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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Meghan Clouse, MPH, NA, 7728 Garfield Avenue, Oakland, CA 94605, 5105530689, missoakland@att.net

The purpose for implementing this curriculum is to include social equity within existing sustainable living programs. Over the past two academic school years, the researcher has worked with youth attending elementary schools in West and North Oakland, California (n=45). The population of the youth attending schools in West Oakland is lower to middle-class Latino and African American youth, while the population of North Oakland is extremely diverse from middle to upper-class. The elements of poverty, urban sprawl, gentrification, and environmental racism result in loss of economic and political power in low-income and communities of color. Through the use of photovoice concepts, the curriculum allows youth a multidisciplinary approach to examine and document the environmental health of their communities. The curriculum allows unique opportunities for youth to discuss issues such as drug use and infiltration, violence, poverty, and lack of green spaces in their communities. The curriculum is designed to follow the youth from first to sixth grades, progressively deepening their investigation and understanding of environmental and social justice concepts. This curriculum supports teachers in formulating hypothesis and objectives, enabling them to create curriculum that is flexible and adaptive to the needs and interests of the youth. To assess transfer of knowledge, pre- and post-tests are administered to youth through the use of mind maps. Youth evaluate the curriculum at its completion. This curriculum has been supported by the University of California at San Francisco and San Francisco State University REACH Cancer Prevention grant.

Learning Objectives:

• • Define photovoice.
• • List five benefits sustainable living curriculums offer to communities.
• • Develop environmental and social justice concepts into existing sustainable living school-based curriculums.
• • Motivate youth to get involved with environmental and social justice issues.
• • Evaluate and document youth’s understanding of environmental health.
• • Evaluate and document how teachers understand their teaching methods.

Keywords: Environmental Justice, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation