Assessing conservation education using freshwater ecosystems: Compare and contrast the Texan Elm Fork Education Center (EFEC) with the sub-Antarctic Omora Ethnobotanical Park program (Chile)

Background/Question/Methods

Can a partnership between the Elm Fork Education Center (EFEC) and the Omora Ethnobotanical Park benefit each other through an exchange of active learning lesson plans, ideas, students, and hope for a bright future filled with knowledgeable conservationists?  If so, can a descriptive study create a baseline to establish the efficacy of learners after an active learning lesson plan has been implemented at each of these organizations.  The EFEC is located at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX.  Since its opening in 1998 the mission of the center has been to develop and implement premiere environmental education programs which provide problem based learning to engage elementary age students in field activities and discovery experience.  The objective of the EFEC experience is to educated students so they can make sound environmental decisions and become responsible environmental stewards.  Juxtaposed against the EFEC is the Omora Ethnobotanical Park located on Navarino Island (55ºS) in the Cape Horn Biosphere of Southern Chile.  The park was developed in order to relate investigation, education, and conservation with the goal of integrating biocultural conservation and environmental ethics.  The Omora Ethnobotanical Park aims to be used as an outdoor classroom, natural laboratory, and a public space for the local and international community.
Results/Conclusions

Both organizations have been successful in developing region specific lessons which relate the natural history, culture, environment and how all aspects relate to each other and humankind.  Scientists of Omora Ethnobotanical Park conducted an oral survey with young visitors of Omora Park and found when asked to name off common plants their responses included only vascular species that were not native to the area.  In order to increase knowledge of native flora, a lesson has been added to the tour of Omora Ethnobotanical Park entitled “The Miniature Forest of Cape Horn,” which allows students to actively explore the “miniature forests” of mosses and liverworts using a hand lens.  After exploring this lesson, students were surveyed and found to incorporate native plant names including non-vascular plants learned in the “miniature forest”.  Scientists and teachers of the EFEC and Omora Ethnobotanical are developing a lesson plan entitled “Through the Eyes of an Insect”.  This lesson will be implemented at the EFEC as well as the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in order to further research the effects of active learning lesson plans such as the “miniature forests”.