21 December 2001

Students Will Use Geography to Show How Their Communities Are Changing

Washington -- A group of students from one country might create a map to show the effects of deforestation; a group from another country might survey a local riverbed and compare it to a satellite image of the same riverbed taken years before; while still another group might chart the increase or decrease of disease in various regions of their country over the last five years.

It's all part of the "My Community, Our Earth" (MyCOE) program in which thousands of secondary school and university students from around the world will be invited to use the tools of geography to show how their communities can benefit from sustainable development. Results from many of the student projects will be displayed at international events in 2002, such as the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) set to begin next August in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The program, which includes the mailing of free educational resource kits to schools and universities worldwide, is being organized by the National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers, the Environmental Systems Research Institute and the United Nations Environment Program. The U.S. Department of State and the Inter-American Development Bank are also participating.

A Web site ("www.geography.com/sustainable/) was launched on October 1 with detailed information about how schools can participate. The resource kits will be sent out to schools and students requesting them in January or February, and students can submit their projects via mail or the Web in May.

An international panel of experts will review submitted projects and recommend those to be displayed at WSSD and other events. Depending on funding and other support, prizes may be awarded and some students may be offered a chance to travel to a possible workshop next year.

William Wood, geographer for the State Department, says the goal of MyCOE is to encourage students to address local sustainable development problems using geographic science.

"Part of the idea behind this is that there are some new educational tools and materials that focus on these problems, and the students bring a unique perspective," Wood said. "Their observations are an important message for policy makers."

Sustainable development issues are defined broadly as those that concern the maintenance or improvement of life and the means to support it for the long-term. MyCOE calls on students to create projects that use the methods of geography to show how their communities are changing and how they can be made more sustainable -- how the citizens of their neighborhoods, villages, cities and countries can improve their quality of life, conserve resources and coexist in harmony with nature.

"I would hope we can start projects that will last beyond this year and involve an ever-increasing number of students and schools to work on them, to share information and insights, to look at problems in their communities, and ultimately to have some of their insights, observations and experiences reach government and world leaders," Wood said. "Government officials are also looking at these problems, but from very much a national or international level -- and what we would like to get is the voice from the local community."

Wood said MyCOE emphasizes the use of geographic analysis to find solutions for sustainability because there has been a deliberate attempt by educators over the last few years to improve understanding of what geography is.

"It's far more than memorizing capitals," he said. "It's about looking at the relationships between people and their environment. That's what geography has been about for 2,000 years. And if you look at all of the issues we face related to sustainable development, they revolve around people and where they live, their changing economic and environmental conditions, and what that means to communities."

Wood said MyCOE will allow students to work on a broad range of projects that can deal with issues at the local, regional or national level.

"They can look at community resource management, agricultural production, soil loss, desertification, water quality, or access to water, which is an important issue for most of the world," he said. "Also, the question of how communities manage their forest resources or parks. If students live in a city, they can look at air quality or urbanization -- the impact of cities on surrounding areas.

"These types of projects can be carried out by students from both more developed and less developed countries, because they all face important issues that affect their communities," he added.

Projects are encouraged to examine change over time and look forward into the future, responding to questions such as what was my community like 10 or 25 years ago? How has it changed since then? What is it like today? And how can it be made more sustainable over the next 10 years?

The educational materials being provided students will offer guidance in designing and implementing research projects. Students can use digital tools, such as the geographic information system (GIS) software, or more traditional methods, such as hand-drawn maps and charts, to complete their projects.

A submitted project must contain at least one map and a two or three page written description of the project. The written description must include background on the geography of the area being studied and a summary of the work.