While students enjoyed their vacation, a group of 24 rural teachers and a handful of school administrators spent part of their summer in a classroom planning science projects of their own. These teachers learned the importance of place-based education in a weeklong conference.

The conference, titled “Community Learning Projects as a Focus for Your Educational Plan,” was the joint effort of the Rural School and Community Trust, the Northeast (NC) Regional Education Service Alliance and The Science House at North Carolina State University. The Rural School and Community Trust is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is building relationships between schools and communities in rural areas and providing training and materials to improve rural education. The Science House is NC State's statewide K-12 science outreach program. From July 31 through August 3, 2006, the conference taught teachers how to implement place-based education projects in their rural North Carolina communities.

The uniting factor among the Rural School and Community Trust, The Science House, and the participating teachers is making the community a part of education. According to conference co-chair and Science House regional coordinator Colleen Karl, place-based learning can be different for each community. While some communities use the environmental to teach, others learn from a unique culture or history. Margaret MacLean from the Rural School and Community Trust adds that the community benefits from the students as well. The students become a “neutral information source” by researching and studying an area of importance to the community. The cooperation of the students and the community through place-based learning improves both education and the community.

To promote more place-based education projects in rural communities, the conference began by learning about the Bennett’s Millpond Project, a long-time Science House program. At Bennett’s Millpond, near Edenton, North Carolina, students and teachers from four counties form teams to study different environmental aspects of the colonial-era millpond. Although the students graduate, the research continues to benefit the community as new students join the program.

After learning about Bennett’s Millpond, teachers and staff brainstormed ideas for their own community projects. The ideas ranged from beautification ventures to recycling initiatives, drinking water analyses, migratory birds studies. These projects will be funded in part by grants from the Rural School and Community Trust.

To learn hands on how to implement place-based education projects, the group took an excursion to a creek at Williamston High School. While studying mosquito fish and their role in controlling mosquito populations, the teachers had an opportunity to use scientific instruments. The next day, when comparing their results, the teachers discovered how to integrate writing into the curriculum through journaling exercises.

The conference provided teachers invaluable resources to incorporate place-based education in their curriculums. From the example of Bennett’s Millpond, hands on experience with mosquito fish, and a handful of new ideas, teachers learned how to reinvest in the community through the education of their students. As a result of the conference, six new place-based education projects are being started in Eastern North Carolina. These projects promise to benefit the teachers, students, and communities involved.