Central Creates New Center for Global Sustainability Education

PELLA, IA — Central College is pleased to announce the creation of a Center for Global Sustainability Education to be housed in the college’s new green education/psychology building scheduled to open in the fall.  

The Center for Global Sustainability Education grows out of a new partnership with Central’s nationally-recognized program in community-based learning. The center will also house SUSTAIN, the Central College campus sustainability working group, providing resources and support for students and volunteers working on sustainability projects and community-based service-learning.
 
The Prairie Project, the main ongoing initiative of the new center, will provide professional training and curriculum development support for area teachers and community partners, demonstrating how sustainability education and community-based learning work together. The first stage, a sustainability-across-the-curriculum workshop for Central College faculty, begins in May 2010. Future planned workshops will include local public and private K-12 teachers.
Fostering and supporting new community partnerships will be another integral part of global sustainability education programs. Jim Zaffiro, professor of political science and Prairie Project coordinator, notes that sustainability and community-based learning both have strong service aspects and are community-focused, making the link between the two natural. This partnership also connects with and is intended to support the college’s new core curriculum. In November 2008, the faculty voted unanimously to add a global sustainability component to Central’s liberal studies core as a common requirement for all students. The Prairie Project will help faculty provide new and diverse opportunities, in and out of the traditional classroom setting, for students to fulfill the new requirement.
 
“The essence of sustainability education is breaking down boundaries across disciplines and areas where learning happens — student life, residence life, service learning, community outreach, facilities, food service and study abroad. The center would function as a connection and coordination point, as well as a sustainability education and outreach resource center,” said Zaffiro.
 
The broader goal of the center is to help connect, train and support individuals, schools and community partner organizations interested in sustainability education from across the entire Upper Midwest Tall Grass Prairie bioregion, facilitating new networks and partnerships in support of community-building, service and sustainability.