CapUWorks | A campus model for environmental education and engagement.
Type of Session
Workshop
Abstract
Length: half-day
Theme:
Environmental Education Across the Disciplines
On many campuses, environmental education is confined to courses that are housed in specific departments such as geography or biology. This can be limiting in a variety of ways. First, it can mean that students learn about environmental issues from the lens of only one discipline. Second, if students take several environmental courses, there can be significant redundancy. Third, students working towards specific degree requirements in a different field may not have the opportunity to take environmental courses as electives. Additionally, it is important that engagement in environmental issues occur across a campus and involve faculty, staff, students and community members.
Presenters from Capilano University propose a model in which environmental engagement is offered to the entire campus community not just through course work but via large campus initiatives such as a lecture series, student intern leadership and projects, workshop and service (community) learning. Specific courses in environment education from a variety of departments and Faculties are offered throughout the academic year and support students in learning the foundation of environmental issues. The model is called CapUWorks – an umbrella organization within which EarthWorks, PowerWorks, FoodWorks and PatchWorks explore and support campus engagement in environmental, energy, and food issues related to curriculum and campus issues as well as our community garden. A student intern leads each of these groups and works in concert with Facilities, our Sustainability Assistant and several faculty members. In this enriched education approach, students, faculty, staff and community members are a part of a larger fabric of learning and environmental education becomes infused throughout the entire campus, mirroring the complexity of environmental issues and the necessary transdisciplinary approach required for solutions.
An outline of goals and learning outcomes, and, if appropriate, plans for communication of results
- Provide a hands-on experience using our stakeholder framework to draft a template for their own campus or organization.
- Participants will know how to use the stakeholder analysis model and how we built the CapUWorks student/organizer team.
- Participants will leave the workshop with one initiative that they could implement at their campus.
- Organizers will create a brainstorming list of activities and resources and form this into groups that all participants will be able to access via a resource page.
An outline of the progression of topics and types of learning activities or teaching methods
- Short presentation of Capilano University’s CapUWorks and EarthWorks model.
- People will be organized in groups, ideally based on where they work/attend. It hoped that this workshop would be attended by interested faculty, staff and students who are participating in the conference.
- Group discussion will highlight existing strengths and barriers to environmental education at their campus.
- Participants will re-create the stakeholder model based on their own campus.
- Who would be the connecting people representing various levels in this model?
- Participants will brainstorm various types of environmental activities/events or sustainability changes that they would like to see at their campus.
- Selecting one of these, how could they envision planning this using the stakeholder model?
- Groups will share their ideas and discuss strengths and gaps.
A list of confirmed leaders and a sentence or two about their qualifications and proposed role in the workshop.
Cheryl Schreader (M.Sc. Geography)
(604) 983 - 3224 xt 2477 (office)
(604) 317 - 5230 (cell)
Cheryl has taught in the Dept. of Geography at Capilano University for 18 years. While she teaches a variety of physical geography courses, her focus for the past 10 years has been on environmental geography and environmental education in general. Cheryl is also currently co-teaching an environmental biology course. She is a founding member of EarthWorks at Capilano University and is the faculty facilitator of Capilano’s campus waste audit – one of its largest, interdisciplinary environmental education initiatives. Her research interests also include the intersection of environmental issues and indigenous sovereignty.
Susan Doig (MBA, SCMP)
Susan is the Director of Facilities at Capilano University and a founding member of the EarthWorks team. Her passion for sustainability and campus operations have been a driving force for change at Capilano since she joined the University in 2006.
In 2008/09 Capilano university adopted the BC provincial mandate of carbon neutrality beginning in 2010 and a GHG reduction target of 33% over 2007 baseline by December 31 2015; a goal which Capilano is on track to achieve.
Susan realized that such an aggressive target could only by achieved when the passion of the students, the dedication of instructors in a broad base of courses and the commitment of the institution could join forces together.
CapUWorks is the framework developed to successfully meet that challenge.
(604) 990 - 7973 (office)
(604) 230 - 9225 (cell)
A brief description of the workshop (50 words or fewer)
This workshop will encourage people to think about ways that environmental education and engagement can be infused across their campus. Workshop organizers will share a working model called CapUWorks that has shown great success at Capilano University and they will assist participants in adapting this model to their campus.