ENVS 295: Environmental Engagement
Lewis & Clark College | Spring 2020
Shane Lynette
Course Summary
I believe ENVS 295 is about the fragile process of listening and learning. I say fragile because in today's climate it is very easy to get caught in the habit of narrow mindedness. It's very easy to listen to someone with the intent of responding to them rather than actually contemplate what they've told you and actually learn from it. I believe that mindfulness and the ability to learn and see things from other perspectives is the key to our environmental problems. I'd say the biggest thing I've accomplished so far in ENVS 295 is broadening my view of how the world views environmental studies. I used to think that everyone was equally aware or had equal opportunity to participate in environmental movements. But after taking this class for half a semester and engaging with organizations such as the Center For Diversity and The Environment and PCUN I now see that not everyone gets equal opportunity to participate in environmental movements. Many minorities are in fact excluded and for no good reason at all. While what I've learned is quite sad, I'm glad I was made aware because I feel that I have more passion to direct towards environmental affairs. I've learned a lot throughout my short time in ENVS 295. I'd say the biggest thing I've learned so far is that the power of conversation and listening is much more important then I had thought before. I used to think about things very one-sidedly and because I believed that everything I've learned about environmental studies is based on fact then there is only one way of looking at it. To my surprise, I couldn't have been more wrong. While it may be true that fact is fact, there is still a multitude of different ways to view environmental situations because of the many diverse perspectives that are concerned with the environment.Engagement Partnership
One important part of ENVS 295 is an environmental engagement partnership with a Portland-area organization. The page linked above offers information and resources I helped compile for my organizational partner this semester.Engagement Project
Building on the engagement partnership above, our team developed a related engagement project in collaboration with the partner. The page linked above offers details on our engagement project.My Course Posts
I've done a series of posts throughout the semester related to readings, our partnership, our project, and my thoughts on environmental engagement. See below for all posts I've published, in reverse order by date.
Intro No one could have predicted that in the year 2020, everyone’s world was about to flip upside down. It’s been just over 100 years since the US has seen its last pandemic, the H1N1 Virus, or more commonly known as Influenza. The spread of coronavirus has turned an ever-bustling […]
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Intro: It is the goal of the Center for Diversity and the Environment to act as a catalyst for change that reshapes the current state of environmental affairs lacks the important perspectives of minorities. This is a mindset our group has taken on since the beginning of our partnership with […]
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A Much Needed Change Our group will be focusing on Albina, a neighborhood in Northeast Portland that has seen its fair share of racial inequality. Since the 20th century, most of Portland’s African American community has lived in this neighborhood. Albina was close to the railroad and docks that a […]
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Brainstorm: The Center For Diversity and The Environment aims to reshape the current composition of environmental movements that lack racial and ethnic perspectives. In order to give minorities a voice in the field of environmental studies, CDE has programs such as the E42 Program which allow for aspiring environmental leaders […]
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Introduction Needless controversy burdens the discourse that needs to take place to progress environmental movements. Some believe that the environment isn’t in any real trouble, others uphold the converse belief that our world is dying and we’re too far gone to save it. Others lay in between the two opposing […]
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Deficit & Framing Model Models of Environmental Communication is an article that defines the three models of environmental communication; the classical (deficit) model, the framing model, and the contemporary (dialogic) model. The classical (deficit) model communicates in a very “apocalyptic” tone and utilizes shocking statistics to inspire action within the […]
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Divided Who, Who are we? When learning about the different “who’s” of Environmental Studies we took a more personal approach by first learning about our own identities. Our class began by taking two surveys and unsurprisingly, our peers had very similar results. We started with the Hidden Tribes quiz which […]
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Understanding “Post Truth” We are living in a time like never before. Trump’s inauguration has polarized our nation in such a way that most would deem depressing and in some cases even apocalyptic. Thomas B. Edsall’s article “Trump Is Waiting and He Is Ready” is not only relevant but very […]
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Effective altruism is a type of research that applies logically sound evidence and careful reasoning to help generate the most desired solution that benefits the most people. In order to properly uphold effective altruism, we must utilize reliable and credible sources as a means of being able to approach any […]
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Introduction In order to translate our classroom studies of Environmental Engagement into real-world ‘engagement,’ and what that actually looks like, we went on a two day trip through various areas of Northwest Oregon, ranging from Mount Hood National Forest regions to the Willamette Valley and prominent farming regions. In doing […]
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