Prescott College's Ecology Club: Linking science and education to further conservation efforts in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Background/Question/Methods

Prescott College’s Ecology Club is an extra-curricular program conducted for eight years in partnership with the middle school in Bahía de Kino, Sonora, Mexico.  A group of 15 to 20 dedicated seventh grade students meets weekly after school to learn about the ecology of the Sonoran Desert and the Gulf of California.  They explore these ecosystems using scientific field methods and equipment, and meet people involved in the conservation of this biologically rich region. The primary objective of the Ecology Club is to build environmental awareness through knowledge and hands on experience.  During each two hour classroom session, the students are introduced to a local ecosystem and its conservation issues. Classroom lessons are then incorporated into a field exercise the following week to allow students to experience the ecosystem first hand. Students complete a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the school year that serves to evaluate the program by tracking changes in students’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior.  At the end of the school year, students conduct a final project, with the instructors serving only as advisors.  They choose a local environmental issue, propose a solution and present it to members of the community.

Results/Conclusions

Since 2000, the Ecology Club has reached over 150 students. Ecosystems explored during field outings have included estuaries, islands, tide pools, the open sea, and the desert. Students have worked in conjunction with the Mexican government to post signs on islands to protect seabird breeding colonies, researched regional conservation issues and presented findings to the local elementary school, and proposed a plan to upgrade garbage facilities to state officials.  We have generated outreach materials and invited parents to participate in activities to further integrate the community into our program. Last year, we received external funding to purchase field equipment and we are currently pursuing other fundraising opportunities. Moreover, our program has helped build environmental awareness, reinforce and expand local ecological knowledge, and broaden the scope of future professional education and employment options. We are working towards the formation of environmentally responsible youth that can propose everyday, individual and collective feasible actions and value them as a part of the solution to environmental problems. Prescott College’s Ecology Club is an example of how experiential education can provide a unique opportunity to integrate science and conservation.