Programs at the EERC:

The work at the EERC supports communities in which experience transforms learning and stewardship takes root.

With the EERC newly opened in 2023, the design of specific education programming is underway and ongoing. University classes, public talks, guided outdoor walks and activities, support for K-12 and family learning, and more will be part of an exciting slate of opportunities starting in 2023.

The effects of coronavirus on public health, education, society, and the economy cannot be underestimated; the impacts will likely endure for a long time.  Yet the need to stay close to home opens many new opportunities to environmental education, science and STEM learning and discovery, and to exploring one’s personal environment in new, exciting and perhaps more intimate ways.

Student achievement in environmentally related science and STEM fields is critical to cultivating the next generation of environmental innovators who can creatively address complex 21st century challenges.  Science provides the tools to better understand nature and the environment.  Natural sciences can provide students with the opportunities and motivation to engage in meaningful scientific inquiry which may further spark their interest in STEM and STEAM models to design innovative solutions to locally relevant environmental issues.   With so many fields of science, STEM and STEAM that examine the environment, there are endless connections that relate to real world scientific research and discovery and STEM based design thinking and innovation.

During these times of home-based remote learning, the EERC will embrace a hybrid approach to program delivery including virtual program content accompanied by hands on, experiential, and real world learning activities that can be carried out at home and help to build identities as scientists and environmental stewards.

As an example, we will build off of the Learning in Places curriculum designed by the EERC’s Dr. Carrie Tzou.