Natural Enhancements Service/Learning Partnership

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

In the Natural Enhancements Service/Learning Partnership course taught at Central Piedmont Community College, the classroom is a forest, and the homework consists of improvements to a local nature preserve. The initial “classrooms” were at Mecklenburg County’s Evergreen Nature Preserve and Reedy Creek Nature Preserve. This partnership between the college and Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department began in 2007 when the preserve staff teamed-up with the CPCC Advertising and Graphic Design Chair. The goal was to provide marketing students with real-world learning experiences during class time. After a year, the partnership evolved and attracted other CPCC curriculums seeking learning opportunities for their students. In 2008, the Welding Technology and Horticulture Technology Chair signed student into the program. The result is a program that has grown to provide CPCC students with diverse educational experiences and which has provided county nature preserves with more than 900 hours of service, learning, and enhancements. These enhancements included dump site clean-ups, restoration of the natural environment, and garden renovations estimated to be worth $50,000.