ERCEGI

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• Champion Zones: Building Organizational Capacity
• Jacksonville University: Leadership & Learning
• Environmental Responsibility: Service Learning Initiative

Environmental Responsibility: Service Learning Initiative

This project is an off-shoot from an endeavor in progress—Champion Zones. Its mission is to create a safer, more pleasing and life-sustaining environment for those in the targeted geographic area of ZIP32211. This will be done through the creation of a “hands-on” curriculum that will be developed and delivered throughout the neighborhoods to connect individuals and empower them to affect and maintain positive changes as to how they interact with their environment.

We act with the firm belief that an improved sense of security, community appeal, and access to resources will in turn inspire residents and promote healthier living. A Team (consisting of the youth participants in collaboration with community partners) will move in and out of the web of action to solidify the plan, execute it, and evaluate this project. Our endeavor is to address one of the most important basic needs people have—a safe, pleasing, life-sustaining environment. This project will gather data in the geographic area concerning the three key environmental factors (safety, appeal, sustenance) and will record it spatially by linking the data to Census Tracts. The Team will identify both natural and man-made elements that impact these areas in either a positive or negative way. The Team will then analyze the data to look at ways to promote and utilize the positive assets and change or improve the deficits. Drawing from the environmental study, various intellectual resources will be used design a community education program. The program will involve hands-on projects focusing on understanding the immediate environment and working to improve it either through actual visual appeal (e.g. painting buildings; landscaping), or establishment of needed resources (e.g. community garden, recycling center, eco facilities). The design and delivery will revolve around teaching people as they do to establish networks and resources to sustain the work and make it a way of life.

This project will cultivate civic responsibility by empowering youth to make decisions about the environment and the surrounding neighborhood in which they live. By using teamwork, decision making, and self-awareness activities the project will advance work performance & management skills. It will enhance academic curriculum experience for students in the Environmental Science Academy as well as promote environmental education with both elementary and middle school students.

The project will identify and implement a Live Green space that is easily accessible to 32211 constituents. They will identify the attributes for the space, engage the citizens who will help take care of it, and engage families in the process. Tree Hill will become the hub for geospatial testing and training as well as provide a meeting place to conduct Living Green focus groups and research. Lastly, it will also provide a place to engage in geocaching and environmental celebrations.

How to affect the root cause of the issue: One particular need is to engage more residents in community activities and in improving the quality and appreciation of their environment. There are many initiatives in place to help in other high needs categories (clothing, food, financial assistance, etc.).  However, one is rather lacking—empowering people about their immediate environment and how a little effort can go a long way in bringing about positive change from an individual to community to national to planetary levels. Research shows that people need to feel needed—a sense that their lives matter to who and what is around them. To gain this, they need to feel connected. One way is to involve them in a project that brings them together as a team with a purpose of great consequence. To that end, we are posing the development of a community education curriculum that will teach as people do and will establish networks and resources to sustain the work and make it a way of life and not “just another program.”

Once again ERCEGI’s role is two-fold. We are working with Tree Hill Nature Center and the ACES (environment academy) at Terry Parker High School to secure funding for this project. Secondly, during implementation we will provide Geospatial Project Management to oversee data collection/analysis, manage geospatial fieldwork, recruit youth participants, generate maps, and conduct geospatial workshops and geocaching events.