Extension Sustainability Camp: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Abstract

Sustainability Camps provide an opportunity for Extension educators to be in the forefront of sustainability outreach and to meet the growing demand for sustainability education. This article shares development, implementation, and evaluation of an Extension Sustainability Camp for youth, grades 4-6. Camp impact was measured via daily pre- and post-journaling activities, changes in camper lunch waste produced, and a retrospective post-then-pre household evaluation follow-up. Significant awareness and behavioral changes were documented with sustainability topics ranging from land conservation to renewable energy. The camp structure and evaluation design could serve as a model for Extension educators interested in sustainability outreach.

The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2024 Official Conference Proceedings

“…These findings are consistent with previous studies that have found success in improving students' knowledge by teaching climate change lessons through the lens of food systems. (Brain et al, 2015;Prescott et al, 2019).…”

“…Out of 6,639 publications considered, nineteen were positively identified as peer-reviewed studies that quantitatively assessed the effectiveness of an educational interventions to encourage healthy eating through the lens of sustainability and climate change. Thirteen of these studies found that curricula highlighting the relationship between environmental sustainability and healthy, plant-based foods resulted in either increased knowledge about good nutrition, or increased consumption of plant-based foods (Antón-Peset et al, 2012;Bersamin et al, 2019;Brain et al, 2015;Cornelius et al, 2014;Costarelli et al, 2022;Eugenio-Gozalbo et al, 2022;Evans et al, 2012;Figueroa-Piña et al, 2021;Jones et al, 2012;Jones et al, 2017;Jones, 2020;Sellman & Bogner, 2013;Prescott et al, 2019). Six studies found no such positive relationship between the intervention and any predicted outcome.…”

“…Six studies found no such positive relationship between the intervention and any predicted outcome. Successful interventions tended to share a few attributes, including mixing substantive academic content with engaging activities, creating curricula comprised of, at most, 5-10 separate lessons, and explicitly linking lessons about sustainable food systems to students' dietary choices, rather than relying on students to make this connection on their own (Brain et al, 2015;Prescott et al, 2019).…”