Yesterday I had the privilege of serving on a panel at the new Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, listening to 9th graders hold a debate. The topic was “Proposed: a new waste transfer station should be built in the South Bronx.”
The two teams represented the South Bronx and the Upper East Side.The students had visited a park right next door to a South Bronx waste transfer station that was very stinky, they said. The field trip had been hosted by Sustainable South Bronx.
The “Upper East Side” team argued against building the site in that neighborhood, noting that many minority and disadvantaged children live in the neighborhood, and 600 of them go to summer camp at Asphalt Green, where health would be threatened if garbage trucks were rumbling in and out all day.
The South Bronx debate team had some heavy numbers on their side: 15 waste transfer stations are already located there, and the neighborhood has one of the highest asthma rates in the city.
The kids’ presentations were inspiring. Equally inspiring was seeing how the staff at UA School for Green Careers had integrated the concept of environmental justice into the curriculum. Maybe they can enter the Classroom Earth 2010 National High School Challenge (deadline Feb.22, 2010) and win up to $4,000 for ideas on incorporating environmental education into their curriculum.
Coming up in April the Green school just now finishing its first term, is going to host the NYC Climate Justice Youth Summit with UP ROSE , the United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park.
Does your school integrate environmental issues into its curriculum?
Insideschools would like to hear about it!
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