Yun Hallowell ’23, Anthropology

Yun Hallowell ’23

Major

Anthropology

Project Title

Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs

Certificate(s): Language and Culture, Creative Writing

I worked with the Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs, an afterschool program that teaches environmental science with a focus on conservation. I worked virtually with my fellow intern to create new, and organize existing, teaching materials. In between Swahili lessons and attending lectures by Mpala scientists, I wrote lesson plans with my fellow intern on a wide variety of topics. Our goals were to include as much experiential learning and active learning as possible, and to choose topics that were relevant to local environmental issues. By far the most challenging — and rewarding — part of the process was incorporating economic, political and sociocultural perspectives into the games and activities we designed. This experience made me think a lot about the intersection between environmental science and history, and the benefit of teaching these subjects as interrelated issues. As someone who is interested in a career in education, the potential of this interdisciplinary approach to bring a different kind of understanding really stood out to me, and it is something I’ll carry with me as I continue to think about methods of teaching and learning.