Abstract
Utilizing the triple bottom line, this interdisciplinary study outlines a pedagogical method for guiding undergraduate environmental science and environmental engineering students through the research, analysis, and consensus-building stages of a formal feasibility study. In an effort to better coordinate student research on land-use and -development projects, this paper describes how to organize the various stages of research while critically analyzing how stakeholder input and resource conflicts are negotiated within rural communities. This approach strives to enhance meaningful collaboration between researchers and resource management organizations at local, federal, and international levels in order to bolster community involvement and responsible land-use planning. Centered around collaborative partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, this approach asks students to work collectively to compile an environmental feasibility study, which: 1) provides an economic analysis, 2) identifies grant funding organizations, 3) assesses stakeholder value(s), and 4) develops a community outreach and action plan. The particular example discussed herein details a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to analyze several proposed trailhead repairs, route closures, and riparian enhancements within a heavily-trafficked hiking area. This effort chronicles a holistic and highly-interactive teaching approach that better prepares students to communicate about the multidimensional challenges they see on a local level in order to address larger, more global challenges. Ultimately, this paper provides environmental resource educators with a toolkit for helping students learn to better balance the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of a project within a given community, organization, or ecoregion.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Civic Engagement, Land-Use Planning, Social-Ecological Systems, Triple Bottom Line
