Summer 2019
Whole Systems Living in the Columbia Gorge. Partnering with the Little White Salmon Biodiversity Reserve (LWSBR), participants will help tend farm and forest lands while exploring relationships among science, culture, stewardship and community development. LWSBR is committed to providing a place-based, systems-aware learning environment while serving community well-being and ecological health.
Sustainable Food Systems and Educational Farms at Learning Garden's Lab Site
The time is ripe to be part of the growing sustainable food movement! This class addresses the current food issues that face urban citizens by holistically engaging students in the many layers of Portland's local food and farm culture. Students will critically analyze the state of our current food systems while being engaged in positive solutions to agricultural-related issues. The community partner and classroom is the Learning Gardens Lab, where students will gain hands-on farming experience, experientially explore their personal connection to food and the land, participate in the Learning Garden programs, and positively contribute to food security in our greater community.
Creating Global Citizens
Global citizenship is of utmost importance as our societies are increasingly becoming more connected through media and technology. There is a growing disparity in the American school system that allows only the privileged students to participate in meaningful and engaging cultural learning. Schools that receive funding and support are able to facilitate cultural exchanges in person for students and faculty, while the majority of students in the public system receive little financial support and are left without any type of cultural exchange or enrichment program. This capstone will provide this needed and valuable cultural exchange.
Leadership an
The mentoring of young people takes many forms. Some young people grow up with a sibling, relative or another adult ally who serves as a mentor to them. Some benefit from formal mentoring programs in schools or from community organizations. Not everyone enjoys access to regular mentoring, yet research shows that mentoring has tremendous benefits for both the mentor and the mentee. These benefits include the development of leadership skills, increased interpersonal communication, improved relationship-building skills, and increased self-awareness. Armed with these skills, a young person has greater potential for success in many settings.
Environmental Justice and Salmon. The Columbia river flows through our region in physical and metaphorical ways. Present in the story of the river and the salmon that navigate it are social issues, history and conflict that continue to impact NW communities. Through a place-based, experiential approach we will engage this content. Over the course of the term we will spend the majority of our class time outside of the classroom near the river and at sites of cultural or geologic importance.
Social Justice In K-12 ED Capstone
Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, the “achievement gap” has been at the forefront of discussions about school equity. The public has been tuned into this so-called “achievement gap” alongside shocking high school dropout rates, lack of access to equitable early childhood education, public disinvestment in the education system, disparities in access to higher education, and more. According to the Children’s Defense Fund’s 2012 State of America’s Children Report, the gaps (more accurately and truthfully described as opportunity, wealth, or access gaps) between high and low income students is 30-40% greater now than a generation ago. This same report details that a lack of access to early childhood education can lead to 25% of at-risk youth dropping out and 60% never accessing higher education. This study goes on to state that while 76% of high school students graduate within four years, only 2/3 of black and Latino students graduate within this same time frame (Children’s Defense Fund).
Water Scarcity (online)
The project will work alongside Water4 Foundations, a non-profit that is focused on water scarcity issues. Students will address needs affecting the field of water scarcity. Students may participate in the following service-learning:
Research cultural practices and country dynamics to assist NGOs transition into new markets;
• Research water technologies, benefits/drawbacks of each, identify best practices; and
• Survey water scarcity activities, map out industry trends, and conduct gap analysis.
Mobilizing Hope Capstone: Engaged Spirituality. This course asks each participant to examine and discuss their own spiritual beliefs, and use that reflection as a spring board for social justice activism on an issue of their choosing. All students are welcome - those with a solid faith tradition, and those with none - and anywhere in between. Each student will develop their own partnership; each partnership and project must be approved by the Instructor.
Racial Equity In Oregon
This Capstone partners with the Community Alliance of Tenants, Taking Ownership PDX and the Urban League. Students will learn the history of BIPOC communities in Oregon while working with our partners to fight racism, white supremacy and to create a different future for Oregon. Students in this course will learn how to write grants, work directly with organizations centering BIPOC homeowners and tenants and, if they choose, use their own skills and talents to support these organizations. All of this work can very easily be translated to working professionally in a nonprofit organization! A wide variety of project opportunities exist -- everything from scheduled shifts to projects that can be conducted on your own time and schedule.