ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—Three Ouachita Baptist University professors presented their work to educators from across the state at the Arkansas Environmental Education Association (AEEA) Exposition, hosted by the University of Central Arkansas this summer.
The professors included Byron Eubanks, chair of the department of philosophy and director of the Sutton Center for Integrity; Tim Knight, J.D. Patterson Professor of Biology; and Mike Reynolds, chair of the department of kinesiology and leisure studies.
The AEEA exposition is held annually to inspire educators and other members of the community to preserve Arkansas’ natural environment. Various educators and members of the association’s board collaborate to present new thoughts on how to defend the state’s reputation and slogan of the Natural State.
The Expo “was a great opportunity to showcase what we have been doing in our classes to promote environmental stewardship,” Reynolds said.
Eubanks, Knight and Reynolds presented a session, “On the Ouachita: an Interdisciplinary/Cross Curricular, Place-based Approach to Teaching Environmental Ethics,” based on their experiences and research with their pioneering “On the Ouachita” class.
“The presentation explained one avenue of environmental education at the college level,” Eubanks said.
Arkadelphia and the surrounding region allow the professors to take a place-based approach by studying the area’s history, water quality and geography with their students and using that knowledge to educate others.
Reynolds also presented on “Using Place-based Education to Teach Environmental Stewardship,” which particularly emphasized the environmental aspects of the three professors’ work.
“Students at Ouachita learn about the area and then teach what they have learned to 5th and 6th graders,” Reynolds noted. “For the past two years, over 200 elementary students have experienced place-based education by OBU students.”
“This conference seemed to be a good opportunity to network with other folks in our state doing environmental education in a variety of venues and in association with a variety of organizations,” Eubanks said. “It also drew attention to Ouachita in the minds of such educators and increased the likelihood that they would recommend OBU to potential students.”
For more information, contact Mike Reynolds at reynoldsm@obu.edu or (870) 245-5188.
