Earthschool …because earth is cool

INTRODUCTION Program Director: Deanna Braggs Audience: Social Service & Community Outreach Providers Purpose: To present a new idea for implementing change, assisting at-risk students, and creating sustainable communities Program: A discovery group for children in grades Kindergarten through 8 th, which is based on the whole child / holistic approach to teaching and mentoring children.

Youth At-Risk Characteristics Homeless or transient Involved in drugs and alcohol Abused sexually, physically or emotionally Mentally ill Neglected at home or live in stressful family environments Lacking social or emotional supports Involved with delinquent peers

Youth At-Risk Truancy Failing grades Criminal activity Alcohol/drug use Homelessness Suicide Teenage pregnancy Unemployment Drug/alcohol treatment Family/individual therapy Anger management Character education components Effects & ImplicationsSolutions

Mission Statement To bring about a deep, self-replicating cultural change within children that will inspire learning and will eventually bring about beneficial changes in the greater society Vision Statement Inspiring children to benefit greater society through an environmentally conscious method

Objectives To create life-long learners To teach skills that will increase a child’s chances at success To provide educational tutoring and mentorship To promote good character traits and behavior To strengthen child / parent and family / community relationships To introduce another perspective of life to the community - Permaculture

Way of Life 1. Hunter / Gather Finding food daily through hunting or gathering it from the forest. No class groups. Life depends on resilience and hard work. 2. Horticulture Tending small scale gardens and keeping a few domesticated animals for independent use. Hunting and gathering is still part of survival. Perennials used more than annuals. No class groups. Life depends on resilience and hard work. 3. Agriculture The cultivation of large areas for specific plants and domesticating animals in larger numbers in order to provide for larger communities. The use of annuals more than perennials. Larger ecosystems destroyed in order to produce quantity instead of quality. Different class groups needed; land owners and workers. 4. Industry Organized economic activity connected with the production, manufacture, or construction of a particular product or range of product. The system depends on the large scale use of technology, which must be fueled by a source of power, which at this point is largely non-renewable. Different class groups needed; business owners and workers. 5. Permaculture Consciously designed landscapes, which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature. These can be small or large scale. Focused on creating balance and unity, and considering humans as part of an ecosystem instead of outside it. No class groups; Life depends on resilience and hard work.

Culture is a way of thinking. 1. Hunter / Gatherer: Humans are at the mercy of the earth. The earth is a powerful adversary. Yet, it is also our life force - we could not survive without it. 2. Horticulture: Humans and earth are co- habitants both fighting for survival. 3. Agriculture: The earth is at the mercy of mankind. It is there for us to subjugate and use as we see fit. We are the life force and it is a resource. 5. Permaculture: Humans are interconnected with nature. We are tenders of the garden. We can be both mutually beneficial or harmful to each other. 4. Industry: The natural world is unfamiliar and virtually unneeded. Humanity can take care of itself. Technology is our life source.

Earthschool is about restoring the balance. “When I am showing my children the footprints in the snow and asking them who they belong to, I am teaching them awareness…traversing streams takes courage and good planning…offering seeds to the birds when everything is covered in ice is an act of kindness…observing a wasp fill underground cells with food for its young exemplifies devotion…digging the deepest hole requires strategy and strength…knowing how to start fires without matches is security, as is being able to safely identify wild edibles.” ~ Lorin Keel “Creative genius is not the accumulation of knowledge; it is the ability to see patterns in the universe, to detect hidden links between what is and what could be.” ~Richard Louv

Education is an experience Principles of Social Permaculture: 1.One must realize that abundance springs forth from relationships 2.One must recognize and work with patterns 3.One must feed what one wants to grow 4.One must value diversity 5.One must develop respect, kindness, and trust

If You Hold a Seed… …And make a wish …And plant it in the ground ….Something magical can happen

References Louv, Richard (1998).The Nature Principle. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill Louv, Richard (2005). Last Child in the Woods. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill National Center for School Engagement. (n.d.). At-risk youth. Retrieved from /index.cfm/At-risk%20Youth /index.cfm/At-risk%20Youth