MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education:
Empowering Environmentalists for Generations to Come

By Melissa Turner

            A university biology department obviously has a lot of valuable resources: educational materials, research opportunities, scientific equipment and learned professors. So why not share these resources with the community at large and empower future generations to take better care of the environment? This is the mission of the Center for Environmental Education, which has been operating under the biology department at Middle Tennessee State University for the past 15 years.

Numerous services and programs fall under the umbrella of the Center for Environmental Education. From a Scopes for Schools microscope loan program to grant writing seminars for teachers and youth leaders, the MTSU Center for Environmental Education’s programs seek to answer to a wide variety of needs among area schools and youth groups.

“Kids are more urbanized today,” says Dr. Cindi Smith-Walters, professor of environmental science and co-director of the Center for Environmental Education. “They go home from school and play video games and watch television, but it’s important for them to see what’s available outside and to become more interested in finding out more information about it.”

Among the center’s mainstay education and awareness programs is the Solid Waste Education Project (SWEP). During teacher workshops, educators are trained in recycling, waste reduction, reuse and wise shopping practices. Once they have completed the SWEP teacher training, educators return to their classrooms and youth groups armed with helpful information and resources for educating and encouraging their students to get more actively involved in combating solid waste problems.

Another active program of the Center for Environmental Education is the Tennessee Amphibian Monitoring Program (TAMP). Co-sponsored by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Center for Environmental Education, TAMP seeks to train volunteers of all age groups in becoming “frog loggers.” The frog loggers check in on amphibians four times a year and record information about populations, says Smith-Walters. The recorded information is then submitted to state and national amphibian monitoring databases.

Through programs like the Solid Waste Education Program and the Tennessee Amphibian Monitoring Program, MTSU’s biology department is using its valuable resources not only to help and educate its own students, but also to help empower educators, youth leaders and young people from around the region with environmental education. Smith-Walters says classrooms and youth groups in over 40 Tennessee counties have been served through the center’s community outreach programs.

MTSU’s biology professors stay busy working on funding and programming for the center’s projects, while also carrying regular teaching loads, says Smith-Walters. The professors develop workshops based on their expertise-from green shopping to gardens to trash and composting. However, the professors can also custom-design workshops to fit a particular group’s needs or interests. During her work with the Center for Environmental Education, Smith-Walters says she has seen partnering schools and youth groups develop their own recycling programs, school gardens and educational trips for teachers—all inspired by the center’s environmental programs and workshops.

Another of the Center for Environmental Education’s noteworthy outreach programs is WaterWorks, which is geared more toward educating the general public about water quality issues. WaterWorks is an informational campaign which includes a resource-packed website, (found at www.mtsu.edu/~waterwks/). On the WaterWorks website, the public can access watershed maps, stream quality assessment data and stormwater information for each county in Tennessee. Smith-Walters says the center hopes to increase awareness about water quality through the WaterWorks website, as well as through television and radio public service announcements and brochures for homeowners, builders and developers. WaterWorks also recognizes school and youth groups who take action and get involved in projects that improve water quality, such as stream clean-ups and monitoring projects.

Through its wide range of projects, workshops and services, MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education aims to raise awareness and provide educational opportunities that will empower young people and the public at large in making changes and in becoming better stewards of the environment. Smith-Walters says “It’s important that people be aware of the consequences of their decisions and how those affect environmental issues.”

To find out more about MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education and its programs visit www.mtsu.edu/~cntr4ee/.

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