LEJer featured in Exploratorium's media channel!

You MUST check out, Jasmine Dow - former LEJ youth, current LEJ Americorps/Public Ally, and future health professional in the name of environmental justice! Watch this audio slideshow that the Exploratorium created as a part of their online media series, Driven. Jasmine talks about her personal and political journey with LEJ, Heron's Head Park, and the EcoCenter... reminding us that there is no such thing as "away" and the vision for environmental justice in Bayview Hunters Point.

The Living Roof is alive!

Check out the beautiful colors exploding from the EcoCenter's living roof! The same folks who designed the Academy of Sciences' living roof - Rana Creek - designed the EcoCenter's roof. Why is the EcoCenter's living roof a little more colorful and robust that the Academy's? The roof installers, Habitat Gardens, laid irrigation lines from in the soil so that the plants are directly watered at the roots! Less water loss than a sprinkler system! In addition to using rainwater, subsurface irrigation is another way that the EcoCenter is reducing water use



LEJ staff recently conducted methane monitoring from the vents on the roof with an intern from Treadwell and Rollo, Shante Austin, who is also a former LEJ youth now studying Environmental Studies and Africana Studies at SF State University. We're excited to continue to work with Shante in this new capacity in which she's sharing with LEJ her new expertise!

Every day is People's Earth Day!

What an eventful month of April!

For LEJ's People's Earth Day, we hosted over 75 students from local schools, 8 different youth science/environmental organizations, and a variety of partners to make a successful PED full of environmental education activities and hands-on the land service. Music, food made by local caterers, hands-on activities, poppy costume, solar-powered water fountain, ZooMobile with an owl and oppossum - we had it all!


Click here for more pictures of the celebratory day!

At the EcoCenter, LEJ is rounding out its year-long series of teacher/educator trainings by collaborating with BMagic (Bayview youth nonprofit collaborative) on a training to incorporate science and the environment into youth programming on May 4 (more pics here).



LEJ's last teacher/educator trainings will occur in collaboration with the Planet Drum Foundation focusing on bioregionalism and low-impact designs (LID). See LEJ's website for more details and registration info.

CORRECTION: Welcome to the NeighborHOOD opens April 9!

Sorry for the confusion.

Welcome to the NeighborHOOD art gallery reception opens Saturday, April 9! Contact Wendy Tetsu at wendytestu@mac.com if you have any questions.

Welcome to the NeighborHOOD art gallery reception on April 9!

THE WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECT:
The collaboration with youth from Literacy for Environmental Justice and and community artists has culminated in the creation of an interactive installation at the EcoCenter!

The Multidisciplinary Artwork was created over the past two years and explores environmental and social justice issues facing the community of Bayview Hunters Point, as seen through the youth’s eyes. Come celebrate with the community the long awaited convergence of the art installation at the EcoCenter.

Reception
Saturday, April 9 from 12-2pm
EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park
Cargo Way and Jennings St., San Francisco, CA 94124

During the opening event:

~ View the full installation of all the artwork
~ Enjoy light refreshments
~ Partake in a youth lead docent tour of the artwork and the Ecocenter.
~ Purchase the artwork and Volume #3 of the photo documentary book about the project:

All proceeds will go to Literacy for Environmental Justice and the EcoCenter. Check out the Facebook event page for more info!

Enviro Ed and Training Partnership profiles LEJ!

Check out this thorough profile of LEJ and the EcoCenter on the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP) website, a EPA-funded project connecting environmental educators and local and state policy-makers!

Water quality from living roofs

Great blog article talking about the water quality of rainwater collected from vegetated roofs versus roofs made from traditional materials (asphalt-fiberglass shingles, Galvalume® metal panels, and concrete tiles). The research on water quality was done in Austin, Texas at Lady Bird Johnson (LBJ) Wildflower Center in Austin, "home to one of the first green roof research plots in the state, testing various commercial green roofing systems and other cool roof technologies over the course of many a hot, Texas summer."

The quick one sentence summary: rainwater collected from vegetated roofs have lower turbidity, nitrates, coliform and heavy metals but higher conductivity, dissolved organic carbon. What does that mean? Some stuff that typically ends up in runoff and stormwater is reduced with vegetated roofs. Yay!