SEMBRAR: Sustainable, Environmental, Multidisciplinary, Bilingual Research and Advocacy in Rurality

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Sunday 1:45 pm
  In Poster Session: Experiential Education and Community Engagement: Scholarship and Practice SIG Poster Session

Abstract

The SEMBRAR project explores how experiential education and community engagement can transform environmental literacy in rural, bilingual, and marginalized communities along the Mississippi and Florida Gulf Coast, regions urgently in need of action. Funded by NASEM’s Gulf Research Program, the project designs and evaluates culturally relevant, place-based bilingual curricula rooted in local histories, environmental knowledge, oral traditions, and community stories. Focusing on flooding, native plant restoration, stormwater infrastructure, and landscape practices, the initiative aims to engage K-12 students, families, and communities in authentic environmental stewardship and resilience. A key goal is to assess how community-based participatory methods affect pedagogy and foster community investment.

Authors

• Lourdes Cardozo-Gaibisso, Mississippi State University

• Leynar Leyton Naranjo, University of Florida