A teacher and students using horticulture to change their world
This is a great TEDx Talk featuring teacher Stephen Ritz and his Bronx classroom. According to the YouTube page, “With the help of extended student and community family they have grown over 25,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. His Bronx classroom features the first indoor edible wall in NYC DOE which routinely generates enough produce to feed 450 students healthy meals and trains the youngest nationally certified workforce in America.”
The future is now, and horticulture will play a huge role. Very cool.
This is the most inspiring thing I’ve seen anywhere in a long time Trey. Thank you for posting about it. I shared it with a friend who found an article from February reporting the unfortunate and quiet shutting down of the program with no explanation. So very sad. There is always two sides to every story and naturally we would assume after watching the video that the school is wrong. Too bad they leave us with that, and their community without a great program, and the rest of us to wonder why something this great couldn’t be continued and expanded to fill what seems like endless need to help kids in desperate situations overcome and triumph. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-02-02/news/31019179_1_ritz-first-vertical-garden-summer-jobs
Sid,
What a drag! Why was he told to move to the basement and stop growing food? I wonder why?
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