Smithsonian-Peace Corps Environmental Program Search this
Extent:
19.5 cu. ft. (39 document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Date:
1970-1979
Descriptive Entry:
The SI-PCEP records fall into two main areas: Those about the program in general and those about the various environmental projects. The administrative records provide
a broad understanding of the scope of SI-PCEP, especially as revealed through the contract files. These administrative records document the creation and continued efforts
to expand the funding and impact of the program. In addition, SI-PCEP is well documented through publications generated by the program, including recruiting leaflets, training
manuals, skills available booklets, and published articles. The individual projects are documented in the correspondence of program administrators Robert K. Poole, 1970-1975,
and James A. Sherburne, 1975-1978, with host countries and host agencies, and the correspondence of individual volunteers and their project reports. Contracts, in addition
to those between the Smithsonian Institution and the Peace Corps, include those sought for technical support of projects from the National Park Service, National Wildlife
Fund, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Historical Note:
In 1970 the Smithsonian Institution contracted with the Peace Corps to assist it in establishing an international environmental program, the Smithsonian Institution-Peace
Corps Environmental Program (SI-PCEP). The program helped the Peace Corps to develop conservation, biological, and ecological projects in natural resource fields with principal
focus on wildlife conservation and national park development. Through the Office of Environmental Sciences (later the Office of International and Environmental Programs),
SI-PCEP recruited and placed qualified Peace Corps volunteers with advanced degrees and/or specialized skills, assisted in establishing training programs, and provided information
and technical and scientific support to volunteers in the field.