BUGS: Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students

Monday, May 21, 2012

Orielos VS Rangers

The BUGS students recently went to see the Baltimore Orielos play. This tripped was paid for by one of the Oriole's pitchers who was generous enough to give our students tickets, hats, and t-shirts.

They even got to meet the Mascot, The Oriole Bird.

Watching a big moment in the game!

In the end, even though the Orioles did not win, all of the students had a great time.

Monday, May 14, 2012

May 5th Farmers Market at Living Classrooms

As Part of the Farmers Market on May 5, 2012 students sold candles they made. Votives, Taper and Container candles sold fast as students really highlighted their customer service skills! It was a success! We almost sold out. Looking forward to next year!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

BUGS Community Day

Last Friday BUGS students got a chance to switch up their normal groups to get to know each other better and participate in some social emotional learning activities. They made an "eruption" (of diet coke and mentos) and discussed their methods of dealing with anger. They took turns answering questions about their personalities and dreams. They created a BUGS "self portrait" garden. Afterwards they got a snack during an award ceremony where students were recognized in different categories like growth, homework effort, leadership, attendance, and component stars. A fun time was had by all!

Seeding For The BUGS Farmers Market

Monday, April 30, 2012

BUGS Artists get ready for the Farmers Market

BUGS artists & entrepreneurs have been getting ready for the Farmers Market! We have been learning to make duct tape purses and wallets and have been hard at work sewing dream pillows and filling them with flax seed and dried lavender from the BUGS garden. Dream pillows and duct tape wallets will be available for purchase at Saturday's market!

Button Up Visits the Butterflies

Thanks again Ms. Pam and Ms. Emily! The Butterflies had lots of fun learning about entrepreneurship and making awesome buttons

Ms. Linda displays her button proudly

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Waterfront Kitchen adventures

The BUGS students have been busy in the Waterfront Kitchen! Every Monday the Cooking & Nutrition students go to work with Chef Jerry at the Waterfront kitchen's kitchen. Recently the BUGS have been working on food for their annual Farmer's Market!

Taking a snack break!

Back to chopping!

Egg cracking expert!

What is BUGS?

The Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) Program of Living Classrooms Foundation works with children from under-served Baltimore City communities throughout the year with an after-school program as well as a summer program. The program's primary goal is to empower and inspire our children to develop academically, creatively, and socially.

The BUGS program serves 60 students from the Butchers Hill/Patterson Park/Fells Point community. Many of our students reside in public housing and low-income neighborhoods. These students have little access to green space and few extra-curricular activities available to them. The program engages youth in learning while providing them with a safe and healthy alternative to the streets.

BUGS is a national model program that uses activities such as cooking, gardening, creative arts and movement, and entrepreneurial projects to help increase academic performance in reading and math and improve student behavior. The program provides a dynamic learning environment at the Living Classrooms East Harbor campus, with access to vegetable and flower gardens planted by the students, and the only wetlands on Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Our 1:10 instructor/student ratio provides youth with the close attention they need to succeed socially and academically.

BUGS Staff

Michelle Koehler, Program Director.

Michelle is the new Program Director for the BUGS Program. Michelle came to Living Classrooms in 1996 and worked on our farm, shipboard, and outreach programs. She was also the After School Program Coordinator, Renaissance Summer Program Director, and Program Manager of the Land-based Department. Michelle graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History.

Outside of work, Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She also has a passion for traveling. She has been all over Europe, Central America, South America, and Mexico and has plans to continue her travels.

Algernon Campbell, Program Manager.
Mr. Algernon is originally from Savannah, GA. He is a graduate of Morehouse College with a B.A in Theatre and Drama as well as a graduate of the Certificate of Dance Program from the Ailey School. He has danced with the Dallas Black Dance Theatre for 4 seasons and for other renowned choreographers. He has danced nationally and internationally in such countries as Japan, Austria, and Zimbabwe. He has lived in many cities and now resides in Baltimore County. He is a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer at the Morton Street Dance Center and Greater York Center for Dance Education.

___, Dance and Movement.

Martin Zang, Cooking and Nutrition.
Martin Zang is originally from Manchester, Michigan, a small town that barely could be seen on a map. He has recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University where he studied History and Political Science. Martin has always had a passion for cooking and healthy eating instilled in him by his Parents. He has worked in numerous restaurants in as many positions; this gave him the opportunity to learn more about food then just how to eat it. In his free time Martin likes to teach himself new recipes, have cookouts with friends, grow his own food, and do a little wood working.

Dy Adamson, STEM.
Dy had recently worked with BUGS students as a Reading Specialist, guiding children through reading and writing activities to help them overcome obstacles to literacy. She worked as a Science teacher with EBLO's after school program- Mi Segunda Casa. She has taught students from under served communities in a public school setting at Capital City Public Charter School in DC. Also, Dy has worked with special education and Deaf students. Participating in the National Science Teachers Association conference in Philadelphia helped make it clear that she has a love for Science. Her B.A. in Elementary Education from Gallaudet University and her A.A.S. in American Sign Language has paved the way for her. She left DC to come to Baltimore last year and joined the BUGS staff in 2010. Outside of BUGS Dy likes to cook, garden, take photographs, and visit museums. You might see her at the Farmers Market on the weekends.

Kat Freeman, Creative Arts.

Kat recently graduated from Smith College in Northampton, MA where she majored in sociology and learned about everything from printmaking to South African film. During the last five years she has lived in Switzerland and Cameroon and loves learning about new places, meeting new people, and broadening her understanding of the world. During this time she also worked at the Pocono Environmental Center leading hikes, at the Fellowhip Farm in New York state growing vegetables, and at an organic family run orchard in MA. Kat has been living in Baltimore for over a year now and enjoys the craziness of the city, biking through Druid Hill Park, snowballs, stoop sitting, and being creative with the BUGS students.

Melissa Weinberg, Gardening and the Environment.

After graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute, Melissa moved to Brooklyn, NY where worked for a professional photographer, an environmental/animal rights non-profit, and as an expert juice maker! She then left the excitement of the big city for the joys of organic vegetable farming in Orange County, NY. After that amazing experience and a month in Nicaragua, Melissa found herself drawn back to her hometown of Baltimore to work as Assistant Farmer at a local CSA. In the fall of 2008 she joined the BUGS staff as the gardening teacher and couldn't be happier about it. She is a certified master gardener and an active member of the urban agriculture community in Baltimore. Outside of BUGS, Melissa loves to travel, learn about psychology, cook for friends and family, take photographs, and write.