DATE:    9/7/98
CONTACT: Dr. Rockie English, (864) 656-4861
         Dr. S. Sureshwaran, (803) 536-8452
  
Educators to Discuss Sustainable Development 

     COLUMBIA -- Improving high school students' understanding of
the relationship between farming and environmental concerns is
the aim of the "Education for Sustainable Development" conference
scheduled for Sept. 15.
     The conference will begin at 8:45 a.m. at the White Oak
Conference Center near Columbia. It is sponsored by Clemson
University, South Carolina State University, the S.C. Department
of Education, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S.
Forestry Service and Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.
     At the conference, more than 150 high school science
teachers and education administrators will discuss ways to
provide real-world learning opportunities in the areas of
agribusiness and the environment. The event will also assist in
the development of a learning network composed of  high schools,
universities, industry and government entities.
     Rockie English, assistant professor and Extension specialist
in Clemson's Department of Forest Resources, and S. Sureshwaran,
an associate professor in the Department of Agribusiness
and Economics at S.C. State, recently received a grant to work on
an agricultural and natural resources literacy program for South
Carolina high schools. 
     "We started this project because we both feel that with
decreasing farm and rural populations we are developing a
generation of young people that has limited knowledge of the
importance of agriculture and conservation of the environment,"
English said. "Furthermore, agriculture has been perceived to be
in conflict with preserving the environment.
     "By merging agriculture and environmental training in the
high school we may promote the knowledge of sustainable
agriculture principles."
     Among the speakers scheduled for the conference are Rudy
Mancke of South Carolina ETV, Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler, S.C. State
President Leroy Davis and John Kelly, Clemson's vice president
for public service and agriculture.
     The conference is funded by S.C. Alliance 2020. Alliance
2020 is a consortium of Clemson, S.C. State and the S.C.
Technical College. The consortium was formed in response to
the Food System Professional Education initiative of the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation.
     Participants may register free of charge the morning of the
conference. There is a limit of 200 participants. For more
information contact Rockie English at (864) 656-4861, or S.
Sureshwaran at (803) 536- 8452.
                            END