FACULTY

These faculty are the predominant people who work with our M.Ed. students in environmental education. There are other faculty on campus who serve on M.Ed. committees, dependent upon the student's specialty of interest. For example, some faculty from the departments of Psychology, Biology, and/or Geology often serve on M.Ed. committees as well.

Dr. Ken Gilbertson,

Director for the Center for Environmental Education
Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER)

Ken earned his Ph.D. in Outdoor Education with an emphasis in Clinical Psychology from The Ohio State University. His specialty areas include: teaching Environmental Education in non-formal settings, wilderness education and interpretation, resource management and planning, and environmental literacy. Current projects include writing a text on Outdoor Education Methods & researching the relationship between a skill level and commitment in adventure activities.

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

"EE is a means to teach a person to love the earth. Through this means, a person increases their awareness and appreciation of the natural environment, they learn skills to better know how to live in the outdoors, and they learn relationships among the inhabitants. Ultimately, the person has learned how to learn and can make their own decisions on how to care for the land. When this is achieved, it is called environmental literacy. The tools we use for this means are experiential learning, adventure education, and environmental education and interpretation."

• To contact Dr. Gilbertson: web page or kgilbert@d.umn.edu

Dr. Julie Ernst,

Department of HPER

Julie earned her Ph.D. at the University of Florida’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation and her M.Ed. from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She has formerly served as an education specialist for the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as a public affairs specialist for the USDA Forest Service. Her interest areas are program evaluation, environment-based education (environmentally-based formal instructional programs), and federal agency EE programs.

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

"Environmental education relies upon a learning progression from awareness to action, a progression mirrored in the objectives set forth by the Tbilisi Declaration, to support responsible environmental behavior and a sustainable future. Central to this progression are opportunities to explore and make personal connections with one’s surroundings. EE also can be used to relate formal learning to the lives and concerns of students, building on their natural interest and curiosity in their surroundings and providing them with opportunities to become competent and contributing members of their communities."

• To contact Dr. Ernst: web page or jernst@d.umn.edu

Dr. Mark Zmudy,

Department of HPER

• To contact Dr. Zmudy: mzmudy@d.umn.edu

Tom Beery, M.Ed.,
Department of HPER

Tom earned his M.ED in environmental education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Tom's background in the field includes formal classroom teaching, residential environmental education teaching, field based environmental day programming, adventure education trip leadership, etc. Tom's specialty area is elementary environmental education. His current focus is UMD course instruction.

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

"Environmental education is an effort to strengthen the bond between people and the natural environment. In Sweden, the concept friluftsliv refers to a tradition characterized by respect and care for the environment along with an active physical involvement with the natural world. Friluftsliv is my philosophy of environmental education! A strong bond between people and the natural world comes from direct, meaningful and often joyful experiences and leads to heightened understanding. Quality environmental education facilitates meaningful experience and supports it via considered reflection and structured study."

• To contact Tom: web page or tbeery@d.umn.edu

Tim Bates M.Ed.,
Outdoor Program & Department of HPER

Tim earned his M.Ed. in Environmental Education from the University of Minnesota- Duluth. His specialty areas include: training of in-service teachers, environmental education, natural history of Northeastern Minnesota, and sea kayak training. His current project area is administration for the Outdoor Program.

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

"Environmental Education is a tool which educators can use to involve the student in real life, meaningful experiences that intersects all instructional disciplines."

• To contact Tim: web page or tbates@d.umn.edu

Dr. Bruce Munson,
Associate Dean

College of Education & Human Service Professions (CEHSP)

Bruce's specialty areas include: science education, science curriculum development, aquatic studies, and applying computer technologies to enhance instruction. His current projects are: Water on the Web (an internet-based science curriculum project; see http://waterontheweb.org), the impacts of computer technologies on student learning, and science teacher enhancement programs (presenting teacher workshops).

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

"I was fortunate to be raised with many opportunities to experience nature. The experiences resulted in a sense of wonder and an appreciation for the natural world. They also resulted in a tendency to critically examine the world around me in order to discover the many interrelationships that exist. I try to share these perspectives with others through my efforts in environmental education. Through environmental education we can learn to live in greater harmony with the natural world."

• To contact Dr. Munson: web page or bmunson@d.umn.edu

Dr. William Fleischman,
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Bill earned his Ph.d at Iowa State University. His specialty areas include: environmental sociology, sociology of conflict, research methodology and complex organizations. His current projects are: Private Forest Resource Management, Public Participation in Finnish Forest Resource Management, and Community Sustainability.

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

"Providers of environmental education must have an understanding of both natural/physical and social science concepts and theories. Environmental education is not proselytizing but providing a basis for understanding complex social and natural/physical connections."

• To contact Dr. Fleischman: web page or wfleisch@d.umn.edu

Jill Nocera and Sarah Crescimanni ,
Coordinators for the Center for Environmental Education (CEED)

Jill and Sarah are currently pursuing their Master’s of Education in Environmental Education here at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. They are serving as the Coordinators for the Center for Environmental Education. If you have any questions or would like any information about the Master’s program or Duluth in general, please feel free to contact them.

Philosophy of Environmental Education:

Rachel Carson once said, "If a child is to keep alive his/her sense of wonder, he/she needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him or her the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." Environmental Education encourages us to constantly rediscover that sense of wonder and unites people and communities with the natural world.

• To contact Jill or Sarah: ceed@d.umn.edu; (218) 726-8677