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"e" inc.'s environmental science and action program uses the Allandale Urban Wild to teach forest eco-systems to city kids |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Dr. Ricky Stern, Founder and Executive Director
"e" inc.-The Environmental Learning & Action Center
Phone: (617)-227-1522
http://www.e-action.us
info@e-action.us
"Exploration in the City," a summer program serving 300 campers
Boston, MA (August 8, 2009) - "Exploration in the City,"
is a unique summer field project specially crafted for city kids who
rarely have an opportunity to experience and explore the natural world
around them. Based in the Jamaica Plain/ West Roxbury Allandale Urban
Wild, the largest forest in the city, the program brings in kids from
summer day camps from all Boston neighborhoods for activities designed
to expand their understanding of the forest and natural eco-systems.
The program was created by "e" inc. -- the environmental learning
and action center based in Boston.
Currently, nine urban summer day camp programs are participating in
this "e" inc. program that emphasizes the
importance of exploring and preserving the green spaces of our city.
"Exploration in the City," also provides an active learning
experience that is fun for children who attend. As part of the curriculum,
children help conserve the forest by creating visitor guides and by
adding plantings to a special conservation area within the Allandale
Urban Wild.
"e" inc. is partnered with the Springhouse
Elderly Assisted Living Center, which generously donated an indoor
classroom space for the children to use for games and arts activities.
During their visit, campers create ‘impressions' of the forest
using arts media and journals. On their walks the children are engaged
in games, investigations, and activities that help them understand
the workings of the ecosystems they are seeing. Whether they are encountering
toads, fish, or frogs in or near the pond or seeing birds and dragonflies
in the woodland areas the children begin to gain both knowledge and
new experiences during their day in the woods.
"Our goal is that the youngsters not only understand science but gain
a 'greater curiosity and a change of heart' about the importance of
protecting natural spaces in the city," said Dr. Ricky Stern, "e"
inc.'s Executive Director.
Each year, "e" inc. brings in-depth science
programs to approximately 800 children and youth in Greater Boston.
This June, "e" inc. received the Promising
Practices Award from Academy for Educational Development,
an international NGO based in Washington D.C., that is focused on
innovative academic curriculum for children and youth.
About "e" inc.
"e" inc. is an environmental education and
action center and currently brings in-residence programs to afterschool
programs located in the Boston neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury,
Mattapan, Brighton, and the South End. Through "e"
inc's environmental science investigations and its concurrent
action curriculum, all of its students have implemented ongoing projects
in their schools and neighborhoods that address such diverse issues
as global warming, rain forest protection, and ocean bio-diversity.
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