| Biography |
I am a semi-retired teacher and interested helping our students take action on behalf of environmental concerns. Some years ago I attended online summer classes and liked the format of the projects we did. I am at a PS-8 independent (non-public-nonprofit) school with the backing of our administration. Our campus is 9 acres with gardening portions among buildings but also a long swath for additional plantings along a canal that includes fallow land unusable for any development.
We have a committee of student activists who have so far made more than thirty environmental changes on campus over ten years. The second through fifth graders meet weekly. They present their ideas and celebrate successes at monthly presentations to all K-5 children and have done so since 2013.
Our middle school group also meets weekly and is interested ideas that are project-based. That began when they understood systems thinking. Those students are now interested in habitat restoration and adding plantings that make a stopover possible for migratory species on the Pacific Flyway. They also look to propagate from existing plants to give away so our wider community can make us a bigger attraction for those species, starting first with backyards adjacent to our school.
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