Senior Environmental Experiences

Presentations include hands-on activities such as mapping the environment.

Older adults in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and senior community centers are the target audience for Senior Environmental Experiences (SEE), a program funded by the National Science Foundation (#0407280) to enhance science learning and exploration of critical environmental issues among this growing segment of the population.

Based at Ramapo College of New Jersey and the Meadowlands Environment Center (MEC) in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, SEE combines videoconferencing and hands-on activities, demonstrations, and multimedia presentations to enable participants to go on remote "guided tours" of wetlands, have up-close experiences with plants and animals that live there, and engage in dialogue with scientists and environmental educators. To date, the program has reached over 4,500 participants at 32 centers.

Each SEE module is structured around a question-for example, "Should I tell my children and grandchildren to eat the fish and crabs they catch?" or "Why are the ruins of New York's Penn Station in the Meadowlands?" The module begins with a visit to the senior center by MEC staff, who introduce the topic, distribute readings and videos, facilitate activities, and train center staff. A one-hour videoconference follows on two successive days, then a post-conference package of further readings and activities. For those participants who are able to travel, MEC provides assistance and wheel chair-accessible trails.

Staff at the Meadowlands Environment Center present in real time to older adults at senior centers, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes.

See participants have told evaluators that they learn a great deal, often beginning their responses with remarks such as "I had no idea the crabs picked up all that pollution" or "I never thought about how all that trash that was dumped in the wetlands would be so polluting." Some report finally understanding the importance of "parts per million" and the role of the wetlands in the watershed. Evaluators have also noted changes in participants' interests and values. Some, for example, have encouraged their families to change their practices related to water use and seafood.

While an increase in older adult participants' knowledge and interest was an expected outcome of the program, participating scientists have also reported benefiting. "I think of my work and how to explain it differently now," says Angela Cristini, professor of biology at Ramapo College. "I had never thought about how to explain ‘parts per million' or illustrate what that looked like. As it turns out, it means I dyed a single rice grain red and then put it in one of 10 2-liter bottles full of white rice. While the participants looked for that lone grain of red rice, we talked about the effect of contaminants on the health of the wetlands as well as human health."

Two adaptations to SEE modules were made as a result of field testing: facilitators now use microphones so all participants can hear, and they embed reflection questions before and after each segment (every 5-7 minutes) to build on existing knowledge and consolidate understandings.

In sum, the evidence suggests that the SEE approach does engage seniors at remote sites, increasing their knowledge and interest in environmental issues. Videoconferencing has the intended "you are there" effect, while the physical presence of scientists and environmental educators bridged the physical and virtual worlds. Program participants return and bring their friends, so enrollment grows over the 5-12 day period in which a module is offered. Participating senior centers have all requested additional modules, and more have asked to join the program.

DVDs of the programs are available as resources for facilities across the country to use with seniors as well as to serve as models for further efforts to extend the reach of environmental opportunities to the growing number of older adults.

Contact: Angela Cristini, 201/684-7500, acristin@ramapo.edu