A Green Treat for Everyone
Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by Peggy Truong in Uncategorized
Photo Credit: Peggy Truong
By Peggy Truong
A reading garden. Non-toxic cleaners and microfiber cloths. A Big Green Halloween festival and fundraiser that included carrier-bag decorating and composting lessons.
These are a few of the ways that Public School 166 is embracing environmental education in and out of the classroom.
“There’s a way to include environmental education in every aspect of learning, whether it’s math, science or language arts,” said Kristen Brashares, who serves on the school’s Wellness Committee and has a daughter in third grade.
She said the classroom is the best place to start with basic lessons about the environment. “Any school can go green, it’s a matter of getting creative,” she said.
At the Halloween fundraiser, held on the last Sunday in October, students dressed in Superman, pirate and fairy outfits – the popular choices of the afternoon.
“Everyone’s noticing the climate change and the crazy weather,” said organizer Emily Fano, whose two children attend the Upper West Side school on West 89th Street. Environmental education is currently not mandatory in the New York City public school curriculum. For the parents and teachers at P.S. 166, events like Big Green Halloween are the beginning of doing more with less.
P.S. 166 makes sure each grade participates in some kind of green project. For co-PTA vice president Molly Pesce, planting is a way to start conversations about the environment with her third grade daughter.
“She’s thrilled. But how can green education not be part of the curriculum?” asked Pesce. Earlier this year, Pesce was invited by her daughter’s class to talk about worm farms. “What’s so amazing is watching everyone come together for the festival and seeing the energy in the students,” said Pesce.
The energy at the festival attracted Upper West Side resident Sharon Kimmelman, who said she’s seen P.S. 166 teachers take lessons out to the West Side Community Garden across the street. “It’s heartwarming to see the school taking initiative. It makes the issues very real,” said Kimmelman, a member of the community garden for more than 30 years.
“Children don’t lose attention in these lessons about poetry and the weather,” said Kimmelman, “there’s nothing better.”
This past summer, PTA members created the school’s first green policy. Fano, a member of the school’s Green Committee, said other schools in New York City have already set examples. At P.S. 132 in Brooklyn, students started a recycling program in 2008 with the non-profit organization Materials for the Arts. In the Upper West Side, compostable sugar cane trays have replaced Styrofoam at P.S. 199, while P.S. 87 has focused on greener food choices in the cafeteria.
In the middle of traffic created by the stilt walkers, pumpkin decorating stations and an appearance by a Chewbacca costume, the festival crowd at P.S.166 also painted a large banner that read “350.” While Saturday’s rain prevented the scheduled banner presentation from coinciding with the International Day of Climate Action, the school still sent a photograph to international organization 350.org, complete with plenty of smiles.
Photo Credit: Peggy Truong
At the seed planting station, parent volunteer Vincent Hickey gave lessons on growing basil and parsley. “Remember to give it some sun. You’ll see results in about 14 days,” Hickey told a mini superhero standing before him. The father of a first grader at P.S. 166, he said green education is necessary at an early age.
“Start ’em while they’re young,” said Hickey, as he patted down a handful of soil into a small planter for the next masked gardener.
Next for Emily Fano and the parents of P.S. 166: winter. The reading garden will soon be budding with winter species. The school also hopes to see new trees arriving from the MillionTreesNYC program, a branch of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative.
“There are pockets of people at this school working on environmental education. If there isn’t this consciousness instilled from the beginning, it’s an uphill struggle,” said Fano.
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