What happened last year...
Vertical Gardening and Air Purifying Plants
We learned how to propagate and transplant plants that are known to clean the air of specific toxins. These plants will be part of our indoor vertical garden.
Clay "Chia Pet" Sculptures
Students learned basic hand building techniques to create their very own chia pets! Once fired, these sculptures will help us germinate chia seeds. In connection to sustainability, we are studying the benefits of particular plants. In particular, how chia is a plant that can grow in extreme conditions and is also a superfood--How can this knowledge benefit urban gardeners?
Printmaking
Our students are printmaking for their field study guides, which will cover extinct, endangered and existing flora and fauna native to NYC. They researched plants and animals of their choice, drafted sketches, transformed those drawings into linoleum block carvings, and are now transferring their image to recycled paper!
Paper Recycling Begins!
Working as a community to teach each other the papermaking process!
Researching the People's Library Project and writing about the sustainability connections.
The People's Library:
The People's Library is a socially engaged art project that originated in Richmond, VA. Local artists teamed with the Main Library to recycle old library books into new journals. The new journals were printed with writing prompts and re-shelved in a special section at the library. Anyone with a library card can check out a blank book, write their own story, and then return the book to the library to be checked out and read by the public.
The project allows community members to contribute their story to the library while recycling books that would have otherwise gone to a landfill.
As a part of our study we will understand the sustainability principle of "The Commons" and visit our local library.
Students will recycle used paper and old books at BUGS to make new field study journals. These journals will be displayed at the Windsor Terrace Library and explored by young community members during the "Reading Hour".
Weaving Across Cultures Unit:
Our students have been working hard on their God's Eye projects! They used found objects from Prospect Park to follow the traditional weaving methods of South Ghana and South West America (Navajo). Each student personalized their weaving by coding each color with a specific meaning. The end result? Projects that are representative of each student's life, personality, and culture!
Digging up grubs in the garden! What else lives here?
