Vibrant People of Elkhart County: Luke Gascho
Luke Gascho is a professor in the Sustainability and Environmental Affairs Education Department at Goshen College and the executive director of Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center.
Archives for M.A. Environmental Education Category
Wood Ducks, Marl Soil, Chorus Frogs and More: Natural Surprises Await Researchers and Students at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College
Located near scenic Wolf Lake in Indiana, Merry Lea boasts geological riches of an unusually wide variety such as peat bogs, a marl pit and glacial gravel formations. Merry Lea is also home to wetland, prairie, and savanna restorations and participates in sustainable agriculture.
Andros Island clinches career direction
For some students, the prospect of a course in the Bahamas clinches the decision to attend Merry Lea’s Master of Arts in Environmental Education program. For Ali Sanders, the course also settled her career direction.
Environmental issues class focuses on hope
Students in Merry Lea’s Master’s in Environmental Education program discuss vexing social problems in their Environmental Issues and History class. They prepare presentations on topics like micro-plastics and nuclear disasters. All the same, students say they find hope in the course.
Kinderforest program gets Goshen kids out of the classroom and into the woods
About once a month, 24 students from the Goshen College Laboratory Kindergarten class — a partnership between the college’s education department and Goshen Community Schools — spend the day climbing trees, building shelters and making mud pies in Witmer Woods, through Merry Lea’s Kinderforest program, the first of its kind in Goshen.
Animals, fruits and nuts coexist in Merry Lea pasture
In a 5-acre pasture at the Merry Lea Sustainable Farm, you’ll find cows and chickens sharing the land with some unusual roommates — nut trees, fruit trees, grapevines and raspberries.
Merry Lea welcomes largest environmental education graduate program cohort
The Master’s in Environmental Education program (MAEE) at Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College welcomed its largest cohort ever in July 2018.
Merry Lea featured on Farmerama podcast
The Farmerama podcast talks to John Mischler, Merry Lea’s Director of Agroecology, and Ellie Schertz, the Assistant Farm Manager, as well as two students who’ve chosen to return to Merry Lea and volunteer for another summer (begins at 21:30).
M.A. in Environmental Education alum finds role as eco-artist
Aly Munger, a 2017 graduate of Merry Lea’s master’s in environmental education program, is “eco-art educator" at Artist’s Boat, Galveston, Texas. She came to Merry Lea with a bachelor’s degree in art, hoping to integrate her background with her love of beautiful landscapes.
Goshen College wins MACOG Partners for Clean Air award
Goshen College received the 2018 Partners for Clean Air award from the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) at their annual awards luncheon on April 25, 2018.