Downtown HS's culminating projects pass on the story of environmental justice to elementary school students!

Downtown High School's WALC (Wilderness, Arts, and Literacy Collaborative) had been partnering with LEJ's Heron's Head Park program all semester long, returning multiple times for hands-on service learning field trips. From the very beginning of the semester, the high school students - many of which didn't succeed in the traditional school system yet thrive in WALC's more relevant, interactive approaches to learning - knew that their final projects would include working with little kids. But were they ready?

At the beginning of the semester, the WALC students met their audience: elementary school students. They read to them children's books to see what they would be interested in. Throughout the semester, the WALC students layered their skills - drawing nature images, learning scientific concepts, digging deeper into environmental and cultural ethics - in order to create their own children's books and activities for the same elementary school students. The results? An amazing day of exploration for the little ones and the teens in which WALC students passed on their own stories of environmental justice. LEJ staff sat back and watched the transformation of all the students unfold at the EcoCenter and Heron's Head Park.

Check out pictures of the various stations that the WALC students set up. The elementary school students divided up into manageable groups and rotated through each station.

Here come the little ones!

One of the stations was habitat restoration in the transition zone next to the wetlands.

In another station, WALC students read the books that they wrote and
drew to elementary students on the EcoCenter's back patio.

At this station at the "Stumping Grounds" in the park, WALC students
used maps to explain Bayview Hunter's Point's history of environmental
pollution  and injustice... as well as its residents' resiliency to demand change.

More opportunities for reading indoors in the cozy EcoCenter.

Much appreciations and props to lead teacher, Catherine Salvin, and lead LEJ staff member, Raynelle Rino, for making the partnership happen!

CCSF uses the EcoCenter as a "living laboratory"

Earlier this month, City College of SF instructor Yeggie Dearborn came to the EcoCenter to collect water samples from the wastewater treatment system to demonstrate to students appropriate water sampling techniques and the significance of various water quality indicators. This hopefully will pave way for a deeper long-term relationship with CCSF in which students use the EcoCenter's unique systems as inspiration for monitoring or research projects. We love working with CCSF!

CCSF Instructor Yeggie Dearborn

CCSF students intently capturing water sampling testing techniques as they observe Yeggie.

Samples taken for the beginning of wastewater treatment testing

It’s Halloween at the EcoCenter, and the first-year sampling and testing of effluent from the EcoCenter’s on-site wastewater treatment system has begun.  SF Water technicians are shown drawing a sample from one of the treatment tanks.

SF PUC staff hope to use their experience at the EcoCenter to compare the results with that of the larger planned on-site wastewater treatment facility to be installed in the SFPUC’s new headquarters downtown.

Living Building Challenge comes to the EcoCenter

On August 30, the Living Building Challenge hosted a 6-hour long workshop at the EcoCenter on an in-depth introduction on the philosophy and rationale of the building certification and strategies to obtain it. Attendees included the green building leaders in their community: design professionals, contractors, developers, owners, government officials and employees of public agencies. Thank you to the International Living Future Institute (parent organization of the LBC) for choosing to rent and support the EcoCenter! 

Source: Bullitt Center

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.