Earth Sustainability Curriculum for Liberal Education Project:

1. Vision for the Earth Sustainability Program Blending content and technical learning goals with… epistemological, inter- and intra-personal goals Traditional goals of VT’s core education More recently defined technical goals Apply technology to tasks, information use, information literacy, presentation and communication skills, problem solving, reasoning, critical thinking 21st Century Inter/intrapersonal goals Adaptability, flexibility, resiliency, acceptance of ambiguity, diversity awareness, creativity, empathy, positive work ethic, self-management, dependability, reliability, responsibility, honesty, integrity, teamwork Earth Sustainability Curriculum for Liberal Education Project: Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future Barbara Bekken, Lori Blanc, Cortney Martin and Joan Marie ES@vt.edu The Earth Sustainability Project, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 • Survival in the 21st century requires flexibility, adaptability, the capacity to negotiate between one’s own and others’ needs, and the ability to cope with rapid change, ambiguity, diversity, and complexity. • -Marcia Baxter Magolda, 2001 • Making Their Own Way ES1 Phase 1 Students: Field trip to Polyface Farm ES Phase 2 Students: Field trip to Blacksburg Water Authority Abstract Education will be a key factor in moving human societies to a sustainable future. At Virginia Tech, we are building a core curricular program that challenges students to envision such a future, and provides them with the intellectual tools to construct it. The Earth Sustainability (ES) series represents an emerging model for general education that explores complex issues surrounding the sustainable use of Earth’s natural resources. Students in the ES program learn within an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment with over 40 faculty and graduate student guest lecturers and instructors. Topics explored in this 4-semester program include water resources, energy production and impacts, shelter, food and agriculture, and waste management. To illustrate these challenges, we involve students with the political, economic, social, technical and environmental issues associated with the use of natural resources. We do this through hands-on activities, service learning, field trips and exposure to a wide variety of guest lecturers from various local organizations and academic departments at Virginia Tech. Class field trips include visits to sustainable farms, water treatment facilities, waste treatment plants, energy generating facilities, coal mining reclamation sites and ‘green’ housing in Appalachia. An example of our service-learning projects includes using a community canning facility to preserve locally harvested food, learn about the complexities of food preservation and raise funds for a local history museum. Through direct exposure to issues of natural resource use and management, students become engaged with the University’s efforts to develop sustainable practices. This learn-by-doing and direct-experience framework enables ES students to understand environment-related issues in ways that allow them to imagine more sustainable policies and practices. They also learn how to apply this knowledge at the individual, community, national, and global levels to achieve the more sustainable future they envision. Learning by Doing Active Discovery Engagement in Local and Broader Communities Learning about local sustainable farming at Polyface Farm I've started the Blacksburg Bike Collective with some other concerned members of the community. Our premise is simple: if people have working bikes, than they just might ride them. ~ E. Thomas Burke Measuring vitamin C loss in different samples and preparations of cauliflower Learning about VT’s power generation at the Coal-fired Power Plant I have truly enjoyed learning the alternative [choices] that we can make as individuals. I have tried to order some biodiesel from Suffolk, Virginia so I can start making a difference on my family farm. ~ Martin Smith Evaluating stream ecology with the “Save our Streams” program in Stroubles Creek Field trip to the Blacksburg Water Authority I'm teaching an Environmental Education class at Prices Fork elementary where I help children discover the values of the natural world. ES has given me the knowledge and confidence to connect to these children in less conventional but more effective ways. ~ Josh Rodgers Visiting the Natural Bridge to explore geology, water and human’s relationship to land Collecting well water measurements to determine groundwater flow at VT’s Vet Med retention pond Learning how to preserve locally harvested food, Montgomery County Community Cannery, Riner, VA Learning about land reclamation practices following large scale surface coal mining, Powell River Reclamation Site • Students from ES Phase 1 have gone on to: • - Spend summers working in Dominican Republic at an orphanage • - Study and work abroad in Ecuador, South Africa and China • Serve as an intern in London’s Parliament • Work as undergraduate TA’s in ES Phase 2 Earth Sustainability Core Course Series Fall 2004 – Spring 2006 - Pilot series with 1 group Fall 2006 – Spring 2008 - Expansion to 3 groups “As I reflect on the semester, I am convinced that I have stretched myself toward taking greater responsibility and have become empowered to take action towards living sustainably as an individual and as a member of my community.  I am undoubtedly making more informed decisions of where I obtain my food, what transportation I use, the amount of energy and water I use, and my consumerism in general.”  -- ES student comment 5/9/06 “The array of knowledge that I was exposed to in ES significantly contributed to my desire to travel internationally. The course encouraged me to look at issues, ranging from ethics to environmental concerns, through an international lens. I was constantly reminded that my perspective was one of many worldviews- which intrigued me to encounter first-hand worldviews much different than my own.” -- comment from former ES student 01/21/07 “…in such a few short weeks, I [have] become aware that sustaining our Earth is a very large complex issue that will involve many solutions, not just one…This class has had an immense impact on my academics, values, and personal beliefs.”   -- ES student comment 12/3/04 Engaging with VT’s Goals for Sustainable Practices Acknowledgements ES is a team effort dependant on the talent, support, and commitment of our peers and colleagues. Thank you! to ES Phase 1 students: Thomas Burke, Geena Cammarato, Eric Canfield, Luisi Cano, Julie Chop, Maggie Clifford, Mary Dail, Chelse Jenkins, Jen Kivlin, Carrie Looney, Whitney Marley, Hannah Minchew, Trang Nguyen, Caitlin Plunkett, Rob Puckette, Josh Rodgers, Amie Ruggles, Emily Smith, and Martin Smith. Thanks also to the over forty VT faculty members who have contributed to the curricular design and initial offering of the ES project. Funding has been provided by VT’s Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Provost’s Office, the Graduate School, VT Libraries, and the Departments of Geosciences, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Studies. Funding for educational research on student learning has been provided by a National Science Foundation grant #05-2258-05 to Deborah Olsen and Barbara Bekken. Informing the VT student community at Earth Day Students connect to…. … each other in a learning community … content areas through interdisciplinary theme … faculty, guest speakers and field trips … information technology through library/tech support … campus by attending invited lectures, cultural events … other students by joining student groups ES directly changed my views and understanding on the current energy debate of fossil fuels and their contribution to global warming. I have become involved with Mountain Justice at Virginia Tech, and have helped plan trips, information sessions, and keynote speakers which directly speak or relate to mountain top removal coal mining. I have also begun an energy divestment campaign with Mountain Justice as well as Green Fee and Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech. I am the energy campaign coordinator of Environmental Coalition. ~Geena Cammarato