Logan Wilson Last Hour

As I spent my last hour of community service in the Temple University area, I begun to feel very accomplished. Wednesday April 26th I spent my time helping Penrose kids with their homework and educating them about their earth community. As I knew very little about the earthing and greening part, tutoring the kids was more of my interest. I finally fully enjoyed doing community service that I liked and related somewhat to my interests. I was glad to end my 10 hours of community service on a great note!

Urban Greening Grant Proposal_Tia Bianchini

Imagine your local grocery store; chances are the shelves are loaded with colorful bags and boxes of processed, artificially flavored and genetically modified foods. In fact, over 70% of the items offered in conventional grocery stores are genetically modified. Meals can be instantly micro-waved or picked up from a fast-food drive through, all with an expected wait time of less than 60 seconds. This is how we are teaching our children to eat. Rather than opt for a raw fruit or vegetable snack, chances are most children choose salty, sugary items that come from a plastic bag and are far from "fresh" but can be obtained quickly. But why is convenience valued over nutritional benefit? In a time when diabetes and high blood pressure are commonly occurring among children, how can no one make the correlation? We are what we eat and it is imperative that we begin to educate our children about the importance of the contents of their lunch bag. Enter the Edible School Yard. In New Orleans a public charter school wanted to ensure the health of their students, families and community and they thought an organic, hands-on learning garden would be the way to do it. The students help with every facet of gardening, from planting to harvesting and eventually even preparing what they have grown into a nutritious meal. Edible Schoolyard New Orleans (ESY NOLA) was founded in 2006 due to the influence of Alice Waters, the chef discussed in Tyler’s case study. The faculty was able to incorporate lessons from academic areas of study, such as math and science, into what is being taught in the garden, bringing the child’s learning experience full circle. The aid of the edible schoolyard has also encouraged the cafeteria menu to change, now offering seasonal, organic produce rather than the aforementioned processed, artificial foods most of us have come to know in the cafeteria. Along with the garden and cafeteria, the edible schoolyard has expanded into a kitchen classroom and has even been integral to involving the community in the healthy food initiative.

Urban Greening Grant Proposal ~ Logan Wilson

In class, my group member Tyler Scott proposed an excellent idea about a program called The Edible Schoolyard. At first the name caught me off guard, and I imagined the cement play ground area I had in elementary school and I instantly jumped on board. When it was time for Recess I rarely had enjoyable memories, with not many playgrounds or activities around me my recess time was we students could make of it. So not only does this project hit home for me, but I know the impact it can have not only on the education in American schools but the future of America as well.

New York City has always been one of my favorite cities in America and I love watching, hearing and learning about how it is changing into a more sustainable environment. As I researched more about The Edible Schoolyard I found  New York City School P.S. 216 and their Edible School Yard Program. The Edible Schoolyard New York at Brooklyn’s P.S. 216 is an official affiliate of the Edible Schoolyard (ESY) program started by Alice Waters at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California in 1995. The Edible Schoolyard at P.S. 216 will be the first four-season example of the ESY program and the first in New York City. Its goal is to create a space in which the schoolchildren plant, harvest, prepare food and eat together, creating a comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum, tied into New York State Standards, that connects food systems to academic subjects such as literacy, science, social studies, math, and the arts. 

Seeing how one school in New Orleans can inspire a school in New York City has inspired me to want to start an Edible Schoolyard at a school in Philadelphia. Not only will this garden teach children how to garden and eat healthy but their hands on experience will strongly excite and impact them to take their pride for the garden home. A program like this not only can start a chain reaction in the community but across the nation. 

Urban Greening Grant Proposal_TylerScott

A lot of people see education as strictly classroom learning.  A place where kids go to school, sit at desks all day and listen and watch teachers at the front of the room.  What if there was a way for kids to get their hands dirty but also have a great learning experience?  As a group we came up with the idea of schools creating outdoor classroom space.  Spaces where nature can be the classroom, where kids can get their hands dirty and learn about the natural environment that they live in.  Our Urban Greening Grant Proposal focuses on the idea of schools creating green outdoor space that teachers are able to use as a tool for teaching and learning.  Students will be able to discover new tools and ideas in these outdoor classrooms and begin to implement them at home, teaching their parents and families the opportunities presented by green urban spaces.

the Edible Schoolyard

As a case study precedent we focused our study around a project called the Edible Schoolyard.  In 1994 Chef Alice Waters and King Middle School Principal Neil Smith teamed up with teachers and members of the community to brainstorm and begin planning the Edible Schoolyard.  

Chef Alice Waters on her PBS film "Alice Waters and Her Delicious Revolution"

Chefs, teachers, gardeners, businesses, administrators, and townspeople shared a common vision of a future garden at King Middle School in California.  Within the first couple of years every King Middle School student attended two kitchen classes in the spring.  In these kitchen classes garden “mentor teachers” taught students about gardening, planting, and growing fresh and organic produce.  Students would then prepare meals from the produce they grew and picked in the garden.  

Overview picture of the ESY garden on the school grounds

As the years passed the gardens and the entire Edible Schoolyard program grew and evolved.  Each spring new plantings were added to the gardens to increase produce variety.  New teaching positions were added and urban green equipment was installed, such as the water collection system and cistern.  In 2003 the garden was flourishing so much that they began to adopt small animals to live on the garden site. 

In the beginning Alice Waters had a vision, as she “envisioned a school curriculum and school lunch program where growing, cooking, and sharing food at the table gives students the knowledge and values to build a humane and sustainable future.”  Through the Chez Panisse Foundation and the Edible Schoolyard teachers and gardeners began to leave an impression not only on their students but the surrounding community as well.  The lessons learned in school, through both garden and kitchen classes, gave students the knowledge and experience to plant, grow, and prepare their own food. 

Kids working hands on creating meals in the kitchen classroom

This enabled students the opportunity to grow their own fresh produce to and live a healthy diet and lifestyle.  The idea is then that the students will take those lessons learned at school and implement them at home; having an influence on their parents and families, and helping them make changes to live a healthier lifestyle.

The garden is used by both the school and community

The Edible Schoolyard is a program that follows great parallels to the type of Urban Greening Grant we are proposing.  It takes into account of using schools as a tool to teach not only the students but also the community as well.  By converting current outdoor school hardscape into gardens and green spaces we not only improve the environment around the school but also the idea of urban gardens and greening, an idea that affects more than those in direct contact with the space.             



Greensaw_Week3_TylerScott

Every week I come back to Greensaw Dave and I get closer and closer to finishing the new bathroom cabinets for the bathroom renovation.  This week we set up the cabinets for a dry run, installing them the same way they will be when they are installed onsite.  First we set the cabinets so they were level and square.  Next we began to cut and measure the trim pieces that framed the cabinets.  We did not glue the trim to the cabinets, rather taping them instead to allow us to easily move them and then assemble them on-site. 



Dry run of cabinets with trim taped to face of cabinets.

After that we measured the cabinets and cut the cabinet faces to fit within.  The faces where then flipped and drilled on the inside, allowing us to install the hinge hardware.  Installed 3” from the top and bottom edge the hinges were then installed to the cabinets, connecting the cabinet face to the cabinet itself. 



Cabinet face drilled for hinge hardware.

Cabinet face with installed hinge hardware.

 Through adjustments in the hardware we were able to correct and square the cabinet face to the cabinet.  At the end of the day we were able to install 3 cabinet doors and cut another 2.


Cabinet faces attached to the cabinets.

At the end of the week we had a preety good understanding of what the cabinets are finally going to look like.  The next step is to look back at the wood samples I did the last couple of weeks and try to pick a finish as to use for the trim for the cabinets.  Dave is trying to find a finish to both match and contrast the color and texture of the cabinet doors.  By next week he is hoping to have the ok from the clients on one the samples so that he can begin to work on the coloring, staining, and finishing of the trim.   

Stewart Middle School Tree Planting [4/9 8am - 2 pm]

Although it was a long day of tree planting at Stewart Middle School, I couldn't have been happier with my volunteering. I always knew tree planting was something special and fun, but I never knew what an impact it would have on myself. Although I did not grow up at Stewart Middle School, I grew up around it and at the many other schools the Norristown School District has. Seeing how run down and depressing they often looked I was extremely excited to beautify this area. Not only did I care a lot about the tree planting, but it was awesome to see how trees were actually planted. Especially since we had just learned about trees and how they effect our area. Unlike my experiences at greensaw, I asked little questions and focused deeply on planting the trees and observing how the land would transform for future. We planted over 60 trees all along the middle schools back yard. The back yard of the middle school also surrounded many community members who I spoke to and they were excited to have these trees. "It's going to make the school and the area so much more beautiful and it's going to be beautiful to watch the trees grow over the years" said neighbor Carol Brown.
Overall my experience was my favorite volunteering experience so far, I really focused on taking great care of these trees while we planted them. I also enjoyed working with many people in the community whom I had never meet before. I'm also interested in seeing how the trees grow under ground over the years, one community member mentioned he wished we could film the roots growing underground to show students exactly how these trees will grow over the years.

Logan Wilson :)

Greensaw_Week2_TylerScott

After getting my feet wet during my first week at Greensaw I was excited to go back and continue working on the bathroom remodeling project.  The wood test samples that I sanded and stained the previous week were dry and ready to be checked out.  Dave walked me through the vision he had for the project, from the materials of the cabinets to the configuration of the small space.  The idea for the cabinets is to create a picture frame, using very smooth and clean wood on the outside while “framing” the rough inside of the cabinet face.  After checking out the various wood samples we did he finally liked one enough to go to the clients and begin to discuss the choices with them. 

Dave’s main title at Greensaw is project manager.  The way I understand it he is the coordinator of everything that goes on with his project.  From meeting with the clients, designing the space, organizing contractors, and managing all of the paperwork, he is the man in charge.  While I was there he got a call from a client about a previous project.  There seemed to be a problem with a window that they installed.  He called up the contractor and asked him to meet him at the house.  Together we went to the house trying to figure out what went wrong with the window.

The big project for this client was a total kitchen remodel.  Everything was changed: appliances, flooring, cabinets, and windows.  When we got there we met the window fabricator Dan.  Dave and Dan talked and discussed the problem with the window (it was beginning to rust and stain the window finish) and came up with a quick solution to the rust problem.  While I was there Dave gave me a chance to see a recently completed Greensaw project.  I was completely blown away by the way they incorporated reclaimed material into the final design.  The simple solutions and designs made the kitchen look great.  It was great to finally get out of the woodshop and see an actual design.  Hopefully within the coming weeks I will be able to help Dave with the new bathroom design and finally see his vision in physical form.