Early this August, through a series of circumstances which do not bear recitation – and many of which have changed markedly – I attended a train-the-trainer program conducted on the west coast by the POPULATION CONNECTION organization officed in Washington D.C. The first weekend in August approximately thirty of us - the vast majority being directly involved in higher education – met for 1 3/4 days at Fort Mason, on San Francisco’s waterfront, practically under the Golden Gate Bridge. Pam Wasserman, Vice President for Education, led the training; she was assisted by Carol Bliese, Teacher Training Manager, and Colleen Beck, Education Program Associate. One of their local members worked with us also.

Those present represented regions of California stretching from the “real” northern California – Eureka – to San Diego and numerous points in between. One of the attendees works for the San Jose Zoo; another works in the primate/brain study lab at UC-Davis. It was both a distinguished and extremely interesting group, and demographically diverse. [Against all odds, of the 30 attending, three of us were from Huntington Beach!]

Population Connection is a not-for-profit. They rely on grants, donations, and other sources to fund their work. “Miraculously” this training was provided at no charge – including extraordinary take-away materials. So who are these people, you ask? Maybe you recognize the name Zero Population Growth. In the years since they were founded in 1968, (by Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist), they have not only changed their name, they have greatly expanded their outreach. The enlarged foci include an emphasis on conserving and preserving all of our natural resources – water, earth – life’s most basic elements. The point of the training was to prepare those present to facilitate PopConn programs that educate others. The materials and strategies are designed in ways which allow them to be used with audiences of all ages, principally in learning environments but not limited to school settings. Quoting directly, “The Program’s ultimate goal is to prepare young people to make informed, responsible decision as the next generation of …consumers, parents, voters, and leaders.”

Their training program “Pop Ed” began in 1975. By extending their training to eligible individuals not directly on their payroll, they have greatly expanded the number of people who can present their message and methodologies. Budgetary vicissitudes impact them – as one would expect – with their “peak” of program presentations occurring in 2002: 635; and a total of 526 programs presented in 2007. Since beginning Pop Ed, the vast majority of these were presented by people who completed the same training as I attended.

Our first day was spent taking us through the paces; the second required us to do the work. Pam and her colleagues are exceptionally adept in terms of their delivery skills. They are also able to manage a group of people with a lot to say in ways that do not offend yet mind the schedule and the clock. Because enjoying working with the data, as either a trainee or program attendee, is essential, many of the “tools” include having fun.
PopConn has figured out how to deliver important information in meaningful ways without becoming “heavy.” For example: to demonstrate the impact of mining on the surrounding land, each participant is provided one chocolate chip cookie and two tooth picks. The goal is to extract as many chips as can be seen without turning the cookie over or moving it in any way – because mountains, etc. cannot be turned over – and do as little damage as possible to the surrounding area, (cookie.) Try it. You’ll be surprised and amused; it’s harder than it would seem and at the end you get to eat the cookie ?
As you can imagine, this works especially well with younger participants but the message is clear regardless.

One of their trainers visited one of my classes during the Spring ’07 semester and used another of their simple but powerful strategies to demonstrate the impact of population on both the environment and the people in various regions. It’s called “Food for Thought.”
Large circles of yarn, each a different color, are placed on the floor. There are five, representing North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Each circle is populated by individuals representing the population of each in millions; i.e., 25 individuals for North America, 30 for Africa, etc. Then the facilitator distributes matches to each region representing resources for power based on per capita energy consumption. With the U.S. as a leader in this category, the North America circle receives the majority of the matches: 60; while Africa receives only 3, and Asia only 7.
Then wrapped candies are distributed, representing access to sustenance. Again, North America receives the most, (83); and Africa the least, (2). [Pop Conn assembles all the data as well as providing the specifics for each of these exercises.] What you conclude with is a very simple yet graphic representation of population per region plus impact in terms of availability versus needs. No matter what your age, it doesn’t require a great deal to look around and understand that for regions such as Africa and Asia, with their vast numbers, the limited access to vital resources is a very significant problem. At the end of the exercise, you have the circles for Africa and Asia packed with participants but with excruciatingly little in the way of energy – matches – and/or sustenance – represented by the candies. It’s quite a visual.

I’ll be using this training for a presentation in November (’08) to this semester’s members of the student association within the Department of Child and Adolescent Studies – the current group of future educators; and in the Spring of ’09 for Faculty. I’m also available for contact by Pop Conn if needed.

I’m not going to assert that those of us who attended the training have become “friends for life” but we certainly benefited from the time we spent together. The Population Connection has a website, www.populationconnection.orghttp://populationconnection.org/ from which vast amounts of information can be accessed. Check them out …