Term
Spring 2020
Capstone
Thesis
Degree Name
MAED: NSEE
Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair
Patty Born
Secondary Advisor/Reader One
Carolyn Collopy
Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two
Nancy Lo and Tyler Dale
Abstract
This project addressed the research question: How can a local government implement environmental education for immigrant communities that live in apartment buildings? Six multifamily properties were recruited from three different cities from Hennepin County located in Minnesota to help overcome barriers towards recycling. The total amount of households, or units that participated were 535. Research methods included implementing best management practices including; color-coding trash and recycling containers and adding labels with images to all trash and recycling dumpsters. Educators also attempted to coordinate in-person education events including going door-to-door and a recycling informational presentation. Translators, or “influencers” were identified at each property to assist with implementation. A waste sort was conducted both pre and post implementation to see if any of the methods were successful. The results were compared to information gathered from other experts in the recycling education field nationally, including King County Washington, Portland Oregon and Austin Texas. This topic was picked because recycling educators often find themselves trying to educate non-native English speakers how to recycle and improve recycling rates. The samples taken for this research were not large enough to be significant and there were many issues in the sampling. This capstone identifies why recycling and culturally sensitive education is important and also gives future research recommendations to those who may wish to try something similar.
Keywords
Recycling, Environmental Education, Multifamily Properties
Recommended Citation
Wahlberg, Kirsten, "How can a local government implement environmental education for immigrant communities that live in apartment buildings?" (2020). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 4491.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/4491
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations