WCU awarded grant to grow environmental education program
An interdisciplinary team of Western Carolina University faculty, including Sara Duncan, (assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences), Frank Forcino (associate professor of geology and director of the Science Education program) and Andrew Bobilya (professor and director of the Experiential and Outdoor Education program), in collaboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Natural Resources program, Cherokee Central Schools and Swain County High School, received a grant award in the amount of $11,352 from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, a local nonprofit funding agency.
Through the grant, local high school students will engage in a project, now in its second year, about local water and air quality using Cherokee cultural methods and western science practices.
Students will participate in classroom learning activities about water and air quality, conduct panel interviews of their elders about the environment, learn Cherokee environmental terms, collect water and air pollution measurements and complete related lab reports. Project activities and results will be shared with the local community.
