Last year, GYF reached across the Atlantic and began delivering its education and recycling program to students in Accra, Ghana, in conjunction with the NYU Accra program. The following is a Q-and-A with GYF’s latest Ghana intern, Yvonna Pearson.

Tell us a little about your background. Where did you grow up, what are some things you did before you started working with GYF?

I was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and am the youngest of three children, two girls and one boy. Growing up in the suburbs of DC allowed me to become more connected with my surroundings. Whether I was going to the playground with other neighborhood children or exploring the outdoors while hanging in the pear tree in my backyard, I enjoyed taking part in the joys nature had to offer me. I attribute these early interactions to what later developed into a keen interest in how my surroundings worked. As a college student at New York University, I translated this into an internship in a research lab at Georgetown University in the biochemistry department. It was not until my second year at NYU that I was exposed to environmental science and could not get enough of the intricacies of the human impact on our environment and was motivated to become a part of the movement to lift this planet up out of the dire situation it is now in. Having now declared environmental science as my major, GYF has set me on the track to move, not only myself, but those who surround me in the same direction as well.

What has been the most gratifying part about teaching the GYF curriculum to the students?

I believe that the children I taught at La Enobal public school in Accra through GYF were the finest examples of where Ghana is now and where it will be in the future as far as environmental consciousness and development. Mostly due to the fact that the majority of the students at La Enobal public school were of financially deprived backgrounds, they did not have the exposure to environmentalism that children in more developed countries may have. But knowledge, especially such as this, should not be a privilege but rather a right. The most gratifying part about teaching the GYF curriculum to these students was having this right realized.

What part have the students reacted to most favorably?

The students at La Enobal were enthused from the moment they were given the task of becoming “environmental detectives” in the local communities. This task seemed to reach into them the most given the closeness they have to the people and places that surround them. Their eagerness to become a part of a solution to the many environmental issues about which they learned through the curriculum was also more cause to be the great detectives they became.

How can you judge whether the material is having an impact on them?

Throughout the lessons, I stressed the importance of taking charge and being a part of the solution to littering rather than a variable of the problem. After hosting a school clean-up day the children were exposed to the value of picking up litter rather than adding to the litter. I heard the impact of the material on them as I came to the school the next week and heard “pick up your trash, you must pick it up!” from a number of the students in my class!

Do you believe they will bring this information into their communities and make a difference?

 I do believe the students that I taught at La Enobal will bring this information into their communities. During the lessons, I heard the enthusiasm to improve upon their communities through their eagerness to answer questions as well as listening to examples of how they were reducing, reusing, or recycling in their daily activities. I also saw their willingness to bring about change through the more than 25 students, mostly from my class, who were eager to join the newly developed Eco-Force club, which is dedicated to the implementation of sustainable awareness through school activities.

Angelou Ezeilo speaking in Sisters Chapel

Angelou Ezeilo, Executive Director of the Greening Youth Foundation, has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Local Community Service Award by Spelman College, Ezeilo’s alma mater. In a ceremony on the school’s Atlanta campus on November 15, Spelman College President Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum presented Ezeilo with the award in recognition of the work she has done on behalf of young people and the environment with the founding of the Greening Youth Foundation.

“We are so delighted you are able to be back here with us certainly as a role model to all our students that are here, representing our tagline—a choice to change the world,” Tatum said in front of a packed house in Spelman’s Sisters Chapel. “Truly you are making that choice to change the world and enlivening our commitment to sustainability.”

In addition to a plaque, Ezeilo was presented with a mural illustrating the importance of recycling, which was done by Spelman’s Bonner Scholars Green Team, a group of exemplary Spelman undergraduates who have been working with Greening Youth Foundation to bring GYF’s environmental education curriculum to public school students in Atlanta.

“It’s such an inspiration to see a Spelman sister of mine come back as a woman and accept this award,” Bonner Scholar Delores Wilson told the audience as she presented the mural to Ezeilo. “I can only hope that after graduating from Spelman, I would impact the community as much as you have. To my other Spelman sisters, I charge you to follow in the footsteps of Miss Ezeilo.”

Fighting back tears, Ezeilo took the stage and said that it was such a great honor to return to her alma mater 20 years after her graduation and receive the prestigious award. She credited her parents, Walter and Helen Chiles, and Spelman College for playing such crucial roles in shaping the woman she is today.

“The nurturing I received here is like no other,” Ezeilo said. “I learned the true meaning of sisterhood here. I have friends all over the world, and we are still so close. The networking we formed here was so amazing. Thank you to Spelman for giving me my wings. When I left here, there was nothing I felt I couldn’t do.”

Past winners of the Spelman Local Community Service Award include Fulton County Commissioner Nancy Boxill, Judge Glenda Hatchett, 100 Black Men of America and the National Black Arts Festival.

FOR RELEASE

September 29, 2011

Program Will Honor Schools for Excellence in Environmental Education, Sustainable Facilities and Healthy Practices

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today invited states to take part in the inaugural year of the Green Ribbon Schools program, which will recognize schools for reducing environmental impact on their communities, promoting healthy school environments for their own students and staff, and offering high-quality environmental education.

The program was developed by the Department with support and advice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

The award aims to encourage energy and resource conservation measures that can lead to cost savings and job creation; environmental and behavioral changes to promote health and productivity among students, staff and other occupants; and the use of environmental and sustainability education to support students’ preparedness for some of the nation’s fastest growing employment sectors

In a video message featured on the Department of Education’s blog, Duncan said, “Our goal is to encourage all of our nation’s schools and communities to work towards a future where school facilities have no adverse environmental impact, have a positive effect on students’ health, and enable students to become environmentally literate citizens who are well prepared for the 21^st century economy.”

Duncan’s announcement included details on the program’s eligibility requirements and nominating process. State education authorities will nominate schools based on their success in promoting healthy and sustainable environments and conducting environmental education. Nominated schools will also need to be in compliance with federal civil rights and federal, state and local health, safety and environmental statutory and regulatory requirements.

Duncan urged state and local school officials to review the various documents made available online today so that they might “get started right now in identifying their best candidates for the Green Ribbon award” for the first (pilot) year of program.

“Green Ribbon award guidelines focus on steps that will make our Nation’s schools healthier and more sustainable,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Quality.  “This program will help to ensure that our students are equipped to meet 21^st century demands and learn in an environment that is second to none.”

“With as much time as our children spend in school over the years, it makes sense for us to do everything we can to protect their health, encourage wellness, and make sure they are getting the most productivity out of their hours in the classroom. Green Ribbon Schools well help foster the changes needed to protect and support our students, teachers and school staff, and brighten their future in the process,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

The Department plans to provide a nominee submission deadline in early 2012 and announce the first Green Ribbon Schools before the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

More information on Green Ribbon Schools can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/

Bill to address health, economic and future conservation concerns by supporting state, local and federal strategies

Just days after American kids took to the outdoors for Halloween, two members of Congress have formally suggested we make it a year-round habit—but without the costumes and candy.

Rep. Ron Kind (WI) and Sen. Mark Udall (CO) introduced House and Senate versions of the Healthy Kids Outdoors Act today to support state, local and federal strategies to connect youth and families with the natural world, with an eye toward improving children’s health and supporting future economic growth and conservation efforts.

“The nature of childhood has changed, and there isn’t much nature in it,” said Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation’s president and CEO. “National Wildlife Federation commends Congressman Ron Kind and Senator Mark Udall for introducing legislation that will strengthen the economy by getting Americans moving through recreation and active outdoor play.”

Getting Childhood Back Outdoors

The Healthy Kids Outdoors Act represents the spearhead of a national movement to get childhood back outdoors, a pointed response to the approximately 13 million U.S. children and adolescents who are obese and the increasingly screen-bound lifestyle that got them there. Just last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics cautioned that parents should limit their young kids’ TV and other screen time, and even the amount of time they spend watching TV near their kids. A recent report from Common Sense Media found that ‘screen time’ is higher than ever for American kids despite such warnings.

Recent studies have also shown that children between the ages of 8-18 are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago, devoting an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to entertainment media in a typical day instead. By working toward partnerships to encourage outdoor recreation, Rep. Kind, Sen. Udall and supporters in OAK aim to put some of the nature back into childhood.

Nature as an Economic Driver

As American childhood—and recreation—has moved indoors, local and state economies have suffered along with it. The drop in outdoor recreation has translated into less revenue for outdoor retailers, local tourist destinations or “gateway communities,” and state fish and wildlife agencies.

On a national level, outdoor recreation contributes $730 billion annually to the economy (including $289 billion in retail sales and services), supports 6.5 million jobs and provides sustainable growth in many rural communities—one more reason to encourage it and make it accessible.

“[The bill] supports our vibrant outdoor economy, which is especially important in Colorado and to our rural mountain communities,” said Sen. Udall.

Shepherding the Conservationists of Tomorrow

One of the most important benefit of getting kids outdoors and in nature is the effect it may have on future conservation efforts.

A 2006 study (PDF) from Cornell researchers found that doing outdoor activities like hiking, hunting or camping as a kid positively impacts a person’s attitudes toward nature (and environmentally conscious behavior) as an adult, and that the most direct route to caring about environmental stewardship as an adult is participating in “wild nature activities” before the age of 11.

That report concluded that “youth spending so little time outside may also lead to a dwindling knowledge about biodiversity and… less pro-environmental attitudes and reduced participation in environmentally friendly behaviors as adults.”