New Perspectives in Science Education

The field of environmental education is challenged to look for new ways to develop relationships, partnerships, funding and strategies to further support our role to continuously develop an environmentally literate citizenry.  The FAU E-CORP program is a nationally replicable model of operation that highlights the collaboration between research scientists and environmental education programs by providing curriculum and field experiences to K-12 students. The program develops relationships with local colleges and universities by partnering with researchers in E-STEM fields who are applying for large national grants that require an educational component attached to the research. Researchers benefit from education professionals in the field of environmental education developing and disseminating a high quality, mission-driven, standards-based curriculum relating to their research. Universities can collaborate with local environmental education centers utilizing the E-CORP model as a mechanism to fund programming that furthers their mission. Drawing on current research in one of the most important lagoons in the US, the E-CORP RESTORE program focuses on the issues concerning fisheries populations and how they are impacted by changes in our natural habitats. FAU Pine Jog’s Educational team offers a four-lesson classroom curriculum and one hand’s on field experience. Local wildlife agencies provide the rare opportunity for students in E-CORP to participate in a 600ft seine net draw to look at fish populations in the Lake Worth lagoon. Students also kayak through a long term restoration project and participate in water quality testing in the field. Through these experiences, students develop an understanding of populations in natural and disturbed areas, and the considerations and actions that must take place for an area to be restored for the benefit of the local environment.

Keywords: E-CORP; environmental research; collaborative partnerships;