Abstract

Conservation efforts in the state of Texas are increasingly being emphasized. For students enrolled in service-learning courses at Blinn College, serving at deer data collection check stations teaches them the value of conservation, teamwork, and professionalism, and is a boon to Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel. Dr. Loraine Philips, of Texas A&M University submitted this effective practice in December 2005.

Back to top

Issue

Texas Parks and Wildlife needed assistance to administer their Deer Aging and Antler Scoring program in Washington County and to assist with facilitating their Hunter Safety Training Program.

Back to top

Action

According to Dr. Loraine Phillips, service-learning educator at Blinn College, effective practices included:

• Students from Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, a rural community college, enrolled in the Wildlife Conservation and Management course (AGRI 2330).
• Texas Parks and Wildlife provided training for the students in the Hunter Safety Course and in Deer Antler Scoring and Aging.
• After training, students were able to help facilitate the county's Hunter Safety Training course.
• Students also worked at deer check stations on deer hunting weekends with Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel to check deer and gather data for conservation efforts implemented by the state of Texas.

Back to top

Context

Students, in collaboration with appropriate Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel, managed a Texas Parks and Wildlife official white-tailed deer data collection check station during deer hunting weekends in Washington County, Texas. Thanks to the Texas Parks and Wildlife staff, Washington County has been a proactive example of strong conservation efforts in the state. The White-Tailed Deer Antler Scoring and Aging Program has been positively reviewed and is spreading to other counties in the state.

Blinn College offers service-learning options to promote active learning, to enable students to see the relevance of academic subjects to the real world, to increase student interactions with the community, and to develop civic responsibility. As of 2004, service-learning is integrated with the disciplines of social sciences, agriculture, math, humanities, fine arts, natural sciences, and education.

Back to top

Outcome

By using students from the service-learning program at Blinn College, Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel was able to provide more deer check stations during deer hunting weekends and increase the amount of data collected that will be used to correlate age of deer to antler characteristics across the state. The benefits to students included:

• Understanding wildlife conservation efforts, the details of the lab work, and its value in making land management decisions.
• Hands-on learning experiences in community service in a field that allowed them exposure to career opportunities, as well as interaction with industry leaders, educators, and researchers.
• Learning skills for conservation efforts in an area that was previously a "hobby" that many of the students had been involved with for years.
• Cultivating an attitude of teamwork and professionalism.

Back to top

Evidence

The students completed a survey which showed that they had a clear understanding of the importance of working in the community to benefit the cause of conservation. At the conclusion of the course, students also completed a reflection paper about their experiences. The following quotes are from those reflection papers:

• "Hunter education is a good idea for service-learning because it helps the community to be aware of firearm hazards, and it helps get parents involved with their kids."
• "The service-learning project has opened up many opportunities to put my education into the real world. I enjoyed service-learning because it was 'hands-on' and allowed me to interact with people."
• "At the end of the day, it just really makes you feel good when you learn something new, and help others at the same time."

Additionally, the community partner, Texas Parks and Wildlife, completed a survey which showed that the partnership was beneficial to the organization and the county and state's conservation efforts.

Back to top

Posted On

December 21, 2005

Back to top

For More Information

Back to top

Related Practices

• Tying service-learning into environmental conservation
• Educating students about conservation with a multi-disciplinary service project
• Restoring valley oak riparian forests with a service-learning project

Back to top

Related sites

Learn and Serve America

• Login or register to post comments
• 
• Print-friendly page
• Send to friend