At the Charlotte Campus, instructor Brian Mooney’s Environmental Science class raised money to support African villages. At the Providence Campus, Associate Professor Mark Hengen’s Honors Environmental Science class did research for a sustainability project in Providence. Both teachers found socially conscious ways for students to learn outside the classroom and consider their world community.

Mooney’s class chose to raise funds for Oxfam America, an advocacy agency fighting poverty and injustice. For as little as $300 Oxfam can help build a well to provide enough clean water for one village in Africa. The class’ campaign slogan was “Give a Dime.” By setting a goal of collecting a dime from each of the nearly 3,000 people around campus, they could help one village. It was also a way for people to make a “tiny little change and a tiny commitment by saying, ‘This is important,’” Mooney says.

The students, divided into groups, set out on their own. “I felt 25 minds working on it and being responsible is better than one, and they would learn the most that way,” Mooney says. Groups held bake sales on and off campus, collected money during student events, and walked around campus with collection cans. They raised $902.

Students concluded that it isn’t hard to raise money — especially if you only ask for a dime, says Mooney. Most people gave more. They also learned that “the bulk of environmental problems are small and if each of us made small behavior adjustments, we could solve the problem or at least make the situation better.”

On the Providence Campus, Hengen’s class made trips to the Southside Community Land Trust’s City Farm, in Providence, a community garden about two blocks long. The class conducted research on the ecological, economical and social aspects of the farm that contribute to its sustainability.

One group took inventory of all vegetation, reviewed farm data on levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil and applied information to carbon dioxide readings. Another collected housing and census data from city records for the surrounding neighborhood. Densely packed space could create a more adverse impact on the environment, while more open space would likely lead to a healthier environment, Hengen notes.

The third group looked at the economic value of the garden’s produce to local businesses and organizations. Students also considered the possible effects of the farm on the neighborhood’s housing prices. Though living near a park can raise values, the high density of low-income housing could lower them.

Research concluded that the vegetation was beneficial because it helped air quality by filtering out particles. Growing and selling products locally with the help of volunteers had economic benefits. As for social benefits, “I think quality of life increases; the social networks may be stronger,” Hengen says. “It seems like there’s a new awareness of being able to grow food in the city and be successful and regain attachment to the land.”

Online > www.oxfamamerica.org and www.southsideclt.org