Supporting a teaching and learning community across borders: Grinnell College at Gobabeb

Abstract

For the past fourteen years, two Grinnell College graduates have been selected each year for a competitive one-year Grinnell Corps Service Fellowship at the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre in Namibia. A recent survey of the 28 Fellows that completed the program revealed that this is an invaluable experience for the participants, with more than half revealing that it was “life-changing” and a further 43% reporting that it re-affirmed their life goals. Most Fellows felt that their most valuable contribution to Gobabeb was teaching and mentoring Namibian secondary and tertiary students. All Fellows are now either in graduate school or employed in a diverse array of positions reflecting their professional interests that in some fashion “support the common good”, an integral part of Grinnell's mission statement. Synergistic activities that have arisen from this Grinnell–Gobabeb relationship include visiting lecturer opportunities at Grinnell for Namibians; internships for Grinnell students and service fellowships for Grinnell faculty in Namibia; a faculty development seminar in Namibia resulting in more class modules on dryland and southern African topics; a course with embedded travel to the Namib Desert; and independent research projects for students. These exchanges are invaluable for cultivating the cross-cultural understanding needed to address the vexing global environmental challenges of this century.

Keywords:

• post-graduate service
• environmental education
• inquiry-based learning
• sustainable resource management

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to all the Grinnell Corps Namibia Fellows who found time to complete the survey (sometimes twice!) and who have served so admirably on this program. Thanks also to Grinnell College for supporting the program and the GRTC for the remarkable experiences provided to the Fellows.