Environmental Leadership Program Canopy Connections Environmental Education Program 2012

Canopy Connections is a project of the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP), which is a service learning program housed within the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Oregon. Eight undergraduates worked with faculty and community partners to create environmental education programs for middle school students from eight different classes from around Lane County. Canopy Connections is a partnership between the ELP, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, and the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute. The Canopy Connections program was set up to give the undergraduate team an opportunity to develop day long field trips based on the theme of people and plants to teach environmental education to middle school students. The goal for this project was to educate middle school students on the fundamentals of ethnobotany through immersion in the Willamette National Forest. Undergraduate students developed their skills as educators by gaining first-hand experience with environmental education curriculum development and implementation, while also improving their collaboration, communication and leadership skills. This report highlights aspects of the Canopy Connections 2012 program. The field trip was set up as four “quests,” which are a type of scavenger hunt that together formed a comprehensive environmental education program. The undergraduates facilitated the quests at the HJA Experimental For- est by working alongside middle school students to answer questions about flora.