ABSTRACT
The tradition of hands-on course activities in geology and environmental studies at Bates College began more than 60 years ago. Bates College is a coeducational private liberal arts and sciences undergraduate institution with a student population of about 1,600. The Geology Department at Bates has a extensive history of activity in the Lake Auburn watershed, which is an ideal and convenient locale for class laboratory exercises at all levels of teaching. The Environmental Studies program was officially established in 1996. Most of the consultant-model projects with which the people have been involved over the last several years have tended to emphasize either coursework or independent research. An excellent liberal arts undergraduate education is one that transforms students’ lives and that connects classroom learning to community and global issues. Consultant-model service-learning projects involve student participants in activities that can have an immediate impact on the communities around them.
