Niswonger Village’s Project EARTH on the Eastman Valleybrook campus is a true public health simulation lab.
Mike Stoots, Director of Operations in Project EARTH, explains simply what the program provides to students.
“Project EARTH (Employing Available Resources to Transform Health), is home to a public health simulation lab that provides students with skills, knowledge that enables them to work in any environment, especially low-resource environments they might encounter in rural or post-disaster settings,” said Stoots.
Project EARTH gives students a break from the traditional classroom. It prepares them for the worst scenario. They are getting their education while learning how to work anywhere and everywhere.
The ESSENTIALS course of the Village has been around for many years, helping students face a new kind of learning style.
“Since 2013, undergraduate students in the ESSENTIALS course (Essential Skills, Strategies, and Expertise Necessary To Improve and Advance Low-resource Settings) have worked with hands-on projects that cultivate teamwork, critical-thinking, creativity, and problem-solving,” said Stoots.
The Niswonger Village was created to educate students about real-world challenges.
“The Niswonger VILLAGE (Virtual International Living and Learning Across Global Environments) launched in 2017 and replicates how people live and work in low-resource settings across the world, including homes built by students and faculty from countries like El Salvador, Rwanda, and South Africa,” said Stoots.
The conditions of living in these low-resource settings are very prominent in the Project EARTH simulation. The simulation is for everyone, not just public health students.
“In addition to Essentials and the Niswonger Village, other projects include a simulated refugee experience for medical students, low-resource agriculture such as. hydroponics and cold frames, low-resource shoe design workshops for high school and higher education, and a bike repair program that equips children and teenagers with a means of exercise and transportation,” said Stoots.
Project EARTH is an education experience for every student. For more information about the program, contact stootsj@etsu.edu.
