Education is a key component to creating an environmentally aware society. Environmental science is a relatively new field; only within the past few decades have colleges and universities in the United States developed environmental science departments. Few elementary, middle, or high schools treat environmental studies as a core subject, if it is taught at all. As a result, students have a lacking knowledge of the environment and the ways in which humans impact it. This is slowly changing.

Peter Bower, senior lecturer at Barnard College, has been a leader in environmental education. He has been teaching students about the impacts of environmental contamination through a computer-based simulation known as Brownfield Action. Bower collaborated on the development of this program with Columbia University’s Center for New Media Teaching and Learning in 1999. Brownfield Action has been a big success in creating awareness and changing attitudes in regard to the environment and, in particular, brownfields. A brownfield is a plot of currently unused land that may feature some amount of contamination due to previous development. Brownfields are an important issue because they can potentially pollute local water supplies. In the Brownfield Action course, students take on the role of detective. They investigate sites of contamination in the program’s simulated town, as well as determine the pollution's source. Students conduct interviews with local townspeople, simulate water and soil tests, and create topographic maps to determine the flow of ground water. After assessing the town’s soil and water quality, students write Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments, similar to those used in the real world. From this course, Barnard students tangibly experience how pollution can directly affect people. Students leave the course with a greater understanding of and respect for the environment.

Brownfield Action has been so successful that the simulation is now used at several other colleges in the United States. The award-winning program is beginning to spread to the high school level as well. Barnard College is currently in its fourth year of a partnership with the Harlem Education Activities Fund (HEAF). HEAF works to give high school students the necessary skills to succeed in college as well as gain a greater appreciation of the environment. Students enjoy using Brownfield Action because it makes learning  fun and interesting.

Brownfield Action has been, and continues to be, a great way to teach younger generations about the importance of the environment and the impacts of pollution. In order to make the current practices of our society more environmentally conscious, the public needs to be informed and to care about the state of our planet. This cannot be obtained without education. Brownfield Action is a great example of how education can change people’s perceptions and create awareness.

An image of the Brownfield Action program depicting a town map

For more information please visit www.brownfieldaction.org