Thursday, March 1, 2012

Putting the Green Back in Green School



            Noah got the idea from an eco-village in Israel. “They had a compost system, a garden and an educational part too,” the junior at Eugene Lang said. Those three divisions are what make up Noah Strousse’s independent project—a program at The Green School that educates students about ecology and composting.

            The Green School, a 384-student high school in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg, is “an academy for environmental careers.” The school statement on their theme says, “We are called The Green School because we are interested in growth and in creating a more balanced and sustainable world.” But according to Noah the students are not designated to this high school based upon any interest in ecology or sustainability.

            His project is built in the corner of the schoolyard, in one of the only patches of grass in the school—and the neighborhood. There’s a garden that is “about 20 to 30 feet” He laughed and said that he has volunteer help from “four of the nerdiest (students) you could imagine.” Other than those few kids, he says that most kids look at him with “general confusion” and they ask why Eric Clapton is playing with their trash.

            Noah received a “Civil Engagement and Social Justice grant at the beginning of the semester. He had done social work in schools in east Los Angeles before, and wanted to try something new. Last semester, Noah began work at The Green School with his class “Education at Work” and found that while most of the teachers were enthusiastic, very few of them had time to help. Most of the school’s founders are not there anymore.

            The grant “like $970 after taxes” from the Spencer Foundation—which is a charity that “invests in education research for the purpose of making education research better,” according to their website. He’s currently building the base of the garden with help from a couple of students and community volunteers. He cites the importance of composting and New York’s general ignorance towards sustainability as reasons for his young project. “It’s really hard to find opportunities (to compost). It’s so easy but no one does it.”

            The plan is not to overhaul the educational system, only to integrate ecology into the existing curriculum. “When the teacher talks about water, maybe they can talk about New York tap water. When they talk about the sun, maybe talk about using solar energy in Manhattan.” When asked what the main reasons composting is not popular in New York City, Noah gave three reasons. “People don’t know how, no one really has the space, and it’s the most consumerist city in America. You’re just used to buying things and throwing them out.”

            “I’m hypocritical too,” he said as we walked through Astor Place. We passed by a construction zone with a recently demolished building. Outside the construction walls someone had spraypainted, imagine a park here. “We all try to do the right thing,” Noah continued, “but then we do something else.”

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