenzie River. This stunning 90-mile long river provides many gifts: clean drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, hydropower, and inspiration. The watershed offers fascinating and complex geology and geomorphology, multi-faceted and controversial land use issues, and a strong sense of community and history tied to place. Many organizations are doing work in the watershed, which provides opportunities for students to directly engage in conservation issues. In sum, the watershed provides a great laboratory for interdisciplinary, place-based education and service learning.
The two main goals of the new EE effort were to: 1) create a year-long program for UO students interested in EE careers (that would provide them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to develop and implement place-based, experiential programs) and 2) develop age-appropriate, engaging MyMcKenzie curricula for local youth, grades 1-8, that promotes the stewardship of the McKenzie River.
To prepare the undergraduates for their service projects, we offered a new fall course called Understanding Place: the McKenzie Watershed. The goal was to provide the necessary foundation for them to become effective place-based educators. During the 10-week course, we examined the geological, ecological, historical, social, and political influences that shape the McKenzie watershed. Six field trips took us from the headwaters to the confluence, where we explored lava flows, springs, hiking trails, dams, hatcheries, restoration projects, historical sites and more. Guest speakers provided diverse perspectives on Kalapuya culture, salmon restoration, water quality and management, and sustainable agriculture, among other topics. We wanted students to hear directly from the farmers, anglers, residents, scientists, policymakers and regulatory agencies that shape the watershed’s past, present, and future. Through diverse hands-on, student-led activities, the class gained a spatial and temporal understanding of the McKenzie, and contemplated the meaning of “place,” what contributes to a sense of place, and how it influences people’s worldviews and choices.
In the subsequent winter course, Environmental Education in Theory & Practice, UO students learned how to transform their new knowledge of the McKenzie River into engaging place-based educational programs. Participants gained a working knowledge of best practices in EE through readings, guest lectures, field trips, and most importantly, their service-learning project in which they developed educational materials for their community partners. The “Critters and Currents” team worked in partnership with Adams Elementary School to develop two classroom lessons and one field trip for each grade level. The “Canopy Connections” team developed and facilitated field trips for middle-schoolers that included a canopy climb, building watershed models, and mapping, among other activities. All the activities used the McKenzie River as the integrating context, and placed particular emphasis on systems thinking, and how the health of the river directly affects us, as the river provides our drinking water.
While the specifics of the curricula were left up to the teams to determine, all teams were required to: 1) incorporate an interdisciplinary approach, 2) include multicultural perspectives, 3) use experiential, inquiry-based methods, 4) promote civic engagement, and 5) articulate assessment strategies. Their materials were pilot-tested at the end of winter term, and then the teams worked with their community partners to implement their EE programs throughout spring term. Each UO student completed approximately 120 hours of service, which entailed facilitating field trips, classroom visits and developing supplemental educational materials (e.g. websites, presentations). What follows next are descriptions of the two 2013-2014 projects, written by the team members themselves.
Case Study 1:
Critters and Currents
By Leilani Aldana, Leah Greenspan, Courtney Jarvis, Claire Mallen, Anna Morgan, Trevor Norman, Makenzie Shepherd, Tony Spiroski, Britney VanCitters, Cheyenne Whisenhunt, Alicia Kirsten (graduate project manager).
iking along the McKenzie River trail is unlike anything else in its breathtaking beauty and awe. The trees tower above, the firs paint the horizon green, and the moss blankets the forest floor. Squirrels dart back and forth, winged insects buzz through the misty air, and regal ospreys circle above the river, spying on possible prey below. All these organisms work together in the carefully orchestrated equilibrium that is a Pacific Northwest forest. And although the forest can be serene, delicate, and quiet, it also tells a bold and enduring story to those who are willing to listen and fortunate enough to hear.
The forest’s tale is told by the many plants, fungi, animals, and humans that call it home. At one point, the entire McKenzie watershed told this story; the indigenous Kalapuya and Molalla people lived closely with their varied and unique plant and animal neighbors, constructing a narrative out of the reciprocity that encouraged a long-lasting relationship. Eventually the plot of this story was thrust in another direction, as the influx of newcomers would alter the face of this territory through extensive land management techniques and exploitation of natural resources. Today, the story of the McKenzie River watershed illustrates the growing disconnection between forests and our society brought by global urbanization. But the story is not yet over, and we have the unique opportunity to transform it.
The prominence of technology and urbanization in the 21st century has established an obvious distinction between the urban and natural worlds. Younger generations, increasingly disengaged and separated from their local natural environments, exhibit symptoms of what is colloquially called “nature-deficit disorder” (Louv 2008). Marked by rising levels of ADD/ADHD, obesity, depression, and muted creativity, nature-deficit disorder will accelerate if not immediately and holistically addressed.
Nature has the ability to inspire us, teach us, and transform our lives. By giving children the chance to explore the natural world, we allow them to experience the story nature has to tell. Utilizing place-based lessons and hands-on activities, environmental education helps students gain an ecological awareness and an understanding of natural processes. Infusing curricula with environmental themes and concepts has proven to foster stewardship and improve support for conservation (Jacobson 2006).Communities need to work collaboratively to ensure that children are provided with the awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to tackle future environmental problems. As environmental educators, we have enthusiastically decided to face this task; we are working to encourage deep and meaningful connections between students and nature, with the goal of nurturing responsible and active citizens.
The 2014 Critters and Currents team worked to help students connect to and build kinship with the McKenzie watershed.Our team of ten undergraduate students and project manager collaborated for six months with Adams Elementary School to bring children to visit the Delta Old-Growth Forest, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, and Green Island which is managed by the McKenzie River Trust. We created curricula that promotes environmental awareness, inspires respect and compassion for the natural world, and encourages positive environmental action now and in the future.
Building connections and gaining understanding is crucial to implementing environmental education. David Sobel, whose work focuses on place-based education, states, “If we want children to flourish, to feel truly empowered, let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.” (Sobel 1996:39). By encouraging children to experience and explore the McKenzie River, students will become empathetic and compassionate toward their local ecosystems.
Throughout the spring, students at Adams Elementary School in Eugene, Oregon were able to participate directly in the narrative of the McKenzie River watershed. By constructing and decorating fabric bird wings that they can wear, our students were able to become the birds that live in the McKenzie River watershed; by developing proper habitats for real life decomposers such as pill bugs, sow bugs, and earthworms, our students were directly responsible for the lives of those who prolong McKenzie River ecosystems; by intimately learning about a particular McKenzie River critter through storytelling and haiku writing, our students became empowered to protect and defend that critter and its home. Providing our students with activities that nourish empathy for the McKenzie River watershed and its inhabitants inspires a sense of love and awe that lasts, like the narrative itself, a lifetime.
As adults, we often overlook the joys of simply being in the natural world. A childlike sense of wonder allows us to tap into long-forgotten natural connections that help foster a symbiotic relationship with nature once again, one that not only takes our breath away but also fills us with life. We stand in awe of the towering pines and vibrant mosses that carpet the old-growth forest floor; we are struck with silence as the wings of the great osprey beat the air above us and the tiny patterns of a water skimmer are drawn across a serene pond. These subtle, yet profound, experiences allow us to narrate our own story about the environment that surrounds us and how we as a community will care for it.
Let us persist with our place-based environmental education movement, where classrooms shift from hard desks and chalkboards to engaging the senses and producing first-hand experiences; where students can form intimate relationships with the story told by an old-growth forest or the wetlands of a floodplain forest, rather than reading about it in a textbook. Let us begin the shift to the great outdoors, where we can learn from the greatest storyteller of all: nature itself.
Case Study 2:
Canopy Connections
By Justin Arios, Brandon Aye, Jen Beard, Cassie Hahn, Megan Hanson, Tanner Laiche, Hannah Mitchel, Christine Potter, Meghan Quinn, Christy Stumbo, Jenny Crayne (graduate project manager).
he 90-foot tall Douglas-fir swayed gently in the wind. Multiple ropes hung from the top, waiting to be climbed. The students buzzed with excitement and nervousness as Rob and Jason from the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute prepared them to climb. On their own effort, most students ascended to the top of the tree, swaying with the tree and seeing the forest with a bird’s-eye view.
Canopy Connections 2014 was developed and facilitated by 10 undergraduate students and included a 50-minute pre-trip classroom lesson and an all-day field trip to HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. Through our field trip, we sought to immerse students in nature, foster a connection to place, and teach students about the processes and biology of an old growth forest. Connecting to nature at an early age combats Richard Louv’s theory of “nature-deficit disorder” and instills a culture of respect and awe for the natural world and hopefully, the long-term protection of natural places.
We built our field trip around the theme of “Students as Scientists,” integrating both science and the humanities. In addition to ascending into the canopy of a Douglas-fir, participating students collected scientific data, sketched native plant species, creatively expressed their observations through journaling, and built a debris shelter. Each lesson incorporated activities of various disciplines and catered to different learning styles. This rationale is supported by Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory which argues that students learn and process information many different ways. We used this reasoning to construct activities that engaged students’ learning habits via kinesthetic, linguistic, visual, inter- and intrapersonal, naturalist, and logical learning methods.
Our first interaction with the students was during the pre-trip lesson. We built upon their knowledge of geography to construct a map of Oregon, highlighting cities, mountain ranges, and rivers connected with the McKenzie River. At Fern Ridge Middle School, the students were eager to add other features to the map as well, including the Long Tom, the small river flowing behind their school. Once complete, half the class was given a term relevant to the field trip such as “geomorphic” and “species richness” while the other half was given definitions. The students mingled in the class, helping each other to match the terms with the definitions.
On the morning of their field trip, the students arrived at HJ Andrews, armed with the knowledge gained from the pre-trip lesson. As they filed off the bus, we were there to greet and guide them to the staging area. After an introduction to HJ Andrews, the community partners, and the field trip agenda, each group journeyed into the forest to the first of their four stations.
Nestled at the end of the Discovery Trail was the River Reflections station. Here students learned about the complex interactions and disturbances that occur in a riparian zone through scientific observation and personal reflection. This station reflected the essence of the ongoing work at HJ Andrews by focusing on the Long Term Ecological Research and Long Term Ecological Reflections programs, highlighting the value of using both scientific and artistic lenses to understand the natural world. As scientists, the students compared the temperature, humidity, canopy cover, and species composition between two plots, one adjacent to the river and another 10-15 meters from the river. From our position on the creek bed, students saw a gravel bar in the middle of the river that provided a perfect example of the species found in newly disturbed areas. The students then journaled quietly by the river. To our surprise, students were so engaged in the journaling activity, they did not want to leave the station! Every student filled his or her own page in journals dedicated to collecting Canopy Connection’s Ecological Reflections.
At another station, students discovered the diversity found in old-growth forests, both in terms of composition and structure. They did this by identifying plants as tall as a western redcedar and as small as stairstep moss. Each student sketched and learned about a different plant and reported back to their group. After getting a close up view of forest biodiversity, the students embarked on a riddle quest to discover what makes an old-growth forest different from other forests. Every hidden riddle led them to a location on the trail identifying snags, woody debris, old trees, and canopy layers, which are the 4 main features of an old-growth forest. The students gathered in a circle to discuss how to mitigate threats to biodiversity through conservation measures.
At the “Stewardship in Action” station, the students reflected on the importance of taking care of nature by learning about and applying the Leave No Trace principles. Each student described their favorite place in the outdoors and how they felt there. This led to a discussion about the Leave No Trace principles. Students creatively expressed the principles through a short rap, poem or skit. The highlight of this station was applying the Leave No Trace principles by constructing and deconstructing a survival shelter using only debris found in the forest. The students were excited to get their hands on the branches and debris to build a shelter and crawl in for a picture!
The most profound experience was the tree climbe at the “To Affinity with Nature and Beyond” station. Each student had the opportunity to climb into the canopy of a 90-foot tall Douglas-fir tree using a system of ropes. Ascending the tree was a unique experience because students had to overcome any fears they might have had to get to the top of the tree. While climbing, students observed the change in temperature in the canopy layers and were surprised to discover that (on sunny days) it was 10 degrees F warmer at the top. While this station incorporates scientific observation, what most students will remember for the rest of their lives is the sheer wonder of viewing the old-growth forest from the canopy.
Between each station, the students found a compass bearingwritten on a slip of paper and hanging on a tree. This bearing led them to a riddle hidden 20-30 feet down the trail. The riddle related to the previous station the students had left not long before. This activity was a fun way to keep students engaged during the transition time between stations, while helping them reflect on what they learned at each station. The students learned how to read and use a compass, a valuable skill, while we were able to quickly assess if we met our learning objectives.
All in all, the Canopy Connections team spent over 1,800 hours to create and facilitate field trips for 6 middle schools and 230 students. While each field trip held the same content, every student left with his or her own distinct experience.
One student from Roosevelt Middle School said, “I learned a lot about old growth forests that I did not know before, and I think I am more likely to participate in activities taking place there.”
Throughout this program, our team and our students gained a great deal of knowledge, while fostering a connection to place and respect of old-growth forests. We have inspired our students to be curious, and want to learn more, about old-growth forests and the natural world. Ultimately, we hope these students will be more environmentally aware and will continue to care about the forest and natural environments as much as we do. As much as we hope to have touched their lives, the overall experience of working with these students has motivated us to continue pursuing careers in environmental education and work to nurture a healthier environment in the future.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Luvaas Family Foundation of the Oregon Community Foundation and Steve Ellis for their generous contributions that made these projects possible. Special thanks also to our community partners: the children, teachers and staff at Adams Elementary School, the McKenzie River Trust, Kathy Keable and Mark Schulze from HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, who hosted the field trip, and Rob Miron and Jason Seppa from the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute (PTCI), who facilitated the tree climb.
Works Cited
Jacobson, Susan Kay, Mallory D. McDuff, and Martha C. Monroe. Conservation Education and Outreach Techniques. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. Print
Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin of Chapel Hill, 2008. Print
Sobel, David. Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education. Great Barrington, MA: Orion Society, 1996. Print
Kathryn Lynch is Co-Director of the Environmental Leadership Program. Katie is an environmental anthropologist who has a strong commitment to participatory, collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches in both her research and teaching. She has worked in Peru, Ecuador, Indonesia and the United States examining issues of community-based natural resource management. This has included examining the role of medicinal plants in Amazonian conservation efforts and the potential for engaged environmental education to promote conservation. Before joining UO she was a researcher at the Institute for Culture and Ecology, where her research focused on the relationships between forest policy and management, conservation of biodiversity, and nontimber forest products. She has also facilitated various courses and workshops that examine the nexus between environmental and cultural issues.
by editor | Apr 4, 2013 | Service learning, STEM
By Lee Sherman
In Brief
Whether identifying fish or monitoring water quality, students combine education with service through OSU’s Oregon Natural Resources Education Program. Through partnerships with local watershed councils and other agencies, students are making a difference.
Lifelong stewardship can begin as simply as a school project at a local stream.
That’s what happened when Philomath High School student Colby Davidson conducted a fish study for his senior thesis. An average student who wasn’t accustomed to accolades, he was as surprised as his teachers when he discovered six native species previously unknown in Newton Creek – and then won a national conservation award from the National Wildlife Federation. Now, three years later, he remains vigilant and active in local watershed issues.
Stories like this drive and inspire OSU’s Oregon Natural Resources Education Program (ONREP). Based in the College of Forestry, the Extension program’s mission statement – “to prepare educators to inspire natural resources learning and experiences so that students make informed decisions, exhibit responsible behavior, and take constructive action for Oregon’s natural resources” – captures its community-service thrust.
Building Skills
Through ONREP’s Teachers as Researchers project, kids get initiated to service learning with a foundation in rigorous classroom instruction. “Authentic field investigations start with skill-building, such as graphing pollution data or identifying Northwest invertebrates,” notes ONREP Director Susan Sahnow.
It then spills across local landscapes as teachers lead students into woodlands and riparian zones to study the natural resources that define the places they call home.
Finally, by forging partnerships with local watershed councils and other agencies, teachers and students embark on research-based projects that enhance their neighborhoods, forests and watersheds in tangible ways.
The key message for students is, “If we don’t take care of our stream, who’s going to do it?” says teacher and ONREP participant Jeff Mitchell. “They learn to care about their own community by doing meaningful community service.”
Lee Sherman is a writer for the Oregon State University Extension Service. This article was reprinted from the OSU website at http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/presidentsreport/2009/fall/discovery-leads-service
In another classroom, students launched a campaign to reduce the use of disposable plastic containers at their school. They made posters to educate others about single-use plastics, explaining how they were made from petroleum (see Figure 1). Students and teachers in their school were encouraged to take a pledge to use reusable water bottles, containers and utensils in their lunches. Sign-up sheets were placed near posters around the school. Several hundred people took the pledge.
After considering ways to have an impact, students were ready to narrow in on a solution. Teachers introduced students to three criteria for a good solution. This critical step provides students with decision-making skills, and helps them take ownership of their solution. Our fourth graders considered the following guiding questions in a decision-making matrix:
Eileen Merritt is a research scientist in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech and former Assistant Professor in Teacher Preparation at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. She developed her passion for environmental education along the banks of the Rivanna River with her students at Stone-Robinson Elementary. She can be reached at egmerritt@vt.edu.
