Energy, Environment and Resources Center

EERC ~ Center for Geography and Environmental Education

The Center for Geography and Environmental Education (CGEE), under the direction of Dr. Rosalyn McKeown-Ice, focuses on research and development related to geography and environmental education.

Geography is the chosen disciplinary vehicle for environmental education because it integrates both the natural and social sciences in studying environmental problems and issues. CGEE designs environmental literacy and citizenship-assessment instruments, defines the socio-political-cultural foundations of environmental education, and surveys the environmental education component of teacher-preparation programs.

In program development, the Center helps local agencies organize environmental education workshops, supports the CGEE-created local Partners in Environmental Education Network, coordinates the Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project (TN SWEP), and develops international programs for Russian-U.S. exchanges.

Recent CGEE projects include:

• Education for Sustainable Development. CGEE is collaborating with the Teacher Education Consultation Group of the United Nations' Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to experiment with new ways to incorporate principles of sustainable development into all levels of curricula worldwide.
• Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit.  The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Toolkit helps educators, schools, institutions, or communities take their first steps toward creating education for sustainable development programs.  The Toolkit has five major components:  (1) A description of education for sustainable development; (2) A discussion of 12 major issues that have stymied the progress of ESD; (3) Exercises geared toward reorienting curriculum to address sustainability, developing community sustainability goals, and explaining the concept of sustainability; (4) A case study of the Toronto Board of Education’s community consultation and subsequent curriculum revision based on citizen vision and desire; (5) A collection of links to basic sustainability concepts, education for sustainability sites, historic United Nations documents relevant to ESD, and community action.
• Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project (TN SWEP). The Tennessee Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 and reauthorization of 1996 calls for state-wide environmental education for K-12 students and teachers. In conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, TN SWEP offers inservice teacher training, sponsors workshops on solid-waste curriculum materials, and offers classroom presentations.
• Environmental Literacy and Citizenship Assessment Instrument (ELCAI). ELCAI was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of undergraduate environmental literacy programs, and it boasts modules on natural science, social science, and environmental issues and a self-reporting survey of environmentally responsible behavior.
• Water Sourcebook for Grades 3-5. CGEE, in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, produced a collection of classroom activities that focuses on surface water, drinking water, groundwater, water purification, coastal areas, wetlands, and marshes.

The Center for Geography and Environmental Education (CGEE) is working to add "reduce, reuse, and recycle" to the three "Rs" traditionally taught to school children. In conjunction with the Tennessee Solid Waste Education Project, CGEE staff have developed the Waste Education Station (WES), a hands-on learning facility housed in a convenience center in Monroe County, Tennessee, to help second, fourth, and sixth graders find out firsthand what happens to trash once it leaves their homes.

Children get an apple to munch on while they tour dumpsters full of glass, aluminum and steel cans, paper, and plastic. When they arrive at the station's compost area, students add in their apple cores and observe how decomposition works. In the garden, they learn how mulch from the compost pile is used to enrich soil. Children also sort recycables into containers, learn how a recycling center operates, and learn to choose products with less packaging or packaging made from recycled materials.

A decomposition time line shows children how long it takes for such waste items as cigarettes, plastic bottles, and newspapers to decompose. The WES, which has been operating since 1995, is a collaborative effort among government agencies, school systems, and individual volunteers.