BUGS: Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students

Friday, November 18, 2011

Caterpillars and Rain

To combat the rain and grey skies, the Caterpillars went on an adventure including ice cream cones and the harbor. Students got a quick lesson on the water in the harbor though they seemed more interested in the free sprinkles on their scoopes of sweet ice cream. Here they are in all their glory!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Great Kids Farm!

As part of the STEM component, Ms. Dy took students to Great Kids Farm in Cantonsville, Maryland. For a deeper and authentic understanding of soil, there was worm bins and soil sifting for students to be more "hands on". Their serivce learing helped the farm have richer compost for their spring plantings. Picking out the worms was one of the highlights of the trip. We got to see and learn about the beekeeping houses and thinned out vegetable gardens.

Students had many questions for Beth, our educator at the farm. Later it was off to take a hike to the water and see the goats. A little shy at first, the goats came around and neahed to us which was great to hear. Garlic was the highlight for some as they peeled cloves to understand how a clove can become a whole new garlic bulb and took it upon themselves to nibble on the raw garlic.

Monday, October 31, 2011

ZOOBOO!

Halloween came with a trip to ZOOBOO on Friday, October 28th as we loaded up to the Maryland Zoo. There was a costume change then off to see the wild animals! Students saw many creatures including chimpanzees, penguins, cheetahs, birds, giraffes, and lions that were so close you could touch them. Later the students went trick- or- treating, navigated through a maze and gathered pumpkins. What a scary day it was!

Friday, October 21, 2011

First few weeks in the Creative Arts Studio

These first few weeks in the art studio have found the BUGS students discussing why people make art & why they personally make art (see Maurice), constructing their first self portraits (value self portrait projects pictured below), sewing journals, and completing a basic print making project. It's going to be a year full of glue, paint, clay, hula hoops, sewing machines, learning, fun & growth!

Why Maurice makes art: "I make art because it's really really fun!!"

Below: Shoniqua works in her hand sewn self expression journal.

Value Self Portrait Projects

Students filled their traced profile with images of their personal values and objects they liked and then wrote an artist autobiography.

Working on the Bridgers' Community Values Banner

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

End of Summer/Fall Gardening

Recently in gardening component, students completed a gardening scavenger hunt in which they identified many plants like kale, lettuce and sunflowers.
They did plenty of harvesting and planting and created beautiful gardening journals to record their activities and progress.

How Many Seeds In A Tomato?

Students dissected tomato seeds. Using their estimation skills, they tried to determine the number of seeds in several tomatoes based on the number they counted in the first one. Their estimation skills improved greatly from their first tomato!

Students were amazed at how many tomato plants can be grown from the seeds in just one tomato!

Some End-of-the-Day Rec Room Fun

Camp Puh'Tok Day Trip

New students from Commodore John Rogers got to experience their first trip to the legendary Camp Puh'Tok! They saw and touched many exciting animals and got to cool off in the pool.

Baltimore Orioles Game

On June 8^th
B.U.G.S. watched the Baltimore Orioles vs Oakland. As we munched on peanuts
and popcorn, we cheered and cheered until we could not wait any longer. The Orioles won 3-2!

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, Consultant.

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 Director.
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.

Tyone Pompey, Creative Movement and Dance.

I Just Want To Dance! As a young boy growing up on Baltimore’s Westside I realized early on my passion for the Arts, particularly dance. Growing up as a resident in the inner city there were not many positive outlets for a young man like myself, but I managed to find one at Cahill Performing Arts Recreation Center. This center helped to lay the foundation and growth of this craft for me, in such a magnificent way that I want to be able to do the same for other youth and have been doing so since the age of 17. I’ve been a member of various dance troupes and performed in numerous competitions both local and out of state. Even though I am a recent graduate of Towson University, majoring in Electronic Media and Film, I am still holding true to my love of the arts teaching all who would like to learn the gift of dance.

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.

Valerie Koury, STEM.
I grew up in Osceola, Arkansas and moved to Maryland 11 years ago. I went to UMBC and majored in Psychology. I used to be a cheerleader for my high school and university. I enjoy reading, watching TV, baking, and being crafty. I am a big Orioles and Ravens fan (lets go Os!). Working with children and being a teacher has been my dream since I was 4 years old, so I am excited to be here! I teach STEM and I hope to do a lot of fun experiments this year.

Jason Reed, Gardening and the Environment.

Jason Reed has worked as a garden educator in Baltimore City for the past 5 years. Before that, he lived in Baltimore City as a music student at Peabody conservatory, and toured the country as a performing musician. He is also Director of the Filbert Street Garden, a one-acre outdoor community education space in South Baltimore.

Jason has given workshops and facilitated discussions for the Master Gardeners, Parks and People Foundation, Child First Authority, Towson University, UMBC and more. He is a founding member of the Mid-Atlantic Farm-Based Educators Network. In his own garden, Jason loves growing native herbal plants and perennial fruit bushes, and just hanging out with his chickens.

Kadija Ndiaye, Creative Art.

Kadija graduated from Morgan State University with a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences, her favorite classes were Art, Sewing and Urban Housing and Development.

Kadija has always been passionate about arts and crafts; during her junior year of college she shared her passions as an aftercare teacher at the Green School of Baltimore. During summer vacation you can find Kadija at Baltimore city libraries teaching arts and craft classes. During her free time she enjoys thrifting and DIY projects.