“UC Santa Barbara takes outreach to a new level, with a variety of programs that extend the campus’s impact to a host of communities — and countries.” George Foulsham, writing for The UCSB Current, December 22, 2014, goes on to laud UCSB’s outreach efforts in an article titled “Shaping the Future.” One of 2014’s many UCSB outreach programs and events that Foulsham highlights is the Department of Geography’s celebration of Geography Awareness Week (GAW):
“GeoWeek, the Department of Geography’s annual outreach program, features 28 faculty, staff, and student volunteers giving 46 presentations in 14 local schools, from kindergarten to high schools. Presentations cover a range of topics, including remote sensing of the urban environment, mapping coral reefs with kite aerial photography and using the sun to tell time and seasons and where you are on planet Earth. The variety of classes receiving presentations was just as broad, ranging from Advanced Placement history classes learning about transportation and development in various American cities to special education classes discovering Australia. ‘GeoWeek is an amazing opportunity to share something I’m really excited about with kids,’ said Ann Tan, a UCSB graduate student in geography. “This is the third year I’ve volunteered, and it has been a really rewarding experience.”
While Foulsham is fudging by using 2013 examples of Geography’s outreach efforts during GAW, he’s spot on regarding the Department’s commitment to the cause. The actual figures for 2014 were 26 faculty, staff, and student volunteers who gave 26 presentations at 14 schools, ranging from kindergarten to high school.
Presenter comments about the experience:
- “It’s a lot of fun to get young students excited about geography.” -Geog grad student
- “At the end of one of my presentations the students sang me a thank you song. I had never had that happen before and it was absolutely wonderful.” -Geog grad student
- “At the end of my presentation, one of the kids missed part of his lunch in order to draw a picture of an occluded front.” – Geog undergrad
- “Seeing the reactions of young people and feeling like I made an impression.” -geog grad student
- “I really enjoyed seeing the kinds get excited over Landsat images.” – geog grad student
- “Teaching to and learning from students about to enter university was incredibly rewarding. Their excitement toward a somewhat mundane topic, at least at the introductory levels, was inspiring. I hope to continue participation in Geography Awareness Week in future years. ” – geog grad student
- “Being in an elementary school classroom, remembering what it was like, and rediscovering that children are a lot more thoughtful than we give them credit for.” – geog grad student
- “Getting lots of questions.” -geog faculty
Teacher responses:
- “My students loved the hands on lessons and getting their hands dirty” – elementary school teacher
- “Very exciting hearing about all of the opportunities for study in geography. The field is endless!” -high school teacher
- “Current and relevant information on the drought really caught the students attention.” -jr. high/high school teacher
- “I don’t think my students had ever considered that geography was something that went beyond thinking of the earth’s surface. To consider satellite imagery, false colors, and the visualization of geographic changes over time was really informative for my class and for me as well.” -middle school teacher
- “The students were given a hands-on activity with candy representing water that they were thrilled about!” -elementary school
Editor’s note: Many thanks to Geography graduate student Kitty Currier for providing the information above and hats off to all of the Geography personnel who devoted their time and energy to such a worthy cause.
