Washington and Lee University
Environmental Studies program service learning one-credit courses engage students in serving the Rockbridge community through their coursework. Service-learning courses ideally require twenty-four hours of service per term, maintenance of a journal, and a final graded reflective paper demonstrating student’ understanding of the relation of service work to environmental themes.
These courses are intended to complement the Introduction to Environmental Studies 110 course, which you should have already completed. It follows a service-learning process, which combines teaching, learning, and reflecting. Various topics. Note the topic during course registration.
ENV 111 Environmental Service Learning – Environmental Education- The majority of the course will be spent at Boxerwood Gardens, an Arboretum and Nature Center in Rockbridge County. Boxerwood is a non-profit organization that provides environmental education experiences to visiting 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade classes, especially related to habitat, soil, and water topics. We work with one class (and teacher) per day from Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County.
ENV 111 Environmental Service Learning – University Sustainability- The majority of the course will be spent with the Environmental Management Coordinator collecting data in a survey of compostable materials at the Elrod Commons, fraternities, and sororities on campus. You will also observe/participate in a commercial vermiculture composting operation.
ENV 111 Environmental Service Learning – Community Supported Agriculture-The majority of the course will be spent at a Rockbridge Grown local producers affiliate in Rockbridge County, whose mission it is to promote the sustainable production and consumption of local agricultural products and services in order to nourish regional economic, environmental and physical health. Learn and take an active role in the community supported agriculture farm at Cherry Ridge. In their purest form CSA’s involve customers financing a farming operation for a season, assuming the risks and rewards of the farm’s operation, and receiving a share in the harvest.
ENV 211 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Service Learning -The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Service Learning spring term course is intended to create a community partnerships that will serve the Rockbridge County School system and landowners by supporting place-based opportunities that will encourage a more complete understanding and appreciation of the watershed and promote responsible stewardship. The course will prepare students to conduct meaningful watershed investigations that address significant issues pertaining to local watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. The course will highlight both natural and cultural landscapes that influence water quality. Students will participate in service projects that will draw connections between water quality and use and ultimately gain a greater understanding of the watershed ecosystem, including how a sense of place and service play a role in ecological literacy.