Why Public Policy Education is Extension's Long-Standing Approach for Working...
Changing Lives through Service Learning/Environmental Service Learning: Creating Lifelong Stewards
1. Mary Pardee, 4-H Youth Development Educator, Barron County
October 20, 2010 – CES Connections & Engagement Conference
2. Service-Learning projects designed to maintain, protect
and/or restore the health of the environment.
Have all elements of Service-Learning in a project with an
environmental focus.
3. What are your observations
regarding youth and the
environment?
5. Only 18% of U.S. high school seniors are proficient
in science (NAEP 2005)
Only 5% of current U.S. college graduates earn
science, engineering, or technology degrees compared
to 66% in Japan and 59% in China
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (NAEP). http://nationsreportcard.gov/science_2005/
4-H.org. http://www.4-h.org/youth-development-programs/4-h-science-programs/
6. Engages youth in hands-on investigations to satisfy
curiosity and construct mental frameworks that help
explain their experiences.
Observing
Comparing and measuring
Ordering and categorizing
Relating and inferring
Applying
7. Views the natural world with empathy
Aspects of development:
Frequent outdoor experiences
Role models such as parents
or teachers
8. Object vs. Relation study:
Loughland, Tony et al. (2003). Factors Influencing Young People’s Conceptions of Environment.
Environmental Education Research, vol. 9(1).
1 in 8 students perceived the environment as being
related to them.
Balancing environmental and social concerns makes
“relation” conception more likely.
9. Intimacy with the natural process, community, and history of
a place, based on experiences with that place.
10. Dimensions:
Biophysical – Contact with a setting, ecological
knowledge
Psychological – Emotional and functional attachment
Social– People, experiences and memories (cultural)
Political-Economic – Power and identity relationships
Ardoin, Nicole M. (2008). Sense of Place and Environmentally Responsible Behavior: What
the Research Says. Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
11. Cross, Jennifer E. (2001). Protecting our place: Establishing and maintaining community
attachments in the face of population growth and change. (Doctoral Dissertation). Davis, CA:
University of California, Davis.
Relationship Type of Bond Process
Biographical Historical and familial Being born in and living in a place
Spiritual Emotional, intangible Feeling a sense of belonging
Ideological Moral and ethical Living according to moral
guidelines for human
responsibility for a place
Commodified Cognitive (based on choice) Choosing a place based on traits
Dependent Material Constrained by lack of choice
12. Can we apply these concepts
in Service-Learning projects?
13. All the benefits of Service-Learning, plus:
Opportunities to research and analyze environmental
information;
Opportunities to determine and practice positive solutions
to problems;
Enhance understanding of the environment;
Give youth a sense of pride in the natural communities
around them;
Increase cooperation between youth groups and natural
resource professionals.
Clifton, L., Mauney, T., & Falkner. R. (1998). Take a class outdoors: A
guidebook for environmental service-learning. Clemson, SC: National Dropout
Prevention Center College of Health, Education and Human Development.
14. Youth have the ability to…
Take initiative
Make decisions
Put their ideas into action
…about the environment they live in.
15. Sauk County YEPS Program (Youth Environmental Projects of Sauk)
found that youth who participated in environmental
service-learning projects:
Learned life skills such as communication and
teamwork
Learned knowledge such as being able to identify tree
species
Understood how humans can positively and negatively
affect the environment.
16. Sauk County YEPS Program (Youth Environmental Projects of Sauk)
found that youth who participated in environmental
service-learning projects:
Formed a positive environmental attitude
Believed they could personally help improve the
environment.
Jens, J. and Kates, B. (2006). Best practices of forestry service-learning
projects: A practical guide for formal and nonformal educators. Wisconsin
Environmental Education Board and the University of Wisconsin System Board
of Regents.
17. TMTTR - 2008 partnership with
National Park Service
Service-Learning projects
included:
Storm drain stenciling
Public education/awareness
campaigns
River clean ups
18. Resources:
Service-Learning Materials
for project leaders
“Watershed Champion”
curriculum materials for youth
Website with information
Brochure to inform/invite
youth organizations
Evaluations and recognition
19. After stenciling storm drains, educating residents and cleaning
up trash in the riverside park, 23 high school students
answered questions as part of their reflection.
65% mentioned that they made residents
aware of issues such as runoff, dumping waste
into storm drains and littering.
“I felt like I was actually
helping the community.”
20. 95% thought their work helped improve the
environment.
21. All 23 students stated they will do something
differently in the future because of their service-
learning project.
Behaviors mentioned: not littering anymore, picking up
trash when the see it, teaching others when the
opportunity arises
“I feel connected to the St. Croix
because it’s literally a part of me. I
drink, I use, I shower in the water it
provides me.” “It (the St. Croix River) is a
part of my life even though
I never realized it.”
23. Resources:
Funding – up to $1000 per county
Access to assistance
“Water Conservation in Your Home” Activity Guide
“Conducting a Service-Learning Project” leader’s guide
Evaluation and recognition materials
Information/ideas on STEM website
24. 15 counties participating – Results from 11 so far:
In 11 counties, 765 youth:
Made 273 rain barrels
Created 4 rain gardens
And everything that goes
along with that…
25. Youth have:
Been in charge of placing rain gardens and choosing plants
Been the lead contact person for the project; wrote
funding request
Provided education for younger children
26. Youth have:
Taught rain barrel workshops for families
Shared information at public events such as county fairs
and Earth Day celebrations
27. Youth have worked with:
Land and Water Conservation Department employees
DNR employees
Master Gardeners
UW-Extension Agriculture/Horticulture and Nutrition
Educators, Basin Educators
4-H adult leaders
28. In Juneau County, youth grades K-6:
Reported learning about how much rainwater comes off a
roof
Believe they helped their community by saving water and
electricity
Took an active role in educating others about saving water
Will do things differently in the future because of their rain
barrel project: use rain water for gardening, ride bike more,
use a rain barrel to save water
29. Give Water A Hand
Youth Action Guide and Leader Guidebook for protecting
and improving water resources. http://www.uwex.edu/erc/gwah/
Holding on to the Green Zone
Action Guide and Leader Guide for the study and
stewardship of community riparian areas.
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/riparian_module.html
Best Practices of Forestry Service-Learning Projects
http://sauk.uwex.edu/4-h-youth-development/yeps4h/
30. Connecting the Coasts
Website: Investigate and act on Lake Superior Basin
issues.
http://connectingthecoast.uwex.edu/Resources/index.html
Water Action Volunteers (WAV)
Citizen Science program to learn about and improve the
quality of Wisconsin’s streams and rivers.
http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/wav/
4-H2O Replenish
Conserving water using hands-on technology.
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/4h/set/4-H2OReplenishProject.cfm
Notes de l'éditeur
Thank you Donna and Pam.
Now that we have learned about the service-learning process, I’d like to ask whether we can use this to help youth become lifelong environmental stewards.
So we are all on the same page, can anyone tell me what the word “steward” means to you?
ASK…discussion…
Youth stay indoors more
Why is this?
Youth care about the environment. How have you observed this?
Youth are growing up differently than their parents did.
I’d like to look at three common concepts and how they relate to service learning. I propose that by paying attention to these concepts when we are working on service learning projects with youth, we can help youth become lifelong environmental stewards.
In 4-H Youth Development, we are making a concerted effort to increase our STEM education. National 4-H is trying to bring more kids into Science, and here in Wisconsin we have a STEM Team and a new STEM specialist, Joanna Scluzacek. Incidentally, we also have a new Environmental Education Specialist, Jessica Jens. So we are working this from many angles.
Some who exhibits environmental sensitivity views the natural world with empathy. There are two main aspects of development…does anyone know what they are?
In a study on environmental sensitivity done on Wisconsin High School youth, the two most mentioned important aspects of development were frequent outdoor experiences and MALE role models.
Many environmental service-learning projects involve social concerns, such as clean water or a beautified area.
This researcher looked at many studies on Sense of Place and found that there seems to be four dimensions to it.
Biophysical – how you sense your environment, the geography and geology of a place
Psychological – a function of your residence. Another key factor is participation in community activities
Social – Studies on this dimension offer insight into how place is a politicized concept
Jennifer Cross has another way of looking at sense of place, using 5 relationship elements:
Biographical
Spiritual
Ideological
Commodified
Dependent
Opportunities 1
Opportunities 2
RELATE TO science inquiry
Enhance
RELATE TO sense of place and environmental sensitivity
Give
RELATE TO sense of place
Increase
RELATE TO environmental sensitivity, as these people serve as role models
UWEX has some resources to get you started or expanded, as the case may be, with your environmental service learning plans. These include:
4-H2O Replenish will continue in 2011 and there will be funding made available for more water conservation projects involving rain barrels and rain gardens.
So, we start with the service-learning model, we inject science inquiry into the learning process. We take youth outdoors and let them work with role models who love their jobs. We let them explore their homegrounds and learn about the natural and social environments of their communities. We give them opportunities to make choices and solve problems.
I don’t need to tell you that we have environmental issues. We need people skilled in science and engineering to work through them. We need everybody else to at least have some basic knowledge and skills, and empathy, to not make things worse. We can start today by getting youth involved in environmental service-learning.
Any questions?