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Extension Training Enhances Community Involvement

By Patrick Heck

"It's not an us versus them situation. We are in it all together," says Dr. Jerry Culen, referring to the challenges posed by Florida's rapid growth. Around the state, loss of agricultural and natural lands and urban growth are causing conflicts (economic, environmental and political) among many different sectors of our society. It's true that issues are complex, problems are hard to solve and channels for action may seem limited. But improvements in environmental critical thinking and the development of problem solving skills can build a responsible and informed Florida citizenry.

Through the SNRE Mini-grants program, Family Youth & Community Sciences professors and Co-PIs, Drs. Mark Brennan and Jerry Culen, were awarded a New Faculty Support Grant in 2006-2007. They developed a curriculum for Extension, teachers, and and other educators that will foster community and youth involvement in land use decision making. "Such education is particularly important when dealing with the increasing pressures placed on land use and sustainable development throughout Florida" explains Dr. Brennan.

"A direct need exists for Extension and other educators to be provided with effective curriculum and training to educate the public about natural resource management and sustainability. Environmental issues education is an important tool in the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. These skills are necessary to help protect and conserve economic and environmental health in Florida. Teaching about Environmental Issues: Land Use provides process and content information for educators, including definitions, models, and Florida-specific examples of environmental issues," describes Dr. Mark Brennan, explaining the rationale for their project.

Their curriculum was tested in two in-service trainings and will continue to be refined as needed. The curriculum will also be published as a workbook through Stipes publishers in Spring 2008. In their final report, Dr. Brennan added, “the developed curriculum meets an established need of better involving communities and youth in the process of environmental decision making.  Through the curriculum a variety of skills are presented to participants that allow them to better gather information and develop plans to contribute more effectively to the decisions that affect them and their local natural resources.”

Dr. Culen, echoing that sentiment noted the program's value will give citizens the motivation to work on solving environmental problems and help identify what types of actions are available. Eco-management is a prime example of community driven involvement and participation. “Moving species and habitat enhancement are two options for mitigating the impact of land use. Building bird houses for threatened species or relocating Gopher Tortoises to conservation areas are actual ways of citizen involvement. Our program is devised to promote action," ”said Culen.

SNRE has just completed our mini-grants competition for 2007-08. The goal of the Seed grant is to provide funding to interdisciplinary groups which allows them to collect data or other activity that enhances their ability to secure larger interdisciplinary extramural grants. The New Faculty grants work to help new professors design new and innovative programs aimed at environmental issues and challenges. This year SNRE funded four "new faculty" proposals and five "seed grants" projects, from 70 submissions. Contributors to the program this year were the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Law, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Design Construction and Planning, the IFAS Dean for Research and the Vice President for Research. Since its inception, the SNRE Mini-grants Program has generated more than $11 million in extramural and leveraged funding from outside sources and hundreds of presentations, workshops and articles for publication developed.

For more information on Mini-grants Program, read the 2005-2006 Annual Report.

Click here to read a full list of SNRE mini-grant awardees.

Mark Brennan is Assistant Professor of Community Development for Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. He specializes in community development and rural sociology. His current research focuses on rural disaster preparation, response, and recovery through Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTS). He received his PhD from Pennsylvania State University in 2003.

Gerald Culen is Associate Professor of Youth Development and the Undergraduate Coordinator for Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. He specializes in environmental education, program and curriculum development, and implementation and evaluation. His current research centers on the evaluation of after school programs and activities for CYFAR (Children, Youth and Families at Risk). He received his PhD from Southern Illinois University.