Wyandotte High School Students Work With Mayor and GM Engineers to Improve Environment
Kansas City, KS (PRWEB) March 10, 2014 -- Students from Wyandotte High School are getting much deserved attention for stepping up as environmental leaders in their community. This week, Mayor Holland will join the students as they work work directly with environmental engineers to build birdhouses on the plant’s property, as part of GM’s habitat restorations goals. The event will be held at the John F. Kennedy Community Center, 1310 N. 10th Street, Kansas City, KS, on Wednesday, March 12, from 2-4 p.m.
This opportunity stemmed from the Environmental Education (EE) Community Connections program that 10 Wyandotte High School students have been participating in. Through the program, the students are mentoring 5th graders from Douglas Elementary School about the importance of taking care of the environment.
The EE Community Connections program supports youth as leaders who can effect change around the environment and in their community by using STEM design solutions to address local environmental issues. In the fall of 2013, Blue River Watershed Association began working with the high school students, teaching them about watersheds, stormwater runoff, and the detrimental effects of pollution on urban rivers and streams. Students learned more firsthand when they went to a nearby stream and tested the quality of the water. Now, during the spring semester, the high school students are sharing what they’ve learned at Douglas Elementary School. Their hope is to create the next generation of environmentally literate students.
“This program is an example of community based science. The community reached out to these organizations to provide authentic STEM experiences for the youth in this neighborhood. Through this program, science, and innovation become common experiences, as common as basketball, to support youth in becoming the scientists and inventors of tomorrow,” says Richard Mabion, a community partner supporting the young people.
The EE Community Connections program is a partnership between Blue River Watershed Association, Wyandotte High School, Johnson County U.S. Green Building Council, and G. Jordon Community Development supported by national non-profit Earth Force, through the Building Environmental Education Communities Small Grants Program, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Kristen Mueller, Earth Force Inc., http://www.earthforce.org, +1 (314) 640-4413, [email protected]
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