Environmental Education Resources in Jefferson County

Joe LaCasse, University of Louisville, Brown Fellows Class of 2013Overview

• Spring 2010 – Planned and presented a community education program for middle school students in Gaborone, Botswana

• Summer 2011 – Participated in a survey of conservation research in Bangkok, Thailand – ultimately realizing that my interests are in biology education, not research.

• Fall 2011 – Became involved in the Education and Research Committee of the Sustainability Council at the University of Louisville; Began work as a volunteer teacher for the Louisville Zoo. Both opportunities engendered my interest in environmental education, specifically.

• Spring 2012 – Learned of the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Plan, and its proposed implementation in late 2012. At the same time, I began discussions to design and carry out and internship for the Partnership for a Green City.

Background

This project sought to perform an inventory of environmental education opportunities in the Metro Louisville area. The goal of creating an educational guide stemmed from the necessity for such a resource to aid in the pending implementation of the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Plan. The project was organized through a self-designed internship with the Partnership for a Green City – a collaborative effort between the University of Louisville, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Louisville Metro Government, and Jefferson County Public Schools. Additionally, attendance at the Biomimicry Education Summit, in Portland, OR, served to establish a more comprehensive view of biology education techniques.

MethodsFigure 1 – A partial map of environmental education resources in the Louisville area

• Initially, time was spent networking with individuals involved in all aspects of environmental education. This included teachers from the Jefferson County Public School System, professionals from community organizations, and representatives from state agencies such as the Kentucky Environmental Education Council and the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education.

• Based on these conversations and further research, a list of potential resources was compiled.

• A representative from each organization was contacted with details of the project, requesting their cooperation in compiling a resource guide.

• A profile was created for each participating organization (see Figure 2) and combined to form the resulting “Louisville Environmental Education Resource Guide”.

Participating OrganizationsBelle of Louisville - Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

Blackacre State Nature Preserve - Breaking New Grounds - Brightside Food Literacy Project - Green Triangle - Jefferson Memorial Forest - KAIRE

Locust Grove - Louisville Nature Center - Louisville Science Center Louisville Water Co - Louisville Zoo - Metropolitan Sewer District National Energy Education Project - Olmsted Parks Conservancy

Transit Authority of River City - WaterStep

Figure 2 – A sample profile from the Louisville Environmental Education Guide

Outcomes

Continuing Experience

• The Louisville Environmental Education Resource Guide was created and is set to be hosted online as well as distributed to all relevant stakeholders. This includes: participating organizations, the Partnership for a Green City, the Kentucky Environmental Education Council (KEEC), and the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE). This will allow stakeholders to utilize the information to better connect environmental education programs with participants.

• The information gathered will be transferred to the statewide clearinghouse maintained by the KEEC.

• Personally, I gained invaluable experience looking at formal and informal educational programs, which has strengthened my interest in biology education as a career field.

• The results of this project will be presented at the annual Kentucky Association for Environmental Education conference, with the hopes of encouraging similar projects across the state.

• I am engaged in continuing work with Jefferson County Public Schools and Breaking New Grounds to further explore the distinction between formal and informal education.