Socially Engaged Ecological Design - Bahamas: NR185
Socially Engaged Ecological Design - Bahamas: NR185
Dates: 01/02/13 - 01/11/13
Credits: 3
Instructor: Phd. candidate Felix Wai
Contact: 901.496.6918 (cell);
TA: PJ McHenry
Contact: 802.578.3560 (cell);
Office Hours: Available by appointment. Contact Instructor or TA to schedule a time to meet. Also, please see the Office of International Education for upcoming information sessions and pre-orientation schedule.
Course Overview:
This course is based in the active study of social justice, ecological design, and the integration of the two. Ecological Design produces products and landscapes that are invaluable to sustainable communities. Such products and landscapes include intensely food productive landscapes, energy efficient structures, water cycling structures and landscapes, and more.
Often, ecological design is seen as the key strategy for just and sustainable futures. And, the ecological design products; such as permaculture farms, solar powered buildings, etc; are often seen as the end goal. But ecological design is just a tool that is only as effective as the context in which it is used.
In our quests for a more just, sustainable, and equitable communities, we encounter complex systems with complex relationships. In this dense web, we forget to see the forest for the trees and get focused on one small goal (like implementing water purifying wetlands) and forget the larger goal we face (like providing a community with durable access to healthy water). In the end, our goal is a sustainable and just community, not just the projects found in such a community. When community organizing strategies incorporate ecological design as an integral tool, powerful and effective change is possible.
SEED (socially engaged ecological design) is the purposeful use and study of ecological design in greater community organizing strategies. In South Andros, we will be working in a community where the dominant economy of tourism both brings money and competes with any local business. We will be working with a local partner to address the challenge of growing food on a sand and coral substrate to supplement either an expensive imported food source and/or unsustainable, unhealthy diet. We will implement an organic composting system, sheet mulching strategies, and a larger student-driven community project. This hands-on component of the class will be paired with intensive personal and group reflection on the dynamics of power and privilege with service projects. We will be investigating both the effectiveness of our projects and the effectiveness of our relationship with the local community.
Community Partners
Jesse Leopold - Jesse has been visiting South Andros Island since 1993 with his family and has been living on South Andros Island since 2003. He operates a guest house called the Andros Beach Club ( and a scuba diving business called
Andros Diving ( He is one of the leaders in the local tourism industry and is currently the Chairman of the South Andros Island Board - an organization focused on the development of the local community and the South Andros Island tourism industry. He is well respected and has developed lasting business and personal relationships with community members and leaders.
Steadman Forbes - Steadman is a former high school principal who (along with his wife Minley) owns and operates Seaville Grocery - the island's largest and most successful grocery store. Steadman has a passion for farming, gardening & nature in general. He spends most of his spare time working in his garden and has created an extensive variety of vegetation despite limited soil & resources available. He offers garden tours to interested visitors and shares or sells some of his produce in the store.
Site Description
South Andros High School - This is the only high school on South Andros Island and is located less than 1/2 mile from the Andros Beach Club. The high school is comprised of approximately 200 students from grades 7 through 12. One of the teachers and several of the students have developed a garden plot and grown vegetables for sale on a seasonal and limited basis. Students from Burlington College have visited the high school on several occasions during study abroad trips and the South Andros High School students seem to enjoy these interactions.
Community Goals (written by Jesse Leopold)
Vision - Firstly, farming has been an integral part of the Bahamian culture for many generations. Many members of the community, especially from the elder generation, rely upon subsistence farming to grow peas, corn and other fruits & vegetables for their families. The current generation of young people (age 10-40) seems to lack the same level of interest in farming and therefore a "cultural disconnect" exists within society.
Secondly, traditional "slash & burn" agriculture has historically been and remains today as the primary method of farming. This is a very labor intensive process and perhaps one of the least effective methods.
Thirdly, the typical Bahamian diet lacks nutrition provided by fresh fruits & vegetables. Since these fruits aren't grown locally they must be imported from the United States which means higher costs and lower availability.
Our vision would be for people in general and youth in particular to (1) gain a better appreciation for farming in order to carry on this valuable aspect of Bahamian Culture to future generations (2) utilize more efficient and effective methods of agriculture to realize greater economic benefit from their efforts and (3) enjoy increased nutritional awareness and greater availability of fresh local produce.
Prerequisite: Students will be asked to submit a short application and attend an interview prior to enrollment. We are looking for students that have some experience in service situations and have personally wrestled with issues of power and privilege in these situations or others. Topics in this course are not introductory, especially in the realm of examining our own relationships to power and privilege. Ideally, enrolled students will be comfortably addressing and working with these issues, while planning a community project in a fast paced and short course.
Pre- Course Required Readings:
Session 1 (to be done before first group meeting)
This is an hour and half session designed to explore a general overview of modern Carribbean/Bahamian history- with a special focus on the impact of the tourism industry. South Andros, where we will be staying and working, is predominantly a tourist service industry. These topics will be re-examined again once we are on the island.
●“A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid
●“Behind the Smile: The working lives of Caribbean Tourism” by George Gmelch; Chapters 1, 2, 7, and 8.
●“Last Resorts” by Polly Patulo, Chapters 1-6
Session 2 (to be done before the 2nd group meeting)
This 2 hour session is a workshop and discussion designed to introduce the topic of the potential negative impacts of service learning- the very activity we are about to do. The workshop will end with take home questions in preparation for our 3rd meeting.
●Jones, S. R. (2002). The Underside of Service Learning. About Campus, 7(September- October 2002), 10-15.
●McKnight, J. (1977). Professionalized Service and Disabling Help. In G. Albert & the Staff of the Center for Service-Learning University of Vermont (Eds.), Service- Learning Reader: Reflections and Perspectives on Service (pp.233-242). Raleigh,North Carolina: National Society for Experiential Education, 1994.
●Why Service Learning is Bad, John W. Eby, March 1998
Session 3 (to be done before the 3rd group meeting)
This 2 hour session is the second half of our workshop and discussions introducing the topic of the potential negative impacts of our presence and activity of our service learning venture. This last group meeting will end with questions that will be the basis for our first conversations about social justice in service on South Andros.
●This American Life, episode 408: Island Time- Haiti and NGO efforts
●Ivan Illych’s speech “To Hell with Good Intentions”
Course Schedule:
●01/02/13 - Travel Day Arrive in Congo Town, South Andros, Bahamas Welcome Dinner
○Night reflection- Welcome, logistics
■White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. By Peggy McIntosh
●01/03/13 - Orientation
○Morning - Island Tour with Jesse Leopold
○Afternoon - Community exploration walk and Sense of Place lecture
○Evening - Debrief, prompted and reflective writing, reading assignment (Debrief, Write & Read)
■Structured Reflection: The pitfalls and potentials of our presence here.
●The dangerous power of privilege- group workshop. Through a series of exercises in large group and small groups, we will explore the negative and positive sides of privilege in service situations.
■Personal Reflection: A take to bed question to journal about personal engagement with privilege and the work we will be doing as a group.
■Readings for tomorrow:
●Wade, R. C.(2000). From a distance: Service-learning and social justice. In C. R. O’Grady (Ed.), Integrating service learning and multicultural education in colleges and universities (pp. 93-111). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
●Ward, K. & Wolf-Wendel, L. (2000). Community-centered service-learning: Moving from doing for to doing with. American Behavioral Scientist, 43(5), 767-780.
●01/04/13 - Social Justice Frameworks
○Morning - Liberation and Ecology Part 1
■Presentation and workshops covering the social frameworks relevant to ecological work.
Afternoon - Project Introduction
Evening - Debrief, Write & Read
●Structured Reflection: Debrief of last night and this morning’s workshops. Using small groups and writing exercises, we will begin to formulate next steps for our project based solely on our workshops on power, privilege, and social frameworks. Group discussion to end.
●Personal Reflection: In our group project and goals, everyone has specific talents and strengths, we will explore how you will use your strength to support the group project.
●Readings for tomorrow:
●“Bahamian Agriculture” The Tribune. Sept 17, 2011.
●“Gaia’s Garden” Toby Hemenwaypgs 3-36
●01/05/13 - Ecological Design
○Morning - Liberation and Ecology Part 2
■How the social landscape and the ecological landscape overlay and influence each other- esp. with issues of inclusion, access, and power
○Afternoon - Site Analysis/Material preparation/On-site Overview
○Evening - Debrief, Write & Read
■SEED design process versus traditional ecological design
●How the social framework and not only user considerations drive the design
●What are the factors that affect our design
■Personal Reflection: How important is my personal interaction, communication, and perception to the overall design goals?
●01/06/13 - Context of Systems
○Morning - Group Consensus Decision Making lecture and evaluation of community needs
○Afternoon - Community Project Build
○Evening - Design evaluation
■Evening design session revisit and evaluation for tomorrow
●01/07/13 - Design/Build
○Morning - Scales of Permanence lecture and Group design activity
○Afternoon - Community Project Build
○Evening - Design Evaluation
■Evening design evaluation and progress report
●Will we finish our design goals
●01/08/13 - Build
○Morning - Community Project Build
○Afternoon - Community Project Build
○Evening - Debrief and Write
■Personal Reflection:
●Group dynamics- fulfillment of personal challenges and group role
●01/09/13 - Build
○Morning - Finish Community Project Build
○Afternoon - SEED lecture
○Evening - Debrief, Write & Community Presentation Prep
■Structured Reflections:
●Goals evaluation- done in large group, exit interviews- done in pairs
●Efficacy- means of measurement, perception of sustained change
■Personal Reflections:
●Personal Goal assessments and the evolution of goals throughout the trip
●01/10/13 - Wrap-up
○Morning - Preparing for Community Presentation
○Afternoon - Final Debrief & Write
○Evening - Community Dinner & Presentation
●01/11/13 - Travel Day
○Take Home Assignment
Course Requirements:
Reading Assignments - Pre-course required reading along with daily reading assignments during the course must be completed in order to participate and reflect effectively.
Participation - Before the trip, there will be two required group sessions to go over required reading and logistics. On the island, once a day there will be a group debriefing. This reflective period will be an intense group discussion of content covered. Credits CANNOT be earned without relevant daily participation.
Prompted and Reflective Writing - You will be asked to keep a daily journal throughout the duration of the course. Prompted writing assignments will be discussed in the group and reflective writing will be reviewed one-on-one with the instructor on the last two days.
Debrief and Course Paper- After returning to Vermont, a required two session debrief will be scheduled and a final reflection paper will be assigned. The debrief will be framed as a group workshop with a focus on integrating experiences and lessons to life back in school.
Outcomes and Grading
The main outcomes for the class:
1.Provide an useful and effective service or product to the South Andros community, especially to our community partners
2.Create a dynamic, open group culture in the class where all ideas are welcome and at the same time challenged.
3.Create an environment where students have ample time to reflect on all the experiences, challenges and successes of the trip, work, and relationships
The main outcomes for the students:
1.Have an active role in a group service project where the project’s ownership, direction, and effectiveness fall upon the class group.
2.Learn and practice open communication and constructive challenges in a safe, open group culture
3.Reflect daily on the larger conceptual topics of service, privilege, and community partnership while also reflecting on the challenges and successes of daily interactions, discussions, and actions.
4.Keep a journal collecting these reflections
5.Consolidate all reflections and group discussions into identifiable personal strengths and talents, areas for future work, and lessons that can be integrated into life back at UVM.
The grading will be based on:
●30% Journal entries from direct prompts from readings and group workshops/discussions
○The journal entries answering questions and prompts from assigned readings and/or group meetings will either be shared with the instructor team or in discussion groups
●25% Participation in the group discussions
○Engagement in our group workshops/ discussions is a key part of this class’s learning model. Active participation is measured by engagement in workshop activities and active participation in group discussion- and of course mandatory attendance
●20% Active participation in the design/build of our community project
○The class is a design build class intended to help our host community. Active participation in the project is mandatory.
●25% Final Paper post trip
○These experiences on the trip can be overwhelming. After a post- trip debriefing, a final paper 3-5 pages in length will be assigned to consolidate the questions, ideas, and inspirations that emerged.