ABSTRACT
Like the Environmental Studies program at Middlebury College in general, service-learning in environmental studies at the college is firmly grounded in the liberal arts. In 1988, Middlebury’s Program in Environmental Studies developed a senior capstone course for the environmental studies major designed to give students experience in carrying out an interdisciplinary group project. Since 1993, Middlebury College students have worked with local elementary and junior high teachers to develop and implement place-based curricula. They like the connection with the college for many reasons, among them the extraordinary resources for research to which Middlebury students have access and the teachers’ own pride in showing the high quality of work being accomplished in their little rural schools. The service-learning that has occurred and will continue to occur can be placed in two categories: campus-based and community-based. It helps everyone affiliated with the Environmental Studies program think more about the middle landscape often neglected by such programs.
