The Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is an interdisciplinary program designed to pair student teams with community partners (non-profits, government agencies, businesses) in order to address community defined environmental issues. The overarching objective of the program is to develop reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships between students and community organizations. The program aims to provide unique and practical learning experiences for undergraduate students to improve a variety of skills, to provide project management, leadership, and team building skills for graduate students, and to provide organizations with high quality service that further their missions. As projects take place on traditional land of the Kalapuya peoples, the program aims to run community based projects that promote environmental and social justice.
As an interdisciplinary program, what projects work on can vary a good amount. Projects are developed cooperatively with community partners, and can address a variety of topics, including environmental education, natural resource management, habitat restoration, environmental monitoring, sustainable business/ecotourism, etc. The program currently has four primary focal areas, the first of which is Conservation Science in Action. For this focal area, students complete hands-on restoration projects, creating management plans, and collecting/analyzing environmental data for community partners. The second focal area is Environmental Education, in which students develop and implement transformative learning experiences for children in nature. The third focal area is Community Engagement and Justice, in which students work directly with the community to address pressing environmental and social justice issues. Finally, in the Sustainable Practices focal area, students aim to implement solutions that account for concerns regarding environmental health, social equity, and economic success (including things like renewable energy and sustainable business). Individual projects within these focal areas change over time, with 6 projects being run this year.
For more information on the ELP, check out their website here.