Presenter(s): Katy Roy-johnson − Environmental Studies
Co Presenter(s): Becca Perrin, Sydney Morrison, Gracie Williams, Milo Gazzola
Faculty Mentor(s): Kathryn Lynch
Oral Session 4CN
Research Area: Natural Science
Funding: Robert and Catherine Miller Foundation
The goal of environmental education is to foster an awareness of past, present, and future environmental issues, build an empathetic attitude toward the natural world, and establish a platform for action. Through the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon, our team partnered with the School Garden Project of Lane County (SGP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to utilize on-site school gardens as outdoor classrooms to promote stewardship for the natural world. Our service-learning project entailed supporting SGP with their in-school lessons for ten weeks, providing a total of 210 hours of hands-on learning experiences in their school programs. Additionally, we developed three lessons on phenology, citizen science, and food and culture, which we facilitated during the after-school BEST program at local schools, collectively teaching for 70 hours. We introduced 1st through 5th grade students to the importance of local food and encouraged attitudes of excitement and responsibility to participate in growing food. Over the course of two terms, we collectively reached 150 students at 5 schools within Lane County. Our students became aware and knowledgeable about seasonal changes in the Willamette Valley, the Three Sisters of northern Native American agriculture, and personally participated in citizen science data collection. By promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have worked to ensure that our lessons are accessible to all, providing space for our students to foster a strong connection to place, enhance self-sufficiency, and empower students to grow their roots in the local food movement.