Utah Society for Environmental Education

(Spring/Summer 2000)
It all started with a bowl of M&Ms and Skittles. The students were grouped into different "generations" of a community, and all of the community resources, those tasty chocolate and fruit-flavored candies, could be found in a big blue bowl. Given only ten-second lifetimes, each generation put its collective heart and soul into getting the most out of life, or in this case getting the most candy out of the bowl. It was a contrived situation, I admit, as the students were not asked to pay taxes, go to school, vote, work, walk the dog, do laundry or perform any other real-world responsibilities; their only task was to collect candy. But as each generation removed resources from the community bowl, the metaphor of real-life and the pressing need for sustainability in our thinking and our doing, became as clear as the colors of the candy. It became particularly clear when the community candy cache was drained before generation number four even left their seats.

Earlier, the students had defined a sustainable community as livable, lasting and one that could maintain life. Even before the fourth generation, it was obvious to the students that their candy community was not any of these. The students sighted greed, poor planning, not renewing the supply, and too many people for too few resources, as some of the reasons that their community ceased to be sustainable. It wasn’t a far leap for the students to compare their candy community to the one they live, learn and play in everyday. Almost daily, they see the brown M&Ms (soil, agricultural land and open space) decreasing in number as strip malls, movie theaters and subdivisions spring up. While air and water (blue M&Ms) do not decrease in quantity, they recognized that the quality of each decreases while the number of users continues to grow.

But when the time came to brainstorm and suggest how their real-life community could be different, how their choices could make their community more "livable" or "lasting," many of the students did not know where to begin. And for me it marked the beginning of a big but rewarding challenge as an environmental educator. Sustainability and "meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," is a concept that really resonates with people somewhere down deep. Whether it’s a corporate executive, a farmer, a plumber or a ninth grade student, they all want to leave something positive for future generations. The question is, do they know how?

As environmental educators we have an opportunity. The need for sustainable thinking, doing and being is now, and we have a chance to help the plumbers, corporate executives, farmers, and ninth grade students figure out their role in it. For everyone, it’s a challenge to use and need less, and to plan for generations way beyond our own, particularly when so many of the signs encourage us to go in the opposite direction. As environmental educators, we have an opportunity to connect people to sustainability resources and materials, to encourage critical thinking and process skills needed to make sustainable choices, and to model sustainable behavior. While the concepts of sustainability are timeless, achieving sustainability takes time. It also takes education and access to information, and the EE community seems a perfect candidate to provide it. The audience is ready and willing, it’s now up to us to be the guides.

So, on the practical level, how do we help others understand and act on the principles of sustainability in a meaningful way? While I’m no expert on the topic, my experience has lead me to suggest the following:

1. Approach sustainability through interesting and relevant topics. Because, sustainability is a concept applicable to every area imaginable, there is no need for limits. One of the students I worked with loved to play the guitar, so I challenged him to learn about the materials used in making the guitar and the source of electricity used to power it. I found the hook to pull him in and keep him interested, while also helping him understand the long-term costs and benefits environmentally, economically and socially of guitar making and much more. Another group of students learned about the clothing industry, a topic of large concern to "hip" junior high students, and an aspect of our society that is also a challenge to sustain. Allowing students to choose their own topic may lead you in strange directions, but it also helps them to explore aspects of their own lives and make relevant choices for a sustainable future.

2. Search for examples near and far. In the process of looking for ways to make our own communities more sustainable, we could conduct an amazing lesson in geography! From St. Petersburg, Russia to Finehorn, Scotland, from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Salt Lake City, Utah, there are numerous examples of individuals and communities working to develop more sustainable ways of doing and being almost everything. The Internet is a great place to start, and helps students feel part of a larger effort.

3. Encourage creativity! "Our biggest roadblock is our own imagination," said John Todd scientist, engineer, designer and inventor of the Living Machine. His invention includes a series of linked steel grain silos filled with fish, plants and millions of bacteria and microbes used to treat sewage water or dispose of solid waste, and producing clean water, as well as fish and vegetables for market. For his next project Todd has visions of a "bus stop/fish farm where urban commuter meets aquaculture." Like Todd, students should be encouraged to find community designs and solutions that combine sound science with true creativity and innovation.

4. Take an interdisciplinary approach. Designing a sustainable community provides a great opportunity for students to read, write, draw, build, act, calculate, debate, philosophize, theorize, measure, model, research, compare, and so much more! Study the history of an unsustainable community like Easter Island, explore the visual aesthetics of different community designs, construct a model of a sustainable school building, study the economics of sustainability, or deliberate the ins and outs of urban sprawl.

5. Get the community involved. Like everything else we teach, we can’t be experts in all aspects of sustainability. But most likely there are folks in your immediate community who know about alternative transportation, practice organic farming, study air quality or are well versed in energy efficient design. Get to know them! Not only are these people valuable sources of current information, but they also serve as role models for students ("Someone actually gets paid to do this stuff. So could you!").

6. Know that there are no right answers. There is no magic solution to this great big challenge of living more sustainably, and that might frustrate you and your students. But it also leaves the door wide open to a myriad of exciting possibilities. For you as the facilitator of learning, that means keeping an open mind as your students grapple with the process. Sustainability forces us to question our values, our needs and wants, and our responsibilities, none of which is easy. Without a doubt, your students may make choices that to you are inconceivable, but they are making choices and that’s the first big step.

Many USEE Efforts Build State Capacity
(Summer 1999)

It’s no coincidence that many USEE projects fall under the parameters of capacity building. USEE has received numerous US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants and for several years capacity building has been a priority with the EPA. USEE’s capacity building efforts include:

The Web
USEE’s bimonthly newsletter covers a different theme with each issue, except for the September issue, which is always dedicated to environmental education. The Web builds capacity by informing readers of state and national environmental education news, as well as by providing an event calendar. The newsletter also provides Utah’s EE community with an opportunity to share information and communicate with each other.

The Teacher Network
Every other month USEE sends a packet of information to more than 300 teacher "links" throughout the state. The packets include information on grants, awards and other opportunities available to teachers and students. Upon receiving the packets, teacher "links" are then asked to post information in hallways and faculty lounges, and to make announcements to the appropriate audiences. The Teacher Network is a delivery system that helps providers get their information to teachers and students.

Tools for Non-formal Environmental Education Providers
The Tools for Non-formal Environmental Educators in Utah project will provide knowledge, training and materials to people responsible for training teachers. Ensuring quality education for students is reliant on properly educating teachers in pedagogy, assessment and teaching methods. Likewise, ensuring quality in-service opportunities for teachers requires training in-service providers. The project goals are to:

1. Educate EE in-service providers about pedagogy and education reform;

2. Provide information on EE resources and materials to in-service providers;

3. Improve ability of in-service providers to correlate EE to the core curriculum; and

4. Create a network of non-formal environmental education providers:

Annual Educators Conference
The philosophy of USEE’s conference has changed in the recent past. Whereas previously USEE targeted teachers, this year USEE will target those people providing environmental education training to teachers. The new audience includes facilitators for EE programs, agency representatives, and personnel from nature centers. The focus of the conference will be geared toward helping EE providers improve their abilities to reach and teach teachers. Ultimately the conference will improve the quality of EE training provided to teachers.

EE Network Project
USEE has established one/two person EE teams in each of Utah’s 40 school districts. These teams receive USEE’s newsletter, the Teacher Network mailings and other relevant information like the Guidelines for Excellence materials. To improve their EE knowledge and understanding, USEE has also provided scholarships/stipends for workshops, NAAEE’s conference and USEE’s conference. In return, the EE experts are asked to help EE providers promote local workshops and identify good locations and dates for trainings.

E3 Evaluation Tool
USEE has partnered with several EE Providers in Utah to develop a single post-workshop participant evaluation instrument and corresponding database. USEE and project partners now can track participant feedback for specific projects or for all the partners combined (about 2,000 records). This provides useful information about the quality of workshops as well as the characteristics of participants.