Sample Honors Experience Proposal
Basic InformationFull Name: Julia Patterson
UC ID #: M04301070
UC Email: [email protected]
Phone: 513-807-5233
College: Arts & Sciences
Major: TBD
Title of Project: Environmental Education Camp Counselor
Expected Project Start Date: Early June 2012
Expected Project End Date: August 4th 2012
Project Information
1. Provide a brief overview/abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.
For my project, I would work as a youth counselor at an Environmental Education Camp run by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, outside of the town of Crested Butte, Colorado. Children ages 4 to 11 attend these day camps and I would help supervise the children along with co-leading nature awareness activities. My responsibilities would also include helping to plan activities each week and accompanying the kids on the bus ride from town each morning and afternoon. The hours would be from 8:30 to 1:30 Monday through Friday.
2. Clearly state how each of the following elements will be exhibited in your work (refer to the first two pages of this document with the full description of what is expected in each of these areas).
1. Substantial Content and Quality within Community Engagement Theme
In our country today, living an unsustainable lifestyle has become commonplace in most communities. By many, the environment is treated as a resource to be exploited by humans, or at best a pretty landscape to be admired from afar. However, the paradigm has begun to shift as our changing climate can no longer be ignored and we are forced to search for alternative, sustainable ways to meet society’s need for resources. Community engagement and knowledge about environmental issues allows the ordinary citizen to become a vehicle for change simply through changing consumer demand and being a part of community activism. In order for one to have the desire to take steps to protect the environment, a degree of environmental knowledge, and appreciation is key. The best way to ensure that this personal relationship with the environment is present in the coming generations is to begin environmental engagement at an early age. This camp is an excellent way to begin to engage the younger members of the community in larger environmental conservation issues and start to educate budding environmentalists. The community of Crested Butte is already closely linked with the surrounding environment as a small, isolated, mountain, ski town and getting kids in the community excited and interested in nature and its preservation ensures the town’s survival as this new generation will fight for its protection in the future. I am very excited about the prospect of being involved in this crucial education of the younger generation and see the positive effects it has on the values of the town in the coming years.
2. Connection to Academic Goals and Theories
As I hope to pursue a minor in Environmental Policy, this project directly correlates with my academic interests. Implementing environmental education programs in communities is a key way to drum up support for environmentally sound policies and get the community educated about how to grow sustainably. Being involved in such a program on the ground level will give me first hand experience at seeing what works in a successful children’s environmental education program.
In preparing my project proposal I came across an article on methods and strategies for community engagement specifically in the realm of sustainable regional development. The points made in the article,The Social Dimension of Sustainable Development: Guidance and Application by André Benaim, Amber Collins and Luke Raftis, tie into my project very well and echo some of my own thoughts on the importance of including all aspects of a society in the push toward a more sustainable lifestyle. There were a few methods mentioned in the article that specifically stood out to me in respect to my project and these were the concepts of “Trust Building” and “Communications Strategy”. While in the context of the article these methods are discussed in terms of working with businesses and organizations within an adult community, I believe that the same ideas can be applied to my project. The ability to engage with children is largely reliant on the way in which you communicate with them and your ability to gain their trust. In order to succeed in getting the campers to believe the importance of the material I am helping to teach them, it will be necessary for me to tailor my communicating strategy to their specific age group. Engaging with them on a personal level will help me gain their trust and get them interested and enthusiastic about the new things they are learning. This article included many other methods of Community Engagement as well and in reading them, there seemed to be many scenarios in which they could be applied, not only in community service endeavors but in getting your point across in a believable manner in daily life as well.
3. Initiative, Independence and Creativity
While the Rocky Mountain Biologically Laboratory runs this program, and I will be working under other instructors, I will still have the opportunity to add my personal input in lesson and activity planning sessions. I will have to draw on past experiences and past classes I have taken to come up with ideas for how to work with the kids in a way that will be educational yet also fun for them. This process will require me to creatively assess the teaching goals and come up with ways to engage children across a broad range of ages. In addition, as much of the camp takes place outdoors, fluctuations in weather can often force unexpected changes in the schedule and I will have to be flexible and come up with alternative options for lessons and activities with the campers.
4. Reflection & Dissemination
As my project will be conducted largely outdoors in a beautiful place, I plan to use photography and short videos to disseminate my experiences. I plan to keep a regular blog where I will post images, short video clips and descriptions of what I am doing and learning as the project progresses.
5. Advisor (list the person’s name, title, and contact information)
Annie Starr, Head of Environmental Education Program at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, [email protected] or 970-349-7746
6. Budget (if applicable)
N/A
UC ID #: M04301070
UC Email: [email protected]
Phone: 513-807-5233
College: Arts & Sciences
Major: TBD
Title of Project: Environmental Education Camp Counselor
Expected Project Start Date: Early June 2012
Expected Project End Date: August 4th 2012
Project Information
1. Provide a brief overview/abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.
For my project, I would work as a youth counselor at an Environmental Education Camp run by the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, outside of the town of Crested Butte, Colorado. Children ages 4 to 11 attend these day camps and I would help supervise the children along with co-leading nature awareness activities. My responsibilities would also include helping to plan activities each week and accompanying the kids on the bus ride from town each morning and afternoon. The hours would be from 8:30 to 1:30 Monday through Friday.
2. Clearly state how each of the following elements will be exhibited in your work (refer to the first two pages of this document with the full description of what is expected in each of these areas).
1. Substantial Content and Quality within Community Engagement Theme
In our country today, living an unsustainable lifestyle has become commonplace in most communities. By many, the environment is treated as a resource to be exploited by humans, or at best a pretty landscape to be admired from afar. However, the paradigm has begun to shift as our changing climate can no longer be ignored and we are forced to search for alternative, sustainable ways to meet society’s need for resources. Community engagement and knowledge about environmental issues allows the ordinary citizen to become a vehicle for change simply through changing consumer demand and being a part of community activism. In order for one to have the desire to take steps to protect the environment, a degree of environmental knowledge, and appreciation is key. The best way to ensure that this personal relationship with the environment is present in the coming generations is to begin environmental engagement at an early age. This camp is an excellent way to begin to engage the younger members of the community in larger environmental conservation issues and start to educate budding environmentalists. The community of Crested Butte is already closely linked with the surrounding environment as a small, isolated, mountain, ski town and getting kids in the community excited and interested in nature and its preservation ensures the town’s survival as this new generation will fight for its protection in the future. I am very excited about the prospect of being involved in this crucial education of the younger generation and see the positive effects it has on the values of the town in the coming years.
2. Connection to Academic Goals and Theories
As I hope to pursue a minor in Environmental Policy, this project directly correlates with my academic interests. Implementing environmental education programs in communities is a key way to drum up support for environmentally sound policies and get the community educated about how to grow sustainably. Being involved in such a program on the ground level will give me first hand experience at seeing what works in a successful children’s environmental education program.
In preparing my project proposal I came across an article on methods and strategies for community engagement specifically in the realm of sustainable regional development. The points made in the article,The Social Dimension of Sustainable Development: Guidance and Application by André Benaim, Amber Collins and Luke Raftis, tie into my project very well and echo some of my own thoughts on the importance of including all aspects of a society in the push toward a more sustainable lifestyle. There were a few methods mentioned in the article that specifically stood out to me in respect to my project and these were the concepts of “Trust Building” and “Communications Strategy”. While in the context of the article these methods are discussed in terms of working with businesses and organizations within an adult community, I believe that the same ideas can be applied to my project. The ability to engage with children is largely reliant on the way in which you communicate with them and your ability to gain their trust. In order to succeed in getting the campers to believe the importance of the material I am helping to teach them, it will be necessary for me to tailor my communicating strategy to their specific age group. Engaging with them on a personal level will help me gain their trust and get them interested and enthusiastic about the new things they are learning. This article included many other methods of Community Engagement as well and in reading them, there seemed to be many scenarios in which they could be applied, not only in community service endeavors but in getting your point across in a believable manner in daily life as well.
3. Initiative, Independence and Creativity
While the Rocky Mountain Biologically Laboratory runs this program, and I will be working under other instructors, I will still have the opportunity to add my personal input in lesson and activity planning sessions. I will have to draw on past experiences and past classes I have taken to come up with ideas for how to work with the kids in a way that will be educational yet also fun for them. This process will require me to creatively assess the teaching goals and come up with ways to engage children across a broad range of ages. In addition, as much of the camp takes place outdoors, fluctuations in weather can often force unexpected changes in the schedule and I will have to be flexible and come up with alternative options for lessons and activities with the campers.
4. Reflection & Dissemination
As my project will be conducted largely outdoors in a beautiful place, I plan to use photography and short videos to disseminate my experiences. I plan to keep a regular blog where I will post images, short video clips and descriptions of what I am doing and learning as the project progresses.
5. Advisor (list the person’s name, title, and contact information)
Annie Starr, Head of Environmental Education Program at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, [email protected] or 970-349-7746
6. Budget (if applicable)
N/A