Diversity In environmental education
To encourage students to become environmentalists, it is important to
provide role models that reflect their cultural backgrounds and inspire
them to believe that they too can be scientists and environmental
activists. It is also crucial to address environmental issues that
affect students’ daily lives.
Kids for the Bay (KftB) works primarily with low-income urban schools
where 80 to 100 percent of students are children of color. Our board
and staff reflect the culture of the school communities we work with,
and our program directors are role models for our students, teachers,
and the wider community.
A key to meeting the needs of a diverse student population is a diverse
employee base. KftB staff includes people of Asian-American, Latino,
and African-American descent.
New Programs
In 2003, KftB celebrated its tenth anniversary. Four new program
directors joined the staff in September and two new countywide programs
were added: the Watershed Action Program and the Four Rs Action
Program.
The Watershed Action Program is funded by a contract with the Contra
Costa County Watershed Program. Teachers and students learn about their
local watershed and the wider San Francisco Bay Area watershed. They
also learn about sources of pollution and watershed environmental
health and justice issues. Each class goes on field trips to local
creek and bay habitats, and the students select, design, and implement
a Watershed Environmental Action Project.
Over the next three years, KftB will work with all the schools in
unincorporated Contra Costa County, northeast of San Francisco, to
deliver this program to every fourth-grade teacher and class. We plan
to expand this program to the rest of Contra Costa County and to
neighboring Alameda County this year. Participating classes will be
linked through a Web page that describes their projects.
Our second new program, funded by a contract with the Alameda County
Waste Management Board, is the Four Rs Action Program-Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle, and Rot. When students complete a creek or bay clean-up
project, they are always affected by the amount of garbage they collect
and want to do something to reduce the garbage getting into their
neighborhoods and creeks. The Four Rs Action Program teaches students
how to reduce garbage at the source. It also helps students and
teachers to set up recycling and composting programs in their
classrooms.
KftB provides curriculum guides, support for student-centered
environmental action projects, and an equipment package for each
school. Our goal is for these environmental education programs to
become part of the culture and curricula of our target schools.
Camp for older students
In 2003, KftB added a new camp for 8- to 10-year-old students. The
weeklong Aquatic Science Adventure Camp takes students on a San
Francisco Bay boat trip to study the animals and plants living in the
open water. Students complete detailed investigations of bay-estuary
and creek habitats, including water quality testing. They also learn
how to take action on some of the issues affecting their local
environment.
Younger students (ages 5 to 7) enjoy fishing for crabs, catching
waterstriders, studying damselfly nymphs, experimenting with estuary
water, plant art, nature hikes, and games.
Take action: If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, or
plan to visit in June or July 2004, consider KftB’s day camp as an
activity for your kids. Camp slots fill up rapidly and are allocated on
a first-come, first-served basis, so act now. Please call (510)
985-1602 to receive an application form in the mail or visit www.kidsforthebay.org.
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