Learning about the environment and building birdhouses on Earth Day
Abstract
Corresponding with Earth Day, 2002, four AmeriCorps members from Habitat for Humanity, New York City held their community service project in Fort Tryon Park in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. The members partnered with approximately 30 sixth grade students and four AmeriCorps members from the New York Restoration Project (NYRP) to build birdhouses and learn about the environment through a nature walk in the park. Rebecca C. Hines, Program Manager of Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps, submitted this effective practice in April 2002.Issue
Creating an Earth Day event for middle school students that is both fun and informative.Action
- Corresponding with Earth Day, 2002, four AmeriCorps members from Habitat for Humanity, New York City held their community service project in Fort Tryon Park in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan.
- Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps members partnered with approximately 30 sixth grade students from Intermediate School (IS) 218 and 4 AmeriCorps members from the New York Restoration Project (NYRP) to build birdhouses and learn about the environment through a nature walk through the park.
- Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps members spent many hours in preparation for the event — prefabricating the birdhouses for the project, which included pre-drilling so that the students would be able to easily assemble them, and meeting with teachers from IS 218 and AmeriCorps members from NYRP.
- Members arrived early on the day of the event to set up in the park.
- The class was split into two groups of fifteen. While one group went on a nature walk with AmeriCorps members from NYRP and a representative from the Audubon Society, the other group put together and painted their birdhouses with AmeriCorps members from Habitat for Humanity.
- When the groups reconvened, the Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps members gave a presentation about services they provide for the community.
- The presentation was followed by a healthy picnic style lunch. Habitat for Humanity provided the supplies for students to make their own lunches.
- After lunch, students who made birdhouses presented them.
- About sixty people, including staff at Habitat for Humanity and parents of the students, attended the event.
Context
Habitat for Humanity, New York City, is one of more than 1,500 United States affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International (2002), an ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing from the world and is committed to the development and uplifting of families and communities, in addition to the construction of homes. The NYC affiliate was created in 1984 when New York City was selected as the first Jimmy Carter Work Project. Habitat for Humanity, New York City currently builds in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
Founded by Bette Midler in 1995, the nonprofit New York Restoration Project reclaims and revitalizes neglected parks and public spaces that are part of 26,000 acres of playgrounds, recreation areas, trails, gardens and more than 100 miles of protected waterfront. NYRP employs model programs designed to encourage citizen involvement, builds lasting partnerships with government, fosters new economic enterprise, and nurtures community development that results in lasting change.
From 1995 to 2002, NYRP has:
- Removed more than 75,000 tons of debris from neglected sites around the city
- Reclaimed 200 acres of parkland throughout the city
- Created Swindler Cove, a new park and floating boathouse along the Harlem River that will open in spring of 2003
- Served more than 1,600 students a year with environmental educational programs
- Helped save 114 community gardens through New York City from the auction block, and purchased and maintained 51 of these sites
- Opened the New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tryon Park as a way to generate income for city parks through concessions
- Created and implemented a new set of standards for the Adopt-A-Highway program along the Henry Hudson Parkway
AmeriCorps members help recruit, train, and supervise, and serve alongside community volunteers to ensure that local needs can be addressed when their terms of service come to an end. NYRP AmeriCorps teams carry out the daily work of the project — cleaning, restoring, maintaining, and creating parkland and shorelines in northern Manhattan and working with community gardeners throughout the five boroughs of New York City.
IS 218 strives to create an educational environment that offers a rigorous focus on the core curriculum as well as providing opportunities for innovative exploration. IS 218 aims to prepare students to meet the highest standards and challenges of life through an academically challenging curriculum, to bring all students to their full potential through the cooperative efforts of family and faculty, and to engage students in activities which prepare them to become productive individuals in their schools and in their communities.
Outcome
Middle school students from IS 218:- Built birdhouses that they could take home with them, which will further engage them in the study of nature and the environment.
- Increased their knowledge about birds and birding activities through a nature walk in the park.
- Learned about national and community service from firsthand testimony from members in the field.
Posted On
July 25, 2002For More Information