To view the photo-rich magazine version, click here.
Originally appears in the Summer 2020 issue.
By Shakira Provasoli
Teachers across the country have invested countless hours converting classrooms to the digital world during this pandemic. Some subjects are easier to transform than others, and Environmental Science is one that carries confusion, questions, and uncertainties. What happens if, like a few fortunate teachers in New York City, you received an interactive hydroponic lab from NY Sun Works, a non-profit organization that builds innovative science labs in urban schools? What if you are an educator new to both this soilless gardening technique, and to teaching young children to care for the environment? Many teachers with labs explained their time was devoured creating plans for basic core subjects and encouraging kids to commit to video meetings, meaning that they did not have the time nor the expertise to create their own lessons about sustainability. One teacher stated, “I feel overwhelmed creating everything from scratch and I don’t feel I have time for anything extra or fun.” Many educators around the continent and beyond surely echo this sentiment.
NY Sun Works has been focusing on how to help the teachers and children who use their classroom systems. Through their Greenhouse Project Initiative, they use hydroponic farming technology to educate students and teachers about the science of sustainability. With 130 labs currently built, this non-profit knew from the very start of the tentative school closures in New York City that they needed to immediately revamp their curriculum and support their teachers. Of special concern were educators using the hydroponic systems for the first time and seeking ways to bring their students’ attention back to the projects that got abruptly terminated at the start of the pandemic. The health crisis comes on the heels of a recent interest in learning about global warming and its effect on all life on Earth. Young environmentalists may be instrumental in combatting climate change. “The current global crisis has proven that teaching science and sustainability education in grade school is more important than ever. Ensuring the continuity of learning science and facilitating a hands-on experience in times of school disruption has become one of our priorities,” explained Manuela Zamora, the Executive Director of NY Sun Works. Schools across the New York City have spent years investing time in developing green teams and sustainability initiatives that will assist students in creating their own designs for solutions to the climate crisis. In New York City, each school has a designated Sustainability Coordinator, and many principals have sought unique ways to “green” their schools.
The first phase of the revamp involved sorting through the vast K–12 curriculum to find the lessons that did not require direct interaction with a hydroponic system. The next step was to take these lessons and adapt them to interactive Google Slides, which allowed teachers to post directly on Google Classroom or to modify and adapt the slides to the needs of their students. Given that most New York City schools opted to use Google Classroom for remote learning, this was an easy choice. Finally, NY Sun Works decided to create a series of Investigations videos to show maintenance workers setting up projects and planting.
These are simple videos that teachers and students can view together or alone in order to participate in hands-on projects at home, or to simply watch and observe. Students have felt included in the process watching these Investigations, especially as they view the time-lapse scenarios. In addition, NY Sun Works created a virtual youth sustainability conference that brought schools together online to share experiments students created.
Teachers have responded positively to all of the remote lessons and projects, and they have especially appreciated the interactive slides that include directions for the teacher and copies for each student to drag and drop vocabulary items or build a project on the computer. Teachers from all schools enjoyed viewing the students speaking at the youth conference, which helped elevate the importance of sustainability. The Curriculum Specialist and Teacher Trainer at NY Sun Works, Hannah Jaris, says that it has been incredible to view the resilience of teachers, students, education, and of NY Sun Works itself, for “the learning doesn’t stop” in place-based education, even if the place changes.
Of course, NY Sun Works isn’t stopping either! They are continuing to adapt lessons and add more interactive components that encourage creativity and discussion. They also received funding for more remote learning conversions, such as developing the Investigations into larger units with high-quality videos, finishing converting all lessons into Google slides, adding NY Sun Works reports to middle school, and, finally, translating all the NY Sun Works reports and other home documents into Spanish. This will allow this non-profit to create deeper connections with all students.
Zamora emphasized, “We have been pushed to think out of the box and created distance learning materials that correlate with our Hydroponic Greenhouse Classrooms.
This summer, thanks to the support of several foundations, we will take it to the next level by developing new teaching tools and materials, including low-cost hydroponic home kits, that will ensure the extension of our school science program into the student’s home.” These innovative kits will allow students to participate in hands-on projects at home during regular summer months or in the event of a disaster. NY Sun Works is preparing to lead the way in learning and teaching about science while incorporating technology in a meaningful way.
Shakira Provasoli is a K–5 environmental science teacher at PS 333 in New York City. Ms. Provasoli began teaching 21 years ago as an early childhood teacher before following her passion for the natural world to become an educator of the environment. Ms. Provasoli teaches a course on Sustainability for teachers, and she has written curriculum for New York Sun Works’ Greenhouse Project. Ms. Provasoli received a B.A. and an M.S.Ed. from Sarah Lawrence College and STEM certification from Teachers College. She was also honored at the White House, receiving the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Education. Ms. Provasoli is currently a Math for America fellow and a member of the New York City Elementary Science Leadership Team.
