Digital Commons Network^™

Environmental Education At An Under-Resourced And Multicultural Bellingham School: Reflections On Americorps, Culturally Responsive Education And Abbott Elementary, Allie Vandewege

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This internship report details a year of an AmeriCorps service with Common Threads Farm, working at Cordata Elementary’s school garden and teaching cooking classes in Bellingham, WA. A comprehensive summary of the systemic segregation of the Bellingham School District elucidates how northern schools like Cordata are under-resourced and underserved compared to Bellingham’s more central, wealthier neighborhoods. The author compares her experiences to that of the characters on ABC’s Abbott Elementary, discussing the importance of culturally responsive teaching pedagogies when working with multicultural school communities and collective, grass-roots movement for education reform in under-resourced schools.

Leaving Kindergarten Well: First-Grade Readiness In Outdoor Waldorf Kindergartens, Garry H. Oak

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

This article proposes an intervention to address the complex needs of children in outdoor Waldorf kindergartens. The intervention suggests integrating cultural responsiveness practices, remedial education, and outdoor teacher training competency into existing teacher training programs. By adopting this comprehensive approach, new teachers can acquire the necessary tools to meet the diverse needs of their students and adapt to the challenges of modern education. Ongoing professional development programs are also recommended to enable teachers to continuously enhance their skills throughout their careers. This multi-pronged solution aims to establish a more equitable and effective educational system that considers various dimensions of children's …

Investigating Environmetal Justice Education In Rural, Title 1 Stem Classrooms, Luis Prado

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Wandering Whatcom Falls, Hailey Schmidt

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Wandering Whatcom Falls is an interactive walking loop focused on connection and ecosystems. It takes place at Whatcom Falls and runs as a scavenger hunt with 7 different activities throughout the loop.

Special Issue "Local- To Global-Scale Environmental Issues", Leslie A. Duram

Publications

Geography is inextricably linked to sustainability. From local communities to national citizens to global agreements, there is a complex interplay between natural and social processes. In unison, these interacting forces determine our future sustainability. Addressing global issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean pollution, or systemic environmental injustice feels overwhelming, so people frequently decide to take local actions to promote sustainability. Indeed, these individual or community activities, when multiplied across the globe, are often the most feasible way to affect change, particularly when national or international politics halt progress toward sustainability. This Special Issue explores the complex interplay between sustainability …

Sylvan Dell Nature Preserve Project, Brian Quinn, Katie Wisotsky, Huthaifa Aladwan

Sylvan Dell Field Station Student Projects

The Sylvan Dell Nature Preserve and Farm in South Williamsport, PA. Sylvan Dell is a 229 acre plot of farmland that contains a wetland on the south section of the property. It lies just south of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The first humans we know of to settle on this land were the Susquehannock and later the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Native Americans. In the late 18th century, white settlers took the land away from the Haudenosaunee. In the 20th century, the famous ornithologist Robert Porter Allen was influenced by the broad range of bird species that would visit …

Informing Joyality 4 Kids: Ecopsychology Education To Support Upper Primary Children’S Well-Being Through Environmental And Social Crisis, Cambry Baker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Responding to climate change and the state of the world demands psychological resilience and a transformative shift towards sustainable behavior. Children inheriting our uncertain future require psychological support and tools of well-being to fuel emotionally sustainable activism. In this paper I investigate how best to support upper primary aged children through environmental and social issues with Joyality 4 Kids, an educational ecopsychology program.

During November of 2019 I completed the Joyality Program processes independently, then conducted two focus group interviews with five individuals experienced in the Joyality Program and/or environmental education to develop the processes for an eight-hour Joyality 4 …

Resident Perceptions Of Black Bear Management In South Central Kentucky, Hung-Ling (Stella) Liu, Michael J. Bradley, I-Chun Nicky Wu, James N. Maples

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The growth and sprawl of the American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population have been observed and monitored in the past two decades, especially in south-central Kentucky. To better manage human-black bear interaction and develop informed policy and best practices, the current study sought to 1) understand south-central Kentucky residents’ current knowledge of and previous experience with black bears, 2) investigate residents’ attitudes toward black bears and regulated hunting in wildlife management; and 3) identify residents’ level of acceptance of various black bear related management actions in south-central Kentucky. From February to April 2017, residents of London and Stearns districts …

Addressing The Climate Change Consensus Gap Among Preservice Teachers: A Four-Faceted Approach, Grinell Smith, Colette Rabin

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we report an estimate of the magnitude of the “consensus gap” – the gap between what scientists know about climate change and what the general public thinks they know – about anthropomorphic climate change among K-8 pre-service teachers. We also report qualitative findings about the utility of a four-faceted approach to teaching about climate change designed explicitly to mitigate inductive reasoning errors and to reduce in-group favoritism, attribution bias, inter-group conflict, and confirmation bias. We found that learning about the scientific consensus spurred student exploration about climate change and the careful use of deliberation toward commonly-held positions …

The Pine School: The Paradise Integrated Natural Education School, Natalie Giombi

Studio Projects

Natalie Giombi’s The PINE School is a school for elementary-level students. Located at a proposed neighborhood center in the northwest of Paradise, the school focuses on environmental education as a means to inspire children. Communal spaces – a library, gymnasium, and administrative offices – are housed in a long bar facing the street. Behind it, facing south, three classroom wings open to a large garden with several outdoor classrooms and a natural play space. The building itself incorporates several sustainable features and so serves as a learning vehicle for the students.

Environmental Education: Role Of Physical Environment In Students’ Learning In Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Sultan Alam

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This study describes an action research report carried out in one of the community-managed schools in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to explore the effects of the activities to create environmental awareness by paying prime focus on physical environmental conditions. It was observed that school-based smaller activities show a greater change among students, teachers and community members. These include celebration of environmental day, plantation day; quiz competitions, sharing information through notice boards and awareness campaigns to adjacent communities. These smaller activities helped them to realize the importance of environmental education particularly in learning process. The attitudinal …

Postitive Youth Development, Tania Schusler, Jacqueline Davis-Manigaulte, Amy Cutter-Mackenzie

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

• Positive youth development is an assets-based approach for cultivating competencies essential to personal well-being.

• When environmental education enables children and youths to contribute to improving urban environments, it can not only increase cities' sustainability and resilience but also foster young people's personal growth.

• Participatory action research, peer education, and youth civic engagement are three educational approaches that can lead to positive change for both urban environments and youths living within them.

Ecological Restoration, Elizabeth P. Mccann, Tania Schusler

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Ecological restoration involves revitalizing neglected, degraded, damaged, or destroyed habitats.

• Restoration-based education involves learners in ecological restoration with an intentional educational purpose.

• Urban restoration-based education can enhance personal and community well-being while improving ecosystem services in degraded environments.

• Restoration-based education can benefit from consciously forming partner ships, integrating local values alongside socioeconomic and ecological considerations, and being sensitive to issues of power and diverse cultures.

Community Gardens And Ecological Citizenship: Their Potential And Limitations In Fostering Environmentalism, Michael J. Kennedy

Research Papers

Mainstream agricultural and food production methods are a major source of environmental degradation, which has not been addressed by large-scale and global initiatives. Alternatively, grassroots and local initiatives may be more effective at alleviating the causes of environmental degradation associated with food and agriculture. Specifically, community gardens are an important local greenspace that can be used to address and educate individuals about the importance of food and the environment. However, certain barriers need to be overcome and addressed before community gardens are successfully implement. The participation and interaction at community gardens may provide a pathway to long-term commitment to sustainability, …

Educational Buildings As Educational Buildings: Can Sustainable Architecture Help Support Sustainability In The Curriculum?, Claire Speedie, Mark Mulville

Conference papers

This paper explores whether the architectural design of educational buildings - by incorporating an expression of the sustainable design - helps to educate users towards adoption of sustainable practices. Utilising observational studies from primary schools incorporating sustainable design measures, the research explored their impact on the curriculum.

School buildings accommodate the educational process but design briefs do not require that buildings educate their users. The paper demonstrated that sustainable features of the buildings were not well integrated into the curriculum and that one explanation was the lack of interpretation incorporated into the architecture to support teachers lacking an appreciation of …

Integrating Outdoor And Nature-Based Play In Community Programs, Alissa Visscher

Senior Honors Theses

With the intent of determining best practices and recommended methods of incorporating outdoor and/or nature-based play in community programs, this thesis reviews existing literature and documents the results of four different community organization interviews. Each of the organizations provides family and child community programs and incorporates outdoor recreation in their programming. The author posed a series of six questions and found that some of the participant’s responses were congruent with previous research while others provided new information. Their observations were both unique to their organization and relevant to similar programs. With that said, the author was unable to identify a …

Environmental Education In Amman, Sara Lyrnn Green

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research addresses environmental education in public and private schools in Amman, Jordan and what is being done to expand environmental awareness by both schools and the government. This study’s methodology is comprised of interviews with teachers and government employees as well as analysis of material culture. The research finds that environmental education is priority for schools and the government, but that more can be done in expanding environmental awareness. This study points out barriers to environmental education in schools with the hope that these will be addressed and improved.

The Impacts Of Environmental Education On Youth And Their Environmental Awareness, Katherine A. Grimmette

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of this article is to identify the effects of environmental education (EE) programs on youth, including: creating environmental awareness, building a connection to the environment, and changing the perceptions youth has on the environment. The study examines the EE program, Science Camp Explore, hosted at the Cedar Point Biological Station and Lake McConaughy Water Interpretive Center in Ogallala, Nebraska. The camp emphasized two main themes, soil and water. To acquire data the study called for a mixed method of questionnaires, cognitive maps (drawing exercise), and the 3CM model. In order to measure the awareness of the pre and …

The Power Of China: An Analysis Of China’S Energy Sources And The Case For Clean Energy, Lauren Vunderink

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

China’s energy demands have been growing exponentially since the early 1980s, impacting the global environment and economy. China is already the world’s largest producer and consumer of energy, and as it continues to urbanize and develop its electricity demand is projected to more than double by 2040. China’s energy consumption will not continue its rapid growth forever; its population growth and energy demand are expected to level off by 2040. While mostly relying on the increasing amounts of coal, oil, and natural gas, the Chinese government aims for renewable resources to satisfy 15% of total energy consumption by 2020. That …

Overcoming Barriers To Teaching Action-Based Environmental Education: A Multiple Case Study Of Teachers In The Public School Classroom, Terry Rachael Adams

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As the human population increases, it becomes increasingly more important for society to understand the impact of humans on the environment. Preserving fixed resources by engaging in sustainable practices is necessary to ensure those resources are available for future generations. Since the early 1960s, policy makers and educators alike have sought to ensure that students graduate environmentally literate. Previous research has identified a multitude of barriers that limit classroom teacher’s ability to integrate environmental education into their curriculum. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers overcome those barriers that restrict the integration of action based environmental education …

Can Education Improve The Environment? Applying The Pressure-State-Response Environmental Indicator Framework To Environmental Education Program Outcomes, Brian Johnson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which environmental education (EE) programs are contributing to environmental quality (EQ) improvement. The research applied the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) environmental indicator framework to the reported outcomes of 103 EE programs in order to 1) determine the extent to which existing EE programs are reporting EQ improvement outcomes; and 2) examine the extent to which these programs are impacting indicators in the three areas of the PSR framework. The study consisted of three research phases: evaluation synthesis, semi-structured interviews, and multiple-case study. The study found that 42 of 103 programs (41%) …

Developing A Space For Children: An Internship With The Mullumbimby Community Garden, Eden Olsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to demonstrate my independent study project internship at the Mullumbimby Community Garden (MCG), an interactive learning site for the citizens of Byron Shire. As an intern I spent 152.5 hours from October 29^th to November 23^rd planting, planning projects, attending meetings, and helping to educate about the importance of sustainable food production. More specifically, I focused on the development of the Children’s Garden, building vertical garden beds, planting the sensory garden, attending meetings, and helping to design and analyze costs for new structures to be implemented in the near future.

This study reaches further than …

Sp688 Radon In Tennessee, Courtney Nlemann, Martha Keel

Environment (Indoor & Outdoor)

Version 2.0

The Integration Of School Garden Programs Into Educational Curriculum, Annie Lowry

Honors Program Projects

School gardens have many benefits for students which include helping students make nutritious choices, encouraging students to be environmentally conscious, and providing experiential learning. School gardens have great potential to be an effective learning tool if incorporated into the classroom. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how gardening is being integrated into classroom curriculum in several schools in the state of Illinois and what factors have led to this integration. Educational professionals from seven different sites were interviewed to collect qualitative data about current integration of gardening into school curriculum. The results from the interviews confirm previous research …

Making Connections Between Science And Equity: A Motivation To Teach Science In Elementary Grades, Grinell Smith, Colette Rabin

Faculty Publications

Teacher quality is among the strongest correlates of student outcomes. However, only about a quarter of the nation’s elementary teachers consider themselves qualified to teach science. In this descriptive and exploratory study, we investigated whether helping pre-service teacher candidates explore connections between science and issues of equity, particularly around sustainability issues, could help them see the importance of teaching science to their students more often. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 59 students enrolled in revised science methods courses at a large public university. Our findings suggest that positioning science instruction thusly was perceived as a strong motivator to …

It's All Happening At The Zoo: Children's Environmental Learning After School, Jason A. Douglas, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

Pairing dynamic out-of-school-time (OST) programs with zoos can encourage young people's relationships with and sense of responsibility for animals and the environment. The project presented in this article, Animal Rescuers, gave the authors the opportunity to examine how such a pairing can work. OST programs enable learning in settings that are generally unavailable during school time (Honig & McDonald, 2005). They provide space for collaboration among students, teachers, and others such as program visitors or outside educators. Taking advantage of the flexibility, location, and educational playfulness of an OST setting, the authors worked intensively with a small number of 10-12-year-old …

The Esa21 Project: A Model For Civic Engagement, John Pratte, Matthew Laposata

Faculty Articles

There have been many systematic approaches to solving the problem of how to make science courses interesting to students. One that is currently receiving attention in the sciences is the use of civic engagement within the classroom. This approach works well in small enrollment courses, but it is logistically difficult to implement in large enrollment courses. Large enrollment classes lend themselves more naturally to other civic engagement approaches, such as special topics courses with individual or group research projects. The authors choose to meld the two approaches, thus creating a collection of activity modules for environmental science courses that use …

Tox Town: An Internet Introduction To Environmental Health And Toxic Chemicals, Cynthia Love, Martha Szczur, Mary Higgins, Erinn Aspinall

Publications

Can a web site present environmental health information to the general public in a fun and compelling manner? This was the goal of the National Library of Medicine's Specialized Information Services when it designed Tox Town. By its nature, chemical data is complex and not often perceived by the general public as relevant to their daily lives. However, many common hazardous materials (e.g., asbestos, carbon monoxide, lead, radon) can have profound health effects if encountered in the everyday environment. Enhanced with lively graphics, sound effects, and animation, Tox Town adds interest to learning about connections between chemicals, the environment, and …

Environmental Education And Metaethics, Owen Goldin

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

Contrā Dale Jamieson, the study of the metaethical foundations of environmental ethics may well lead students to a more environmentally responsible way of life. For although metaethics is rarely decisive in decision making and action, there are two kinds of circumstances in which it can play a crucial role in our practical decisions. First, decisions that have unusual features do not summon habitual ethical reactions, and hence invite the application of ethical precepts that the study of metaethics and ethical theory isolate and clarify. Second, there are times in which the good of others (including organisms and systems in the …

Environmental Attitudes And Knowledge: An International Comparison Among Business Students, Raymond Benton Jr., G. Ray Funkhouser

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article investigates international differences in environmental knowledge and attitudes among business administration students. The Environmental Knowledge and Attitude Scale, developed by Maloney, Ward, and Braucht (1975) and used by Synodinos (1990), was administered to 85 upperdivision business administration students at Loyola University Chicago and 111 upperdivision business students at the National University of Singapore. No significant differences were found between the two samples on the Knowledge, Concern, or Willingness to Act subscales. The United States students' higher mean score on the Actual Behavior subscale was significant but may only reflect relative possibilities for participation in environmental activities. Overall, the …