Action Projects

PROMOTE BIKE COMMUTING:

Community Adventure Program (CAP) students at PS1 have decided to take a look at transportation for their 1st Semester 2008 Action Project. In doing so, we found out that most of the students in our class are pretty good at using public transportation (since they can’t drive!). However, we also found that it would be much more efficient and healthy if they could ride their bikes to school, friends houses, on errands, etc.

CAP partnered with Derailer Bicycle Collective to fix up a fleet of bikes for the students. In the end, every student was able to have a functioning bike to take home. Furthermore, students learned about safe routes to school, safety, and most importantly- how to keep their bike in working order.

Many of the donated bikes were completely un-rideable when we got them. Now however, they look almost new! Thank you so much to the volunteers at Derailer for their time, expertise, tools, and extra parts!

SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION:

The Fall 2008 CAP Class at New Vista High School chose to address School Transportation for their Action Project and finished to the tune of packed bike racks! For their action project this quarter students chose to address the issue of individualized transportation in cars. After much brainstorming and many fantastic ideas we broke up into three smaller groups to address biking to school, carpooling, and bus/education.

The project included:

• A bike/walk to school day on October 8th, 2008 where 120 students and teachers participated.
• The creation of a carpool board (pictured below) to help students identify potential routes to school.
• The creation of artwork on the theme “Imagine a Car Free World.”

“I learned many things in this class that I will probably never forget. I truly believe we made an impact on the transportation in Boulder.  All it takes is a couple of small actions to save the earth, so get out there and make a change!” ~Patrick Hopewell

As a culmination of their work students presented to staff of the University of Colorado’s Environmental Center. Their presentation included a panel discussion in which students presented about their school transportation action project and answered questions from the audience.

When asked, “who will take what they have learned in this class and apply it to their lives,” all raised their hands!

“This CAP class was, without a doubt, one of the best classes I have taken at New Vista… CAP helped me understand more about my place in the world and how I want to save it.  CAP exponentially raised my awareness of the interconnected social and environmental issues that are embroiled in the world… it has helped me understand the incredible potential and opportunity I have as a high school student to make a true difference in the world.” ~Josie Brown

EATING ECOLOGICALLY:

Issue: Students from the Spring 2008 Community Adventure Program class at New Vista High School chose to focus their Action Project on the environmental impact of the food industry. They set the intention to spread awareness about the benefits of buying local and organic foods and how this can reduce our environmental footprint.

Plan: After spending time researching what it takes for a business to become eco-friendly or “green,” students decided to interview restaurants around Boulder about their ecological practices. The students asked questions such as, what percent of the restaurant’s food is local and organic, where their meat and seafood comes from, and what the business is doing to reduce their waste and energy consumption. In addition, the students spent three days volunteering at Growing Gardens and Abbondanza Organic Seeds and Produce in Boulder to experience how their food is grown and cultivated. In exchange for their volunteer efforts, students received organic seeds to grow their own organic gardens at home.

“My favorite part of the action project was the time that we spent volunteering on the local farms. I enjoyed that it gave us the opportunity to be outside in the sun working with a tangible aspect of our project. I also felt that it taught us the most valuable lesson that we could have learned from this project - in order to successfully eat ecologically, we must reconnect with our ‘roots’ and know where our food comes from.” Olivia Gray, Community Adventure Program Student.

Impact: Students created a brochure for the local restaurants they interviewed that outlined why it is important to buy local and organic food, easy things they can do to become more ecologically friendly and various resources and suppliers of organic food in the area. The students also created a second brochure to organize all the data they collected from the restaurants, and show what these businesses are already doing to become more green. Students were also featured in the Boulder Daily Camera in an article called, “Students Get Dirty in Lafayette Learning about Locally Grown Food.” It’s refreshing to see positive stories about how students are taking action to change their communities!

REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS:

Issue: According to the Sierra Club, “in the U.S. alone, we throw away 100 billion plastic bags each year — the equivalent of 12 million barrels of oil.” After learning about this statistic, Community Adventure Program students at P.S.1 Charter School wanted to raise an awareness of the environmental impact of plastic grocery bags.

Plan: Students decided to sell reusable grocery bags to help reduce the number of plastic grocery bags that are thrown away each year. Students contacted local businesses to set up a table to sell their bags.

“I was sick and tired of seeing plastic bags stuck in trees and along Cherry Creek. It was nice to work with the Cottonwood Institute to be able to help the community and to be able to help change something. I felt like part of the solution.” Maria Ridgeway, Community Adventure Program Student and Project Manager.

Impact: Students worked together to sell 100 reusable grocery bags and raised $300. Students decided to donate $200 to the MaxFund, a no-kill animal shelter in Denver. They used the other $100 as a fund raiser for their class. Students helped raise an awareness about the environmental impact of plastic grocery bags in the community, developed their communication skills while selling the grocery bags, and practiced philanthropy by donating the money their raised to a local nonprofit in need.

“We were very grateful that these students decided to choose the MaxFund as the beneficiary of their project. This donation will go far and will help us provide food and medical care for approximately 150 stray animals. I am excited that these high school students care so much about issues facing the community and that they had the courage to do something about it.” - Scott Rupp, Assistant Director of the MaxFund.

ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT:

Issue: Community Adventure Program students at New Vista High School decided to be proactive about helping the Boulder community reduce their environmental footprint and their school reduce their carbon footprint.

Plan: Students decided to sell reusable grocery bags and energy efficient light bulbs to encourage Boulder community members to reduce their environmental footprint. With the revenue they generated, they decided to buy wind energy credits to help offset New Vista High School’s carbon footprint.

“This was a good Action Project to take on because it required a lot of involvement with the community and exploring your community is really what CAP is all about. My favorite part of this project was contacting people in charge and requesting that we be able to sell at their store, school, etc.” - Kris Gandrud, Community Adventure Program Student and Project Manager.

Impact: Students sold enough reusable grocery bags and energy efficient light bulbs to buy $506 worth of wind credits from Driven by the Wind. This is the equivalent of saving 48,829 lbs of CO2 emissions and saving 13 tons of coal from being burned! Students practiced their communication skills by selling green products to the Boulder community, philanthropy by donating their proceeds to a local environmental nonprofit, and their efforts made a positive impact in the environment!

“Taking CAP for the second time was a great experience for me. The Action Project was logistically challenging from a leadership standpoint and helped me learn more about how to manage time and resources. Second Quarter CAP also got me further interested in the outdoors and the environment. CAP has been an overall great experience that has made me far more aware of my community and the natural environment surrounding me.” - Ruby Kark-French, Community Adventure Program Student and Project Manager.