Vicky Smith, Animals A-Z, helps a Merritt Elementary 6th-grader indentify fossils.

The Auburn University Environmental Institute’s (AUEI) Black Belt Environmental Science and Arts Program (BBESAP) reaches out to underserved youth in the Black Belt region of Alabama. BBESAP is an off-campus environmental education project designed to increase the appreciation, knowledge and conservation of natural resources by the region’s students, and teachers. The program targets students (grades 5-8) in the Black Belt region and provides special outdoor classroom field days offering educational opportunities and career development exposure in a non-traditional setting.

Merritt Elementary students observe while Jo Lewis, AL department of DCNR, catches the macro-invertebrates with a seine.

The program format is designed to stimulate academic achievement in science and the arts. The program is intended to complement and enhance the classroom curriculum in science by conducting hands-on environmental science modules. The environmental education efforts are further enhanced through literary and visual art modules. Such activities demonstrate to students how environmental awareness is not a purely scientific endeavor but can include works of art and literature.

Jayme Oates, Alabama Water Watch, demonstrates to D.C Wolfe Elementary students how drinking water can be polluted by using two EnvironScapes.

Since spring 2005, sixty-seven field days and programs were conducted and over 3,230 students from ten different Bullock, Wilcox, Monroe and Macon County Schools attended. Examples of science modules included tree identification, trail walks, reptiles and amphibians comparison, pond ecology, hydrology characteristics, and herb gardening. Art-related modules included nature photography, farm life depiction, haiku poetry and nature journals. More detailed descriptions and photos are found on the module page.

Marianne Murphy of SERC talks about Eagles during the raptor program in CSAT in March 2009. About 300 students attended this program.

Spring 2009 featured eight field days in three counties and a school-wide program at Camden School of Arts and Technology (CSAT). Auburn University's Southeastern Raptor Center (SERC) conducted two programs at CSAT in March introducing a variety of raptors to the students. The programs featured owls, eagles, hawks and other birds of prey. Students learned about habitats, conservation efforts and the role raptors play in the environment. Each program included a question and answer session with SERC staff.