{"id":3828,"date":"2012-04-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=3828"},"modified":"2014-03-16T17:56:16","modified_gmt":"2014-03-17T00:56:16","slug":"the-green-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=3828","title":{"rendered":"The Green Team"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Courtesy<\/a>

Courtesy Sprout Up (EENG)<\/p><\/div>\n

Environmental Education for the Next Generation<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can’t help but smile when I see Strawberry, Banana, Tree and Sun grinning from ear to ear, as they greet Thunder with the thunderous enthusiasm her name deserves. “Yay. Awesome. This is my favorite kind of day,” shout the others. No, this is not some strange morphing of the Nature Channel and H.R. Pufnstuf flashbacks from my childhood. It’s just a regular old Tuesday afternoon, and I’m watching Environmental Education for the Next Generation (EENG) <\/a>at work in Judy Cosio’s second grade classroom at Monroe Elementary School<\/a>. This entirely student-run nonprofit organization-connecting student volunteers from different universities with first and second graders to explore hands-on science experiments and promote sustainable action-is the brainchild of Ryland King, a UCSB undergrad. Inspired by his work as a surf camp counselor with a developmentally disabled child and a volunteer stint at Isla Vista School, King started the group in 2009. “I really kind of learned that when one teaches, many people are affected,” he says.<\/p>\n

Indeed, many, many are affected by King’s vision. This year alone, EENG (which has
\nexpanded from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, and San Francisco)
\nwill connect more than 2,300 elementary school students with college students,
\nproviding the resources for them to traverse the wonders of the natural world
\ntogether. Besides Monroe, local participants include Santa Barbara Charter, Foothill,
\nIsla Vista, Howard, Adams and Hope.<\/p>\n

“It’s so expensive to teach science,” says Jenna Ryan, a UCSB volunteer who also
\nanswers to “Thunder,” her “Nature Team” name. “It’s such a bummer because I
\nthink science is the most captivating discipline by far if you have the resources to let
\nkids get dirty and play with materials and things. The cool thing is that EENG is
\ntotally free of charge to teachers and we volunteer … taking a little bit of the burden
\noff the school, while still allowing kids to really develop their imagination and jump
\ninto things.”<\/p>\n

“As you can see, the kids just love it when they come,” says Ms. Cosio. That’s an
\nunderstatement. The kids practically tackle their team leaders with excitement the
\nmoment they walk in the door.<\/p>\n

“You can just tell how enthusiastic they are and how empowered they are by the end
\nof it. … I’m blown away every time by how inspiring it is,” says Ryan.<\/p>\n

The lesson I observed was the Environmental Extravaganza, where the kids recap
\nwhat they’ve learned over the last eight weeks. Topics include renewable energy
\nresources, soil science and water conservation. Based on the Jeopardy-style quiz
\nused to review the lessons with the kids, they definitely knew their stuff.<\/p>\n

Forming teams with five or fewer children per volunteer creates an energetic
\ndynamic between the young students and the college-student volunteers. It looks
\nlike a cross between school and a really great nature camp.<\/p>\n

One of King’s goals is to provide positive role models “who have a passion for
\neducation or a care and love for the environment and taking sustainable action …
\nwhen eight year olds can speak confidently about topics of sustainable action,
\npeople will listen. … The program doesn’t just end with the kids. When they go home
\nand talk with their families about using a reusable bag or turning off the lights or
\nturning off the water after they take a shower or wash their teeth, parents and
\nfamily and friends really think twice.”<\/p>\n

I can certainly attest to that. I became a lot better at turning off the lights when my
\nson started monitoring our electricity usage.<\/p>\n

It’s not just the teachers, kids and their families that benefit. The college students
\nare also developing what King calls “professional skills with a soul.”<\/p>\n

Ryan, an Environmental Studies major, agrees, noting, “I think that EENG is cool
\nbecause it really spans through all of the disciplines. I’m in a group with a
\nphilosophy major and a chemical engineering major and people that aren’t
\nnecessarily the crunchy greenies that maybe I spend most of my time with in my
\nclasses. It’s a really cool thing that you can either connect to the environmental
\naspect of it or you connect to the really cool personal aspect of it, the social
\nentrepreneurship aspect of it and investing in the next generation of young people.”<\/p>\n

In addition to mentoring the elementary school students, college students also
\nmentor each other, training new volunteers as EENG grows.<\/p>\n

“I think one thing is that everyone who works with us is so passionate about it that
\nit isn’t work. For us it’s a bunch of fun,” says King. “It’s hundreds of different college
\nstudents that have the same passion about the work that are making EENG what it is
\nand it’s really a team effort.”<\/p>\n

==<\/p>\n

For more information about Environmental Education for the Next Generation or to
\ndonate visit www.eeng.org<\/a>. A gala fundraiser is planned for May 13. Check the
\nwebsite for further details, as well as additional information on how to bring EENG,
\nfree of charge, to your elementary school.<\/p>\n

Originally published in the\u00a0Santa Barbara Daily Sound\u00a0<\/a>on April 6, 2012.<\/p>\n

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