Ecology is the science of relationships, yet people have disconnected themselves from the earth. My experience is when you awaken students to these issues, they are concerned. They want to know what they can do. That's where service learning comes in. Service learning gives students a chance to channel that course into solving a local issue.
Students address local problems that are related to the academic content of the course.
We're connecting hands and heads, Montague says. And pretty soon, there's some chemistry happening when they begin to ask questions. But it's when students get their heart into it that they become empowered, he says. It doesn't take money or special expertise. It just takes people who care.