Tag: Kathryn Lynch

Environmental Leadership Program Canopy Connections Environmental Education Program 2012

Presenter: Emma Newman, Gritz Kuhn, and Kate Vannelli

Mentor: Kathryn Lynch

AM Poster Presentation

Poster 33

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.

River Stories: Preserving and Sharing Oral Histories and Traditions of the McKenzie River Valley Using Video and Audio Media

Presenters : Starr Hathway, Adrian Robins, Jacob Sembler

Mentor : Kathryn Lynch

Major : Environmental Studies, Cinema Studies

Poster 39

The McKenzie River Valley sustains a unique heritage that is in danger of being lost. The purpose of River Stories is to preserve the oral histories and traditions of the area before they are forgotten. Our goal is to share the stories we collect with the Eugene/Springfield community, as well as the residents of the McKenzie Valley and their families. The River Stories team is collecting these accounts from McKenzie River area residents that run the spectrum from river guides to local artisans. While conducting weekly interviews, the team employs an anthropological approach to capture the endangered community knowledge, specifically using audio and video formats. River Stories then uses transcription, audio logging, and video editing to create a product that is ready for community-wide dissemination. Thus far, 13 weeks of fieldwork have yielded findings that help piece together the McKenzie’s grander story. The team has inter- viewed 20 individuals from over a dozen pursuits including boat building, fly fishing, and sustainable agriculture. This term, the team is developing a mini-documentary series which aims to communicate findings to the Eugene/Springfield community. This project will encourage further documentation and appreciation of the McKenzie River Valley, setting a foundation for the connection of genera- tions and neighboring communities.

Environmental Leadership Program – Environmental Education Adams Elementary

Presenter: Derek Leung (Environmental Studies)

Co-Presenters: Madison DeLong and Kailyn Haskovec

Mentor: Kathryn Lynch

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Enhancing Learning” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 1: 9:00-10:15am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

The Environmental Leadership Program is a two term program for University of Oregon students who work together in groups on different environmental projects ranging from case studies to film production to education outreach. The X Stream team is a group of ten students who spent winter term creating an environmental education curriculum to teach at Adams Elementary in the spring. Adams students in grades 1st through 5th will learn basic scientific principles of water through exploration of the McKenzie River. The overall theme we’re trying to convey is interconnectivity between the watershed and it’s inhabitants. We hope to cultivate action through spreading awareness and knowledge. We are following Sobel’s framework of connecting with animals in grades 1 and 2, exploring nearby environments in grades 3 and 4 and examining human impacts on the environment in grade 5. Using principles of engaged pedagogy, we hope to utilize activities that engage the students’ mind, body and soul.

For a Citizenry or For a Workforce? The Role of Industry in American Science Education

Presenter: Ellen Ingamells (Environmental Science)

Mentor: Kathryn Lynch

Oral Presentation

Panel A: “Enhancing Learning” Maple Room

Concurrent Session 1: 9:00-10:15am

Facilitator: Nedzer Erilus

It’s no wonder that industry (manufacturing, engineering, product design and research) has been tied to American science education since the birth of this country. Industry accounts for nearly 20% of the American economy, includes the fastest growing occupational fields, and is, by most accounts, what keeps the United States competitive. This project approaches the question “what should the role of industry be in science education?” from four different angles: precedent, policy, practice and opinion. Additionally, there is a larger theoretical question embedded in this project: what is the goal of our education system? In the last 230 years education has changed more because of answers to this question, than from any other factor. Today our education system is trying to create all of the workers that our current industry needs. History shows us that these policies and practices are short sighted. Teaching students to be a part of today’s industry leaves them incapable of adapting to future industry. It is time to break out of this pattern. Regardless of what your goals are for the American education system, they can best be met by creating well rounded, critically thinking innovators. By attempting to inspire passion and ingenuity, our school system can produce a citizenry that is engaged, thoughtful and patriotic, as well as a workforce that is adaptive and innovative in every field.

Canopy Connections 2014

Presenter: Tanner Laiche

Co-Presenters: Cassie Hahn, Megan Hanson

Mentor: Kathryn Lynch

Oral Presentation

Major: Environmental Studies

Canopy Connections, a project of the Environmental Leadership Program, is designed to promote a connection to place and a love for the environment. Working in collaboration with H.J Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA) and the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute, our team took middle school students into H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest to directly engage with an old-growth forest, both 90 feet up in the canopy and on the ground. We aimed to foster a relationship between the students and nature using natural science and the humanities, enhancing their personal connection with this special place. This presentation discusses how our team of 10 undergraduates developed and implemented field trips for 150+ middle-school students with a focus on “students as scientists” within the Willamette National Forest. The field trip curriculum used an engaged pedagogical approach, and was designed as four separate stations, including activities such as a canopy climb, identifying plants using dichotomous keys, journaling, among others. Collectively, these activities reflect the research and creative writing transpiring at HJA. While children participated in an amazing fieldtrip experience, the members of the ELP team gained valuable communication and leadership skills, as well as first-hand experience in the environmental education field. Upon completion of this program in May, we will evaluate if our learning objectives have been met through conclusion surveys, student journal entries, and guided group discussions. Additionally, the undergraduate student facilitators will be assessed through our project peers, the project leaders as well as the program executive directors.

Just Stories: Telling Stories with Communities

Presenter: Laura Nausieda

Co-Presenters: Alex Deck, Arica Sears, Lauren Rapp, Rowan Hardenbrook, Arielle Shamash, Emma Sloan, Hope Tejedas, and Marla Waters

Mentors: Kathryn Lynch and Aylie Baker, Environmental Studies

Creative Work Presentation: C11 (Gumwood Room)

Majors: Environmental Studies and Anthropology

Using video, audio and photography, the goal of the Environmental Leadership Program’s Just Stories Team is to collaborate with local partners to document communities responding to environmental injustice. Winter term we worked with community members in Cedar Valley, Oregon to create the film Drift: A Community Seeking Justice. In October 2013, a helicopter spraying herbicides over recent clearcuts dripped chemicals over local residents, several tributaries of the Rogue River and lands abutting the local school. Residents immediately began reporting negative health effects. The 20-minute film documents the aftermath of the aerial spray incident as well as the community’s efforts to organize locally and call for statewide community health protections. Drift was screened at the State Capitol in March as well as the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Oregon. It aims to spread awareness about Senate Bill 613, which would require the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Department of Forestry to create spray buffer zones for homes, schools, drinking water and fish-bearing streams. Spring term, we are working with women who are leaders in their communities in responding to pesticide drift to learn about their visions of change. In addition to sharing some of these stories, we will talk about our process of community-centered media-making as a catalyst for meaningful change on environmental justice issues.

“Nurturing Naturalists”: The Canopy Connections Project of the Environmental Leadership Program

Presenter: Laura Buckmaster

Co-Presenters: Samantha Bates, Micaela Hyams, Forrest Hirsh, Nicole Hendrix, Elie Lewis, Amelia Remington, Nick Sloss

Mentor: Kathryn Lynch, Environmental Studies

Oral Presentation

Majors: Environmental Studies and Psychology

Children today are often lacking direct contact with the natural world. The Canopy Connections team of the Environmental Leadership Program seeks to address symptoms of what is colloquially called “nature deficit disorder.” Working in collaboration with H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA) and the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute, our team took 300 middle school students into the canopy of an old-growth forest to learn firsthand the importance of these fragile ecosystems. The project includes an in-class lesson and an all-day field trip where students engage in scientific investigation – setting up biodiversity plots, learning how to use compasses and maps, honing field observation skills through the use of field notebooks, and ascending 90 feet into a Douglas-fir to learn about microhabitats. This unparalleled experience creates an opportunity for them to form personal connections with the awe-inspiring ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Our goal is to provide a space where students and facilitators can investigate, learn, and create in partnership. Canopy Connections fosters environmental awareness, and provides the necessary knowledge and skills to create active stewards of Oregon’s forests.

Unplugging and Reconnecting: The Restoring Connections Project of the Environmental Leadership Program

Presenter: Ashley Adelman

Co-Presenters: Roslyn Braun, Kerry Sheehan, Kristen Kruse, Luke Holladay, Zoie Wesenberg

Mentors: Kathryn Lynch and Alicia Kristen, Environmental Studies

Oral Presentation

Major: Environmental Studies

Today children are more plugged in and less connected to the natural world than ever before, and thus may not develop the awareness, concern, or motivation to protect our natural heritage. As the environmental leaders of tomorrow, children deserve experiences in nature in order to foster lasting connections with the places they inhabit. This year the Environmental Leadership Program at UO launched a new five-year partnership with Mt. Pisgah Arboretum (MPA) and Adams Elementary School called “Restoring Connections.” The purpose of the project is to develop a place-based, experiential environmental education project for elementary school children as they move from kindergarten to fifth grade. This year’s team focused on an in-class lesson and an all-day field trip at MPA for over 200 elementary students in grades K-2. Journaling, sit spots, species identification, singing, drawing, and restoration projects inspire and encourage children to become explorers and gain a sense of personal responsibility for the stewardship of the natural world. Based on the methods of Coyote Mentoring, a motivation-driven educational approach, the facilitators and children create an active learning environment using inquiry to expand their knowledge of place. As budding environmental educators, we are gaining professional experience in place-based education through curriculum development and implementation, while making a difference in the lives of local children.

Canopy Connections 2016: Nurturing Connections in H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest.

Presenter: Kennedy Potts

Co-Presenters: Paige Book, Garrett Davidson, Artesia Hubbard, Allison Humphrey, Skyland Worman

Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Lynch, Kassandra Hishida

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Humanities

Major: Environmental Science

Children in the United States are becoming increasingly detached from nature, which has the potential to lead to a future in which the citizens of the U.S. are less environmentally literate than ever. Aside from the undeniable role of nature in our survival as a species, building children’s connection with nature has been shown to improve focus and enhance academic performance. These outcomes motivate our program, which works to build a connection between young people and the environment. The 2016 Canopy Connections Team is part of the Environmental Leadership Program at the University of Oregon, which engages students in collaborative, interdisciplinary service-learning projects addressing environmental education needs in our community. Together, we created a curriculum that will reach over 250 local middle-school students through 9 day long field trips. The field trip takes place in an old-growth ecosystem at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA) in Blue River, OR. It introduces middle-school students to several long-term ecological research projects being conducted at HJA. Using hands-on, place-based activities, we aim to empower students to gain awareness about the environment and take action to protect it. In addition, through our partnership with the Pacific Tree Climbing Institute, participants will ascend 90-feet up a Douglas-fir tree. By immersing students in an old-growth forest, we hope to strengthen their connection to the magnificent place we call home as well as inspire future environmental stewardship.

Restoring Connections: Eugene Youth to the Great Outdoors

Presenter: Phoebe Lett

Co-Presenters: Kiley Graham, Quinn Haaga, Meagan Hamilton, Rachel Rechtman, Miranda Taylor-Weiss, Lillian Thomas

Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Lynch

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Environmental Studies

Funding Source: Luvaas Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation

Many children today have lost their connection to the environment, which is having a detrimental effect on their quality of life and sense of place. The alarming result is that they don’t develop the awareness, concern, or motivation to protect our natural heritage. The Environmental Leadership Program’s Restoring Connections team, working in collaboration with Adams Elementary School and Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, seeks to address this. Our team developed and implemented a place-based, experiential environmental education project with nearly 200 kindergarteners and first graders during spring 2016. Using the UN “Awareness-to-Action” framework for environmental education, our goal was to cultivate a lasting connection to the land and to inspire awareness, caring, and respect for the world around us. In particular we wanted to reach those who may not thrive in a classroom setting so that we can address multiple learning styles and inspire a curiosity for nature and learning. The participating children will explore, journal, and participate in various hands-on activities at Mt. Pisgah every season from kinder through fifth grade. Students will gain direct knowledge and insight into ecological processes, making textbook concepts such as seasonality and predation come alive. This will strengthen their connection to the beautiful place they live, and will hopefully inspire a lifetime of stewardship and conservation of the natural world that sustains us all.