Contribute
to "e"!
"e" inc. is dedicated to answering
the question, "How can we create conservation citizens
for life?" If you'd like to be part of this important
mission, you can donate to us by mail or online.
To donate by mail, please send to:
"e" inc.
One Kendall Square
PMB #132
Cambridge, MA 02139
You can also make a secure online
donation through our website, www.e-action.us.
Thank you!
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Administrator Wanted
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"e" inc. is
looking for an Administrator to manage its downtown Boston office. We
seek an organized, independent worker starting at 12 hours/week. Hours
can be arranged around pre-existing commitments within the work-week.
Duties
include: Office management and organization, ordering supplies,
contracts, maintenance of database, mailings, filing, occasional
writing tasks, liaison with other staff, school sites and
Board Members, managing Constant Contact outreach, researching
information and occasionally working under short deadlines, other tasks
as assigned.
% match toward health insurance available.
Required: 1-2 years office experience, professional phone manner, proficiency writing in English, knowledge of MS Office
Preferred: Knowledge of Constant Contact (we can train), experience with graphic design programs.
To apply: Please send your resume and a letter of introduction to Dr. Ricky Stern, Executive Director, at drickystern@e-action.us
Please note: In order to be considered for this position you MUST include a cover letter. |
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"e"
inc.'s new "Look Outside Your Window" Program
takes wing!
by Chamberlain Segrest, Education Coordinator
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With the addition of 100
new, and very hungry pets, "e" inc.'s
new curriculum, "Look Outside Your Window"
has wiggled its way into the hearts of the after-school
students at the John Chittick Elementary School.
Their new pets are earthworms, Red Wigglers to
be precise, and the students are in charge of
keeping them healthy and happy. They
make sure that their home is kept dark, slightly
moist, and above all, that they are NEVER hungry.
They keep their pets satiated with food scraps,
many of which are brought from the student's home.
Initially,
the worm bin was included to teach the students
about nutrient recycling, but it has evolved into
something much bigger. It is a living model
of how everything on earth, living or nonliving,
is connected, including humans. The choice
to simply toss an apple core into the trash is
now a serious offense, since the children recently
discovered that it is a favorite snack of the
Red Wiggler. And it doesn't end there!
These Red Wigglers are decomposers, and they are
returning valuable nutrients from that apple core
to the soil. In a few short weeks the reconditioned
soil will be used by the students in their garden,
which, as you might have guessed, will start the
cycle all over again. |
"Look Outside Your Window" is
the newest addition to the "e" inc.
curricula. It was created through monies
donated by the Wallace Foundation and administered
by the Boston After School and Beyond program.
Piloted at the Chittick School in Mattapan,
"Look Outside Your Window" was created
to expose and immerse students in their local
ecosystem. Because nature is in constant
flux, this 10-week-per team program changes with
the seasons. With each new group that comes
to the program, a new focal animal is introduced.
In the fall the students observed and recorded
the behavior of the Grey Squirrel as it painstakingly
prepared itself for winter. When the snow began
to fall, the students turned their attention to
several different species of local birds and learned
how they adapt to the harsh realities of winter.
Come spring the students will focus on butterflies,
rearing a local species from egg to adult.
Furthermore, our participants are learning that
areas in their neighborhood are actually habitats
for these animals, and they have been formulating
and initiating action plans to improve them.
The second-graders organized a writing campaign
to Mayor Menino asking for his help in creating
a greener community. The fourth- and fifth-graders
are working diligently to enhance their school
recycling program. In addition, both groups
have planted tree seeds and taken a pledge to
keep their schoolyard clean.
A letter recently sent to
Boston Mayor Menino by a 2nd grader from Chittick
Elementary School
Ms. Courtney
Forrester, the dynamic "e" inc. educator
at the Chittick, has done a singular job of bringing
this new curriculum to life. The students
are really involved in their action projects and
work on them throughout the week. As for
the science portion, well, as Stephanie, a fifth-grader
at Chittick put it, "I used to hate science.
It was so boring. But now I love it!"
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"e"
Appears at the Cambridge Science Festival sponsored
by the MIT Museum
For nine days in April and
May, the City of Cambridge will erupt with 200
free events that are open to the public and are
designed to excite, engage and educate all comers.
Started by the MIT Museum, the Cambridge Science
Festival highlights all the aspects of science
exploration that are carried out in the many important
institutions of Cambridge. The program kicks off
with a special family carnival and we at "e" inc.
have been asked to join the party.
"e" inc. will be in Cambridge
on April 26th from 12-4pm at the Senior Center
across from Cambridge City Hall to help kick off
the Festival. We will be bringing our outreach
program "Investigating the Amazon Rainforest"
which will engage children and teach them about
the Amazon Rainforest, the animals that inhabit
it and the concrete ways we can help offset its
deforestation. This family event will provide
children and adults with hands-on science experiences
where they can learn about the rainforest, create
replicas of its many wonderful inhabitants, search
for them in a festival-wide scavenger hunt. Finally,
the children will learn what they can do right
away to make a difference.
Students at Lynn Arts show
off their model of the Amazon Rainforest after
a recent workshop given by "e" inc.
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"e" joins Swiss
Consulate to teach about climate change as part
of Cambridge Science Festival
On May 3rd at the MIT Museum,"e"
will present an abbreviated version of its workshop
on global warming, "How to Be Cool About
Getting Hot", as part of Swiss House's
"Climate Change Walk", highlighting environmental
issues and solution-finders in Cambridge. In programming
for families, the Consulate intends to bring the
concern of climate change into sharper focus.
"e" will be there to help
children and parents literally get their hands
around aspects of the issue through activities
and demonstrations. Please drop by. The workshop
will revolve for several hours from 12-4pm. You
and your children will get an opportunity to have
some fun as you learn!
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"e" inc. Tackles
Climate Change in "How to Be
Cool About Getting Hot"
We are running out of
time! To
hold off the undoubted effects of climate change
and to achieve any possible holding pattern that
might keep the worst effects at bay, our children
and families must understand what climate change
actually is and how to participate in the all-important
conservation efforts and (dare we say) sacrifice
that this issue demands. In "How to Be
Cool About Getting Hot", the "e" inc.
global warming workshop, students gain information
on earth science, energy, global climate patterns
and the reactions of carbon, oxygen and CO2. In
addition, they learn about how current consumption
patterns in our country and in their lives are
having effects on our Earth from the local community
to the villages of others across the globe. The
value of the civics embedded within these ideas
is incalculable.
"e" inc. is now bringing its two-hour Global
Warming Workshop to classrooms throughout the
Commonwealth in both public and parochial schools.
At every site we visit, we are seeing several
sets of classes, offering each a program filled
with experiments, modeling, demonstrations, and
data collection. The workshop is geared
to children in the fourth grade and older, with
activities tailored to the ages of the participants.
"e" inc. does its program with individual
classes and sees up to three at every school.
This is to make it possible for all the children
to have a wonderful, hands-on, fun experience
and still come away understanding the science
that is driving this all important issue.
Our methods are geared toward making the complicated
accessible as, for example, when students recreate
the process of fossil fuel formation using puddings
and cake. Activities are structured to help children
and teens investigate and draw conclusions as
we touch on such important concepts as the relation
of the sun to Earth, the role carbon plays in
our lives, and the impact of greenhouse gasses
on various animal habitats. As well as being fun,
"How to Be Cool About Getting Hot"
helps our kids form an understanding of the repercussions
of their actions on the global environment.
As with all "e" programming,
science merges with action. While engaging with
theories, our students are also asked to pledge
to take concrete steps to lessen the impact of
CO2 emissions in their class, school and home.
Our kids make a difference!
For information on how you can bring "How to
Be Cool About Getting Hot" to your school
or after-school, please phone us at: 617-227-1522
or write info@e-action.us. |
"e"
Participates in Medford's 5th Annual River Day
Continuing its whirlwind
spring tour of schools and festivals, "e" inc
will present "Marvelous Macros of the Mystic:
How Bugs Tell the Story of Your River" during
Medford's 5th annual River Day celebrations on
May 30th from 8:30am-1pm. The festival occurs
on the banks of the Mystic River near the Madeline
Dugger Andrews Middle School.
This year's theme is "The Mystic River: Past and
Present". "e" will deliver a workshop on what
bugs can be found in the river and what they can
say about the environmental health of the ecosystem.
Students will learn how to catch and analyse bugs,
make field guides and determine what can be done
to improve the water quality of the Mystic. |
"e" inc. Welcomes
New Board Member
"e" is
pleased to welcome Lisa Lewis to its Board of
Directors. Ms. Lewis has been a member of the
Board since November 2007 when she was recruited
by Executive Director Ricky Stern because of her
unique understanding of the non-profit and real
estate sectors. She has worked as a construction
project manager in affordable housing development,
and for seven years with the Boys & Girls
Clubs of Boston, planning, renovating, expanding
and constructing new recreational and educational
program space for kids in Chelsea and Boston.
She now manages projects for Lodobe Builders,
a residential general contractor specializing
in green construction, and Solar Works, Inc.,
a designer and installer of solar power systems.
She brings to the board experience in and knowledge
about youth service as well as building sustainable,
healthy environments. Lisa is a native of Boston
and lives in Jamaica Plain.
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Introducing
the First Annual Planet Protectors Graduation
and Swearing-In Ceremony!
Join our surprise celebrity
guest as they swear in 15 teams of new Planet
Protectors
Hold on to your hats ladies and gents! The time
is almost here for "e" inc. to
celebrate our students' accomplishments at our
first annual Planet Protectors Award Ceremony
this June. While we make the final touches on
our plans for the reception, and before a full
announcement and invitation to all of you, we
wanted you to know of our upcoming plans! All
of the children who have participated in our Planet
Protectors program who can demonstrate
their ongoing action projects will receive recognition.
We will celebrate them at a special site to be
named soon where all will be feted and will demonstrate
their efforts and outcomes in poster displays.
Imagine 150 young people in Boston being applauded
for their efforts to make change!
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"e"
Creates New CFL Bulbs Program
For Earth Day or any day,
please consider buying your household's store
of compact fluorescent lightbulbs from "e" inc.
by visiting our online
store. By purchasing from the Greenmarket
link, you will be donating a percentage of every
bulb sold to "e". Not only are you greening your
home, but you are also purchasing lessons on global
warming and the rainforest for children throughout
Boston and Cambridge. Two carbon offsets in one
click! The Greenmarket site provides statistics
for money saved and carbon saved per bulb. Very
impressive. Don't be the last kid on your block
to own some CFLs!
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