In March, our research team had the opportunity to present a series of workshops to students taking Lewis & Clark’s Environmental Engagement course, taught by Alana Rader, PhD.
In these workshops, our Research Director, Rebecca McLain, Senior Fellow, Thien-Kim Bui, and Research and Associate Director, CSAR, David Banis, taught Lewis & Clark students about Human Ecology Mapping, or HEM for short.
HEM is a tool for better understanding how humans interact with and depend on their environments. In the way a traditional map allows us to look up where something is located or how to get there, HEM allows us to know what places are important for which people and why. It challenges us to view places not just for the things they have (i.e., rivers, desert, forests, etc.) but how they are used. As a form of public engagement, HEM provides a pathway for people to provide data that can inform land management or planning decisions that affect the places where they live, work, and play.
(Interested in learning more about HEM? Check out this website published by our research team.)
During the first HEM workshop, students learned that there are multiple ways to do a HEM project, ranging from workshops to intercept surveys to online surveys. They also learned the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. In the second workshop, students marked places of importance to them on a map of the Lewis & Clark campus, enabling them to experience first-hand how the mapping process works. And because the ultimate goal of the workshop was to help prepare the students for implementing their own community engagement project, the final session focused on having the students roleplay how they would recruit passers-by in a city park to participate in a mapping activity.
Image caption: Lewis & Clark students review a map of Lewis & Clark College's campus.
But how did our research team know about Alana’s work?
Through Oregon’s Kitchen Table!
Alana had previously supported Oregon’s Kitchen Table with their project about nutrient management and joined their yearly summer camp, Hatfield Futures, as a team guide – which is where Alana met Thien-Kim. Through their conversations, Alana shared that she actually teaches a paper of Rebecca’s in her course – a perfect opportunity to bring in the author herself.
Through this unique collaboration, Rebecca and Thien-Kim had the opportunity to strengthen the community engagement of Lewis & Clark students. Part of the joy of collaboration at the NPCC is that opportunities to collaborate are possible not only across our programs, but also with organizations beyond PSU. The partnership with Alana and Lewis & Clark College gives us more opportunities to create a culture of civic participation and engagement with a new generation of students.
And, the relationship building doesn’t stop there, either.
After the HEM workshops, our research team introduced Alana and her class project to our Oregon Solutions team, and her fall class will be providing community engagement support for an upcoming Oregon Solutions project, as well.
We are excited to continue our partnership with Alana and Lewis & Clark College, and see where we can build collaborative conversations and partnerships next.