Street Roots | Wm. Valley | FIRST A.M.E. ZION | Tillamook
Lewis & Clark College’s Introduction to Environmental Studies class incorporates EcoTypes in several ways. One involves in-person, interactive EcoTypes surveys with off-campus communities, exploring the possibility that Many Care, Just Differently (MCJD) with a wide variety of people.
All community members receive a booklet with this paper survey form they can keep for further reflection. Students complete the survey one-on-one alongside community members, and compare their responses as they go.
The main goal is conversation! We heard good things from our partner communities as to how their participants benefited in this way. And, as you’ll read from the brief student MCJD dialogue reports linked below, our students came away with important learnings too.
By the end of November, you’ll see three communities below with whom students did dialogical surveys, and one from whom students came home with other important MCJD experiences.
Street Roots
On Saturday Oct 5, 2024, students from Lewis & Clark visited Street Roots, an organization in downtown Portland, OR that “publishes a weekly social justice newspaper sold by people experiencing homelessness and poverty to earn an income.” We earlier visited Street Roots in spring 2024; here is a fuller overview and summary of that event.
After introductions, students did one on one, dialogical EcoTypes surveys alongside their partners.
Have a look at some photos below, then read student summaries!
Willamette Valley Agriculture
Another group of students traveled to the Willamette Valley south of Portland, a rich agricultural area, on Saturday Nov 2. The day started with a tour of a dairy livestock operation, TMK Creamery, near Canby. Many consumers are concerned about how livestock are treated, so TMK has chosen to open up their operation to the public and explain what they do.
Students then traveled a short distance to meet farmers associated with the Oregon Farm Bureau‘s Young Farmers & Ranchers. They took a short tour of host Roy Hofer’s hazelnut farm, then completed the interactive EcoTypes survey with farmers in small mixed groups, and briefly toured Roy’s John Deere tractor museum.
Photos are below, then here are summaries of what students learned from their conversations.
First A.M.E. Zion Congregation
On Saturday Nov 9, students returned to First A.M.E. Zion congregation, where students also visited in 2023-24, building on themes discussed earlier in the week on environmental justice and religion. We are grateful to First A.M.E. for opening their doors to our students!
We first heard welcoming remarks, then did a quick tour of the First A.M.E. Zion sanctuary, which is beautiful but aging and in need of extensive repair. We reflected on how, similar to contemporary issues of environment, even this traditional congregation is in the process of adapting to change.
We then proceeded with interactive, dialogic EcoTypes surveys with First A.M.E. members. Most of our students do not have a background in religion, and reported that they both learned and contributed a great deal to these deep discussions.
Below are photos of the interactive interviews, and you can read student summaries from their conversations!
Tillamook Forest
Our visit to the Tillamook Forest Center on Saturday Nov 16 took place during a public event: their annual Rain Festival. The visit involved students from three Environmental Studies classes, one of which conducted surveys on public experiences, values, and priorities related to the Tillamook and other forests.
Our MCJD students observed these survey interactions, listening for possibly related axes, themes, and/or EcoTypes. Later, they reflected on how these EcoTypes components compared to their own preferences, as revealed in an earlier EcoTypes survey they had completed. While not a direct dialogue as with the other three MCJD communities above, students nonetheless found important similarities and differences.
Please browse related photos below of student teams preparing, administering, and following up on their public surveys, as well as participating in other activities during the day.
And here are student summaries, following the same prompts as for the MCJD communities above, but adapted for this particular public opportunity.
