About the Opportunities 

Making a difference in our community!

Why partner with the Environmental Leadership Program? 

• Obtain cost-effective and high-quality services 
• Foster positive public relations through various media 
• Educate students about, and involve them in, your organization 
• Mentor the next generation 
• Widen your job application pool 
• Demonstrate broad partnerships for cooperative grant applications 

How the Program Works 

Every year the Environmental Leadership Program coordinates 6 to 8 service-learning projects in cooperation with community partners. Currently, most are two-quarter projects, where students take a targeted preparatory class during Winter term and complete the project during the Spring. 

Each project is supervised by an Environmental Leadership Program co-director and managed by a graduate student who is trained in project management. Each project is staffed by a team of four to eight undergraduate students who have received classroom instruction and training specific to their project. Each student contributes approximately 120 hours of service to the project. 

Expertise, Skills and Services 

We can provide these services: 

• Natural science research 
  • e.g., Environmental monitoring, build GIS maps, databases, literature reviews 
• Social science research 
  • e.g., Design and implement surveys, interviews, focus groups 
• Education and outreach 
  • e.g., Design and implement curricula and public outreach for various audiences 
• Organize events 

We are open to other projects, so let us know if you have other ideas.

Project timeline 

We cooperatively design the project timeline to best balance community partner goals, individual project needs, and our academic schedule. Although some projects occur over a single 10-week academic quarter, most take place over two quarters to provide students with project-specific training before they begin their project work. Projects may serve a one-time need or may occur over several years, where students create long-term data sets or otherwise build upon previous efforts. The community-based component of projects usually occurs in the Spring but can occur any time of the year. 

Project identification, selection and proposal deadline 

We strive to meet meaningful community needs and to offer a diversity of exciting projects to our students. If you have an idea for how you might use a team of our students, please contact us. We ask that partners outline the project elements, goals, deliverables, and cost share in a simple proposal. We usually plan at least one year in advance.  

Download Proposal Form

Costs 

Properly designing, implementing, and supervising projects costs money. The Environmental Leadership Program raises funds to support each project through community partner cost share, grants and donations. Projects generally cost $9,000 – $12,000 depending upon the scope of the project, equipment, transportation, and other project-dependent costs. We often collaborate with community partners to secure grants and other funding opportunities. We have found that the most successful and rewarding projects have enjoyed a high degree of partner involvement through cost share, in-kind support, and project design. 

Thanks to our Community Partners! 

For more information 

Peg Boulay (boulay@uoregon.edu; 541-346-5945) 

Katie Lynch (klynch@uoregon.edu; 541-346-5070)