Micki's Page

cool about "your" worms!! I'm gonna need help getting started soon...

Oh, and I assume you saw the composting thing in Times today?

This is kinda last minute, but Madeline mentioned the pos of dumpster diving tomorrow. Are you up for it? Have written to M just now. Sorry I missed brunch, but I have crowded weekends, for some reason.

Micki, I've asked Madeline about a crash course in freeganism. She says that Fridays are good in our nabe. Would you be up for this Friday? I wish I could see how to CC, but I asked M. about this Friday. Ruta would like to go to. What say? P

hey! good to see you last week.

Regarding the BCUE's curriculum -- it is really fantastic and I'm so grateful to have such an active gren group in the nabe -- but it is VERY expensive! As a cofounder of PS 321 go green a few years ago, I was really active in seeking out curriculum for the school's many green teachers. BCUE had great field trips and ideas, but the costs were prohibitive. I'm all for BCUE and totally support it, but the reason why its curriculum might not be used so much has less to do with the parents and more to do with the cost.

Also, you're right about the DOE -- they rely on parents to get things started. A better resource is the Department of Sanitation which has a really fantastic website called WasteLesswith recycling via their WasteLess website. We called there and they sent over great materials -- from wastepaper baskets to coloring books to videotapes. I haven't checked recently, but you should check it out:
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http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/home/home.shtml

As a note, moer schools should look into Roots and Shoots - thanks to Peter and Willa and a really active teacher Sara Greenfield, it continues to be a really great program.

I would love to attend that film screening but already have plans. Blue Vinyl was very influential in my shift to a sustainable lifestyle.

Any plans for future screenings?

Well, the club was in Park Slope--which gave us a leg up. P.S. 321 already had a parent Green Committee, which was very active in recycling and other issues at the school. Both the principal and Green Committee were enthusiastic about starting a Roots & Shoots, seeing it as a sort of junior GC. (We branched out the second semester to endangered animals, which the kids really wanted to work for: we raised $300 to help save the Mexican gray wolf and the snow leopard.)

So the idea of starting a club had a lot of support. The club met after school from 3-4;15. In addition to me, we had another parent leader and got funding for a teacher. There were about 20 kids. (That may seem like a lot of people, but kids are WILD right after school. I once had to run it by myself, and I just wanted to go home and have a drink!

My daughter has moved on to a different middle school, but they are continuing the club in pretty much the same way.

I think that the kids in my club will now be well-informed ambassadors for conservation, recycling, etc. I think it would be fantastic to try to spread this. I don't know anything about the DOE, so I don't how hard it would be to incorporate in the curriculum. Could it be a part of science? An elective? Would it be better to try and spread R&S? There's a NYC coordinator, but I had little contact with her.

Carrie says that a lot of this would be up to parents. Do they have say in local curriculum decisions. Also, sorry, I don't what BCUE is. I was just the "science guy," but I learned a lot about crafts and projects to make the science more interesting to the kids.

P.S. I'm very close by, on Ocean Ave near Glenwood.

Hey Micki,

Can you post a recap of your SC on the group page? I'd love to hear about it! And you can post photos if you have some. Thanks for hosting!