| Loyola Students Teach Biology to East Baltimore Youth |
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MICUA Matters Fall 2008
A group of students from Loyola College in Maryland recently began teaching environmental biology to youth at the Club at Collington Square, an academic and community arts-based after-school program serving at-risk youth between the ages of five and 14 in East Baltimore's Collington Square neighborhood. The program's goals are to encourage youth to take an active role in the protection of the environment and become agents of change in their own communities.
"One of the most rewarding ways my students can learn about and appreciate the environment is through service and educating others," said Jennifer Scrafford of the Loyola Biology department, who is teaching the environmental biology class and has partnered previously with organizations such as the Irvine Nature Center. Fifteen of Scrafford's 24 biology students have signed up to teach about water quality, plant life, and the function of ecosystems. The Collington Square children will conduct field studies in their neighborhood to better understand the importance of biology to their own lives. Later this fall, field trips to Loyola will give the students the opportunity to work in a real laboratory. |