How “Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret”, by Catherine Flowers, Sets an Example of Experiential Learning

By Eukia L, Katie B, Mia L, and Sarah S. 

Most quarters, a group of students at WWU gathers to discuss a recent book or set of podcasts about environmental justice. This post reflects our discussion of Cathrine Flowers’: Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, in Spring 2022.

“Experiential Learning is the process of learning by doing. By engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are better able to connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations” (Kent State University, n.d). Catherine Flowers provides experiential learning to her students by bringing them to protests and rallies, inviting famous activists to be guest speakers in her classroom, and taking them on field trips to historically important places. This interdisciplinary approach gives students the chance to learn about the world by experiencing it for themselves.  

We decided to set experimental learning to the test when our group noticed a lacking energy level during most discussions in our class. In an attempt to engage the other students and bring excitement to the topic, we created a Kahoot for the class to play prior to the discussion. We noticed this increased the energy levels a bit, but we didn’t get the excited discussion we were hoping for. This could have been due to technical difficulties in the beginning, people being tired, or any number of things. The article “Narrative matters for sustainability: the transformative role of storytelling in realizing 1.5 C futures” talks about how great storytelling can be a motivator for engaging people. If we changed our tactics and tried to be storytellers, facilitating the class with Kahoot might have gone differently. A good storyteller uses an experience, often a personal one, to compel people to feel an attachment toward a story and then uses that to motivate people to do action. Flowers is a great example of a storyteller, she is one that can move people’s hearts to feel compassion and empathy for real issues such as the events occurring in Lowndes County, where Flowers grew up. With this connection, she was able to use her story and the story of others there to move people to action. 

The College of the Environment should take a page out of Catherine Flowers book and include more experiential learning in their classes. There are many ways to engage students in experimental learning, including Flowers’ favorite methods: bringing her students to rallies and protests. We believe that encouraging WWU students to attend events like field trips or extra credit incentives would be an easy way to get students involved in the community and enhance their environmental and social justice education. The past few years have been full of powerful movements, from MeToo and BLM, to the more recent Pro-Choice rallies in the wake of the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Many students feel a connection to these issues, and through supporting and attending these rallies and events, they might be able to expand on their education and enrich their lives. 

Another example of how the College of the Environment could include more experience learning, comes from a project we will be doing this quarter. In our ENVS 499D class, we will be volunteering with the Foothills Food Bank. The Foothills Food Bank provides food to over 250 families and individuals in east rural Whatcom County. They also provide delivery services to individuals that are unable to come to their distribution center. In the Environmental Justice Minor, there is a big distinction between learning and doing. By going out in our own community, our class will be able to take what we learned in class and apply it to the real world. This will allow us to take away a deeper understanding of the content through experienced learning, rather than learning through a textbook or lecture. 

References 

Flowers, C. (2020). Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret. The New Press, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/lib/wwu/detail.action?docID=6026223&pq-origsite=primo  

What is experiential learning and why is it important? Kent State University. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9, 2022, from https://www.kent.edu/community/what-experiential-learning-and-why-it-important  

Veland, Scoville-Simonds, M., Gram-Hanssen, I., Schorre, A. K., El Khoury, A., Nordbø, M. J., Lynch, A. H., Hochachka, G., & Bjørkan, M. (2018). Narrative matters for sustainability: the transformative role of storytelling in realizing 1.5°C futures. 

BLM website: https://blacklivesmatter.com/  

Me Too Movement website: https://metoomvmt.org/ 

Pro Choice Advocates website: https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/