Earthschool…because earth is cool

INTRODUCTIONProgram Director: Deanna BraggsAudience: Social Service & Community Outreach ProvidersPurpose: To present a new idea for implementing change, assisting at-risk students, and creating sustainable communitiesProgram: A discovery group for children in grades Kindergarten through 8th, which is based on the whole child / holistic approach to teaching and mentoring children.

Youth At-Risk CharacteristicsHomeless or transientInvolved in drugs and alcoholAbused sexually, physically or

emotionallyMentally illNeglected at home or live in stressful

family environmentsLacking social or emotional supportsInvolved with delinquent peershttp://schoolengagement.org/school-engagement-services/at-risk-youth

Youth At-Risk

TruancyFailing gradesCriminal activityAlcohol/drug useHomelessnessSuicideTeenage

pregnancyUnemployment

Drug/alcohol treatment

Family/individual therapy

Anger management

Character education components

Effects & Implications Solutions

http://schoolengagement.org/school-engagement-services/at-risk-youth

Mission StatementTo bring about a deep, self-

replicating cultural change within children that will inspire learning and will eventually bring about beneficial changes in the greater society Vision Statement

Inspiring children to benefit greater society through an environmentally conscious method

ObjectivesTo create life-long learnersTo teach skills that will increase a child’s

chances at successTo provide educational tutoring and

mentorshipTo promote good character traits and

behaviorTo strengthen child / parent and family /

community relationshipsTo introduce another perspective of life

to the community - Permaculture

Way of Life1. Hunter / Gather

Finding food daily through hunting or gathering it from the forest. No class groups. Life depends on resilience and hard work.

2. Horticulture

Tending small scale gardens and keeping a few domesticated animals for independent use. Hunting and gathering is still part of survival. Perennials used more than annuals. No class groups. Life depends on resilience and hard work.

3. Agriculture

The cultivation of large areas for specific plants and domesticating animals in larger numbers in order to provide for larger communities. The use of annuals more than perennials. Larger ecosystems destroyed in order to produce quantity instead of quality. Different class groups needed; land owners and workers.

4. IndustryOrganized economic activity connected with the production, manufacture, or construction of a particular product or range of product. The system depends on the large scale use of technology, which must be fueled by a source of power, which at this point is largely non-renewable. Different class groups needed; business owners and workers.

5. Permaculture

Consciously designed landscapes, which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature. These can be small or large scale. Focused on creating balance and unity, and considering humans as part of an ecosystem instead of outside it. No class groups; Life depends on resilience and hard work.

Culture is a way of thinking.

1. Hunter / Gatherer:Humans are at the mercy of the earth. The earth is a powerful adversary. Yet , it is also our life force - we could not survive without it. 2. Horticulture:

Humans and earth are co-habitants both fighting for survival.

3. Agriculture:The earth is at the mercy of mankind. It is there for us to subjugate and use as we see fit. We are the life force and it is a resource.

5. Permaculture:Humans are interconnected with nature. We are tenders of the garden. We can be both mutually beneficial or harmful to each other.

4. Industry:The natural world is unfamiliar and virtually unneeded. Humanity can take care of itself. Technology is our life source.

Earthschool is about restoring the balance.

“When I am showing my children the footprints in the snow and asking them who they belong to, I am teaching them awareness…traversing streams takes courage and good planning…offering seeds to the birds when everything is covered in ice is an act of kindness…observing a wasp fill underground cells with food for its young exemplifies devotion…digging the deepest hole requires strategy and strength…knowing how to start fires without matches is security, as is being able to safely identify wild edibles.” ~ Lorin Keel

“Creative genius is not the accumulation of knowledge; it is the ability to see patterns in the universe, to detect hidden links between what is and what could be.”

~Richard Louv

Education is an experience

Principles of Social Permaculture:1. One must realize that abundance

springs forth from relationships2. One must recognize and work with

patterns3. One must feed what one wants to

grow4. One must value diversity5. One must develop respect,

kindness, and trust

If You Hold a Seed…

…And make a wish

…And plant it in the ground

….Something magical can happen

ReferencesLouv, Richard (1998).The Nature

Principle. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

Louv, Richard (2005). Last Child in the Woods. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

National Center for School Engagement. (n.d.). At-risk youth. Retrieved from http://www.schoolengagement.org/index.cfm/index.cfm/At-risk%20Youth