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The Northwest Sampler - Oregon
Participating School:
Winston Middle School
330 Southeast Thompson, Winston, OR 97496
Phone: 541/679-3002, fax: 541/679-9814
Contact: Terri Peterson
Observed Outcomes:
- Many students have the opportunity to take part in the project and to take ownership
- The program has changed the way many community members think about recycling (recycling in the community has more than tripled since the program began)
- Many students, especially those that are less academic than their peers, experience individual growth as a result of their service
- Students' self-esteem and self-concept increase as a result of the service
Keys to Success:
- Designate someone to coordinate service learning
- Start small; not everyone will be excited about it at first
Program Description:
In a county where there is no such thing as landfill fees, the need for a recycling campaign was readily evident. Community members needed an incentive to recycle, and since this did not exist in the form of monetary savings, it had to come from somewhere else. Through a service learning class offered at Winston Middle School, students learned about the benefits of recycling and the ramifications of neglecting to recycle. They then wanted to pass this critical information along to the rest of the community. This they have done, and continue to do, in several ways.
Students conduct waste audits for local businesses. This means that students, after training and practice, act as consultants. In a small group they visit the selected business to analyze the solid waste (mainly paper products) that have been saved during a week. Donning rubber gloves, they sort and weigh all of the trash. The students take this data back to school and calculate the amounts of waste generated by the business. Students then return to the business and give a presentation of their findings, offering recommendations for changes.
Every business the students have visited—from a small, two-person company, to the 150-person Roseburg Forest Products—now has a recycling program. Initially, they approached businesses with their services. Now the tables have turned, and these young consultants are sought out.
Other recycling activities include an assembly presented to local elementary students about the importance of recycling, an elaborate Earth Day Fair, and a recycling awareness week.
Participating School:
Crescent Valley High School
4444 Northwest Highland, Corvallis, OR 97330
Phone: 503/757-5801, fax: 503/757-5816
Contact: Bob Madar
Observed Outcomes:
- Students realize that changes cannot be made without commitment
- Students learn to view themselves as "real" entities instead of "larval" adults
- Students take their learning and service very seriously because they are working on genuine community problems that will make an impact
Keys to Success:
- Connect service activities with the curriculum
- Because students will be working with community members to solve problems, make sure that they know their subject very well
- Be as opportunistic as possible (keep your eyes open for service learning opportunities)
- Keep in mind that taking on a service learning project will increase your workload at first, but once it is in place students will keep it rolling with their motivation and dedication
- Trust students; they are capable of more than we give them credit for
Program Description:
"I didn't know I knew all this." This is a statement Bob Madar has heard from students in his advanced biology class as they take part in the service learning opportunities the class centers around. With the help of local environmental experts, students work to promote awareness, appreciation, and beautification of local environmental assets. Some ways students are doing this include:
After studying the plant life, insects, mammals, ecology, geology, and ornithology of local park areas, students compose field guides. These guides inform and educate people indepth about the park environment. Students also are the hosts of "Park Days," during which they lead community members on tours through the park using the guides they produced.
At the corporate offices of Hewlett-Packard, the biology students studied a small lake located on the grounds. They are working to promote awareness and appreciation of the lake in Hewlett-Packard employees.
At Martin Luther King Park, students are working on a propagation study that will aid in increasing the amount of native vegetation that was once prevalent in the area. In addition, with the help of a stream ecologist, students planted 300 trees that will be monitored for growth during the next 10 years.
Students are studying a small orchid that is threatened. They will study the general ecology of the plant and try to determine what the species needs to survive.
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