First-year Students & the Balance Between Environmental Management and Poverty

Gabrielle and Melissa muse on first-year students joining them in Jamaica.

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The 14 incoming freshmen have arrived in Jamaica. Neil, Ryan B, Ryan W, Melissa and I arrived at the airport in Montego Bay to pick them up last Saturday at around 10 am. Because of delayed flights and such we waited there untill around 7pm when their flight finally arrived. The next day we all came together for a brief lecture/ discussion led by Neil. We went over three articles, one by Peter Singer, the other by Bjorn Lomberg, and the third by Gerard Lameiro. The articles tackled the question, “Does helping the environment hurt the poor?” However, each approached the question in a different way, and the third article recognizes this. Lameiro talked about how each sustainability leader  is working towards the same goal but is doing so in a manner which tended to work against, instead of with, each other. It is interesting to see how the barrier to collaboration happens within the sustainability movement like it does in other movements.

Joined by the new students, we traveled to Zionites Farm (read a trip adviser review here), another FAO demonstration site. This was by far one of my favorite farms I have visited so far, and I believe the freshmen enjoyed it as well. I loved seeing smiles on their faces and watching their eyes light up as they not only learned a little about this organic farm but tasted, smelled and saw the Jamaica’s biodiversity. This farm is owned and operated by Lisa and Chris Benz. I had met Lisa previously, when she joined us on our adventure to Portland. This was my first time meeting her husband though. He had a great spirit that made the visit fun, exciting and educational.

Tuesday we all took a trip back up to Durga’s Den for the day. I was excited for the new students to see the place where I had spent most of my time in Jamaica thus far and where I had subsequently become so comfortable. We were joined by four panelists, one of whom was Lisa Benz. These Panelists discussed various aspects of the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM), such as which organizations are working on this movement like the IICA, and the basics of food security in Jamaica. We all actively engaged in the Q & A following and I feel as if the freshmen learned a lot from the day. 

~ Gabrielle Reese

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LEAP has arrived and has thus far exceeded my expectations. I was honestly a bit worried about how everything was going to turn out with the merging of the groups, but I’ve talked to most of the freshmen now, and I think they’re great. They are young and open and full of questions and I’m so excited to get to see them take in this experience. It’s strange at the same time though. I feel like it was two weeks ago that I was starting my freshman year when in reality it was two years ago and I’m in a completely different position now. I’m in a position where I’m expected to lead small groups of younger students (both with the freshmen and at Durga’s with the campers), and soon I’ll be mentoring another group of freshmen back in PA for TOTEMS (Total Orientation to Earth and Mineral Sciences). I find it hard to believe that I’ve made a transition from clueless undergrad to informed leader-in-training. I feel a bit wide-eyed right now that I’m at a point where people trust me to talk about my discipline. I would really like to do some training in discussion facilitation, I think that would be helpful for my growth as a mentor.

Today was very good in terms of discussion. Neil facilitated our first discussion as a whole group (after we managed to fit 21 bodies into one hotel room) and we went through two articles by Peter Singer and Bjorn Lomborg titled “Does Helping the Environment Hurt the Poor?” We briefly delved into the arguments for both sides, before touching on a third piece by Glen Low which talked about the similarities between the two sides. It made it apparent that through all of the topics that can be argued which stem from “sustainability” there is a common ground that we need to recognize. Realizing that common ground is going to be a major step in cooperation for how we, as a global citizenry, move forward. Someone brought up the point that balance is a key operative if we do want to move towards alleviating poverty and helping the planet. The third article pointed out that the two issues are inextricably linked. So what steps do we take from here? What lessons can these Nittany Lions take from Jamaica this week to work on these pressing issues? I am sure we have an interesting week lying ahead of us.

Tomorrow we will (hopefully) be venturing to two organic farms in the area. Today we worked on investigative questions based on the four sustainability principles in the Natural Step framework to ask the farmers tomorrow. The LEAPers are definitely eager to learn and my group came up with some good questions. I’m looking forward to the big discussions tomorrow and to see their observation skills at work. I think I can learn a lot from these students. I am also looking forward to making my own comparison between these farms and the farms we saw in the Blue Mountains. I’ll be looking out for permaculture design principles, sustainability principles, and the regulations for organic farming.

~Melissa Peterson

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You can read the articles Gabrielle and Melissa are referring to:
Peter Singer's "Does Helping the Planet Hurt the Poor?"
Bjorn Lomborg's "Escaping Poverty is Good for the Environment"
Glen Low, "A False Dillemma: Clean Up the Environment or Reduce Poverty"