YouthCaN

Students write about and interact on environmental issues in their communities.

Poem by Nuria a YouthCaN New Planning Committe member:

Where people come together through a global membership

Interconnections of youth to reach a common goal

To make the world a better place for the fulfilment of our souls.

Hiking allows us to explore the natural world around us

Leaving a trail of hard work behind us

The Discovery Room is a place we brainstorm

To form ideas to better tomorrow

Impacting the world is one of our main objectives

Throught the iEARN International Conference we put it in perspective

YouthCaN always takes the time to protect wildlife

Taking away the pain and strife of habitat destruction

The landscapes we seek in our hikes always capture our attention

We take the time and recreate them to show our appreciation

Recycling is never distant in our minds

We always re-use the gifts of trees and create wonderful handicrafts

After all the hard work we sit back, relax and munch on some snacks.

In 1992 after Hurricane Andrew devastated southern Florida, teacher Rowena Gerber and her elementary class at Miami Country Day School decided to grow trees to re-leaf decimated southern Florida communities. At year’s end, 2,000 trees, each bedecked with a booklet of students’ poems, were donated to hurricane victims. This project was the beginning of the school’s long-standing relationship with the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO) which provides seeds, farm supplies and training to small-scale farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries. In partnership with ECHO, the Miami students began experimenting with growing plants that are needed in developing countries. They will soon be providing seeds to farmers in the tropics, among them the native Florida seminole pumpkin and the amazing moringa tree which is fast-growing and a rich source of food, vitamins and medicine.

A network of 87 schools in Port-Au-Prince are now implementing gardening and solar cooking education, having visited and seen the success of the Miami Country Day School program. Gerber’s school will work this year with a Haitian teacher to design food systems activities and curricula for Haiti. Gerber is also working on ways to distribute seeds and sprouters (inexpensive plastic devices used to sprout seeds) to refugee camps and to needy Haitian communities as a quick and efficient way to enhance health and food security. These personal ties to Haitian communities, enriched through visits, letters, email and picture exchanges, enhance the Miami students’ agricultural and multicultural understanding.

Miami Country Day School now has a garden for each pre-K to fifth grade class, along with shared arbor and green house projects designed by the students. Experiments and other enrichment activities take place at the nearby lab of the Abess Center for Environmental Studies. Activities related to gardening and solar cooking have been integrated into the curriculum in several ways. Students receive instruction in science and social studies through working on food systems, and the Florida Solar Energy Center curricula on solar energy and alternative fuels ensures that solar-cooking work is also an in-depth science exploration. Nutrition, biology, Florida history, Haitian culture-many other subjects have come alive.

“ It has been rewarding to watch the children learn and to listen to their insights and discoveries-their hand’s on, nose-on, mouth-on, and both-feet-in approach to this thing we call science.” Gerber notes. For the last five years, student gardeners, designers, and engineers from Miami Country Day School have presented their work at YouthCaN, an international gathering of young environmentalists at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. The school is working on a curriculum guide to document how Gerber’s activities with students address the national and state standards.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the program is that the students learn the feasibility and value of making a postive difference in the world. As Gerber notes, “They are genuinely doing something to help other people, and that makes them feel good. When they sell vinegar, it’s something that they have done from scratch: they’ve grown the plants, they’ve made the labels, they’ve made the whole thing. It’s not like selling chocolates for a good cause-here they can see how their own efforts and ideas can benefit other people.”

Credits to Green Teacher. Excerpted from, "Teaching About Food Systems," by Carmela Federico, Green Teacher # 65, Summer 2001 edition. Subscriptions cost $24/year (4 issues) from: Green Teacher, PO Box 452, Niagara Falls, NY 14304, (416) 960-1244, www.greenteacher.com.