Ecological Society of America

"Ecological Literacy" Special Project

Funded in the spring of 2003, this project aimed to educate the community on pertinent ecological issues and the associated costs and risks; develop a database of perceived community ecological concerns; provide student analysis and assessment of community ecological concerns based on previous studies; and, develop a collaborative working relationship for students and community groups. Activities of the project included:

• Environmental Database
  Three ESC members spent the summer of 2003 and 2004 developing a database of environmental information for the Waste Management Institute. The topics included in the datase are environmental companies, environmental technologies, environmental publications, and university program affiliates. See http://www.ncat.edu/~wmi.
• Ecological Workshops
  The kick-off program for improving Ecological Literacy at North Carolina A&T State University was held in the Student Union on September 24, 2003. It was a success. There were approximately 65 students from different majors in attendance. Our speaker for the evening was Paul Crissman from the State Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He spoke on the management of landfills in North Carolina. He also explained the advantages and disadvantages of waste disposal techniques.
  
  Greg Dingman of the City of Greensboro Solid Waste Management Division also made a presentation. He is the Landfill Supervisor for the White Street Landfill and will be valuable as we continue to improve ecological literacy at A&T. The discussion after his presentation continued for another hour as students and others helped themselves to refreshments.
  
• Spring 2004 (February 12-15) - The Council of Presidents Student Leadership Conference in collaboration with the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) featured oral and poster research presentations of two students research interns, Tomeka Simmons and Christina Rodgers, on the Clean Air Act and the political implications of landfills.
• Activities
  Trip to the White Street Landfill
  The development of a survey instrument to collect information from the White Street area residents.
  Presentation of data findings to the White Oak Community Church, Fall 2004
  The development of a brochure for community awareness and knowledge of landfills and their dangers.
  Spring, 2004 (May 12) - Faculty and Students participated in a forum at the Research Triangle Park, NC at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss current events related to Environmental Justice at EPA.
  Spring, 2004 (March 5-7) - Faculty, staff and students attended the Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

The project provided outreach and leadership opportunities for A&T students from different department majors while conveying an interdisciplinary approach to environmental education to one specific community in Greensboro, NC. More specifically, this project was successful in forming a partnership between the Division of Student Affairs Student Leaders at NCA&TSU (Council of Presidents), the School of Business and Economics, and the Greensboro Community (White Oak Landfill Area Residents). Finally, the project was the vehicle for (1) developing and strengthening student leadership, (2) sharing information pertaining to environmental education, (3) expressing community environmental concerns, (4) the development of a statistical database of environmental information for classroom, presented at workshops, seminars, forums on campus and in the community, (5) the collection and analysis of data from the landfill to be used for future research, and (6) supporting faculty travel to professional meetings.