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Participant Accomplishments
Many GREEN Teachers Institute (GTI) participants go on to initiate intriguing projects with their own students. Often, these projects benefit local communities in significant ways. Several such projects are described briefly below.
East Fork Project
After participating in several GTI workshops, teachers in rural Clermont County developed the East Fork Project, an integrated science and social sciences unit that takes place entirely outside, to examine the countywide impact of the construction of East Fork State Park and Lake Harsha. Funded by a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the unit requires students to look at the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the park and lake, which are ideal outdoor classrooms. A soil study, biotic stream index, economic assessment, and governmental study (which examines the issue of eminent domain, among others) are major elements of the unit. In 1998, the project won a statewide "Best Practice Award" for excellence in education, and although the grant period has expired, the unit is still used by teachers in the county.
Vermicomposting Program
John Farmer, a fifth-grade teacher at Ayer Elementary in suburban Hamilton County, started a schoolwide vermicomposting program to reduce the amount of food wastes generated by students, teachers, and staff members. Guided by Mr. Farmer, students run the program, collecting food scraps from the cafeteria in order to maintain vermicompost (worm) bins. Inside the bins, earthworms—with the help of soil microbes—break the scraps down into their constituent nutrients. One product of this process is nutrient-rich earthworm castings (wastes), which the students and Mr. Farmer sell as a high-quality soil supplement to area residents and businesses. All profits from the vermicomposting program, which is still in operation today, are used to purchase equipment for the school's science program.
Butterfly/Wildflower and Japanese Gardens
As a result of the advanced workshop's emphasis on the natural history of native butterflies and other endemic species, teachers at numerous schools in Clermont, Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties have started butterfly gardens or natural areas on school grounds or have greatly enhanced and expanded existing areas. Marcia Davis, who works with at-risk students at Clermont's Amelia Middle School, provides an excellent example of this dynamic type of learning. Ms. Davis's students helped to design and create both a butterfly/wildflower garden and a smaller Japanese garden. The students did much of the work, digging out garden beds and planting, mulching, and weeding them. Ms. Davis sought needed donations (plants, shrubs, garden benches, supplies, and so forth) from local garden centers; the students wrote thank-you notes to the donor businesses. Through their work, the students learned a great deal about plants, plant and animal interactions (particularly with respect to butterflies and their caterpillar larvae), and soils. As an additional benefit of their work, they also gained a measure of self-respect; the students take great pride in the beautiful surroundings that they have helped to create for the entire school.