By Shannon Rease

Peace Corps Trainees in Jamaica receive instructions from Shannon Rease, Peace Corps Volunteer Leader, on using PLT Activity 27 “Every Tree for Itself.”

The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.

Since that time, nearly 200,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 host countries.  Currently, Peace Corps Volunteers are serving in 74 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.  Coming from all walks of life and ranging in age from college students to retirees, Peace Corps Volunteers collaborate with local community members, and share their skills and life experiences to work in areas like education, youth outreach and community development, the environment, and information technology.

For years, Peace Corps Volunteers have been supplementing their environmental education programming with Project Learning Tree materials and methodologies.  Since 1997, Peace Corps Volunteers worldwide, host country counterparts, and staff have been trained and certified in PLT and are using PLT activities in formal and non-formal environmental education programs such as Earth Day celebrations, classes, and eco-clubs.  For example, staff from the Project Learning Tree National Office present training sessions at the Coverdell World Wise Schools conference held each year at the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

PLT materials are a very useful tool for Peace Corps Volunteers, many of whom do not necessarily arrive in-country with a strong background in environmental education. PLT provides a structured, high-quality framework that helps our volunteers and their counterparts develop programming and deliver environmental education messages in a wide variety of settings.
 
During my time at Central Michigan University, I became certified in PLT and other environmental education curriculums.  I used the materials in Michigan schools when I was a special education teacher.  I knew that the PLT curriculum worked well to teach environmental education concepts.  When I was chosen to work for the Peace Corps as an Environmental Promotion and Education Coordinator in Jamaica in 2006, I knew it would be beneficial to carry my PLT manual with me as a resource to help support the education work that lay ahead of me.  I used the PLT lessons in classrooms with students and to train teachers on environmental education when I worked for the Portland Environment Protection Association in Jamaica.

Peace Corps Volunteers have had a long history of working in Jamaica on projects involving youth, health, agriculture and the environment.  Outside of the luxurious resorts, Jamaica's population faces the same struggles as many island nations. Population pressures on the land and the rapid expansion of mining, farming, and tourism have caused serious degradation of watersheds, the pollution of surface water, and urban sprawl. Less than 25 percent of Jamaica is now under forest cover. Agricultural practices such as hillside farming continue to contribute to soil erosion. A wealth of biodiversity exists in this small country, and protecting Jamaica's valuable natural resources while balancing the benefits of tourism is essential to its economy.

Peace Corps Volunteers are using environmental education in Jamaica to increase awareness of environmental issues, such as the importance of solid waste management and recycling, watershed protection, over-fishing, coral reef conservation, appropriate farming practices and the "greening" of tourist locations.  Volunteers work with environmental organizations, schools, and community groups to promote knowledge and skills that will foster environmental conservation.  Projects that Peace Corps Volunteers have supported include training teachers in environmental education techniques, coordinating youth environmental camps, organizing community clean-ups, and integrating income-generating activities with environmental organizations to ensure their sustainability.

Currently, Peace Corps Trainees on the island work either in the Youth Sector or the Green Initiative/Health Infrastructure Sector.  Over the years, Peace Corps Volunteers who are familiar with Project Learning Tree have used these materials to complement their Green Initiative sector work.  When a new group of Peace Corps Trainees arrive on island, current Peace Corps Volunteers help to train the Trainees in environmental education techniques, including Project Learning Tree.

Shannon Rease instructs Peace Corps Trainees on using waste to create art during a PLT training.

After the session, the Peace Corps Trainees worked in small groups to plan lessons that they would lead the next day in local classrooms.  The Trainees used PLT activities and lessons learned from the training to plan each of their sessions.  Some of the teachers they worked with requested specific environmental issues, like climate change, be covered, while other teachers allowed the Trainees to pick the topic.  For many of the Peace Corps Trainees, this was their first time planning and conducting environmental education lessons in a school setting.  This month, the Peace Corps Trainees will graduate and be placed in various sites around the island.  They will use the information they learned during the PLT training and all other leadership workshops to help extend the work they do with local schools, community groups, farmer groups and non-profit agencies.

Even though Peace Corps Volunteers and host-country counterparts must spend time adapting (and sometimes translating) PLT activities into their local contexts (which sometimes includes locating material substitutes!), PLT resources have proven to be a valuable tool for developing environmental education programming throughout the Peace Corps.  We look forward to continuing our partnership with PLT!

Shannon Rease is a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader for Peace Corps Trainees in Jamaica.