BUGS: Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students

Friday, May 3, 2013

Come see our chicken coop on Saturday!

At the BUGS Farmers' Market this Saturday come visit the BUGS' chickens who are happily moved into their beautiful new coop (chicken mansion)! An enormous thank you to our friends from Fresh Start - Mr. Josh, Mr. Jeff, Mr. Jim and the Fresh Start students who did such an amazing job building it! You are awesome and the chickens are so happy!

The chickens' new digs

Friday, April 12, 2013

A couple of weeks back, I got to have a great time in the BUGS STEM program with the Spiders!! They did some truly hard work and super cool stuff.

The Spiders discussed what is alike about all humans -- we all wear clothes and we all learn -- and also discussed differences and where they come from -- it's DNA! They also took some body measurements and found out there are relationships between how tall you are and how wide your arms are.

Then we spent a lot of time at the Duck Pond at Patterson Park. We me some great observations about duck behavior. We answered the question, "Why are those two ducks fighting?" (It was over a girl duck!) And we did a clean-up day around the Duck Pond. We collected A LOT of trash! Now the ducks' home is that much nicer!

Finally, we made melt-n-pour soap!! These soap cakes will be for sale at the BUGS Farmers' Market so be sure to come and check it out!!!!!

But it wasn't all hard work....As you can see, they discovered the game of Squish the Lemon!

~Neta Scarpari
BUGS STEM Teacher

Friday, March 22, 2013

BUGS Farmers Market 2013!

Coming Soon! Mark your calendars for the...

2013 BUGS Farmers Market

Saturday May 4th, 10-1 at

802 S. Caroline St., Baltimore, MD 21231

Rain or Shine!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Chickens, Seedlings & Gourd Crafts

The Bridgers have been busy these past two weeks - taking care of our growing chickens, planting seeds, and working on unique gourd crafts!


Of our 13 chickens, 7 were baby roosters who had to go back to live on the farm. The 6 hens are enjoying all the new extra space and the first hen has been named - Shadow.


Planting tomatoes!

Gourd Project

The first step was to clean the gourds by scrubbing them to remove dirt and mold.

Some students removed the seeds which had either dried in a big clump or broken up into smaller chunks and dust.

William looks at a magazine to get ideas for his project.

Scooping out the inside to make a drinking gourd

Scrubbing reveals the beautiful natural colors of the gourd.

One gourd was made to look like a chicken

Oiling the gourd to give it a soft shine

The finished product - a beautiful bowl!

Filled with dried peas this gourd became a musical instrument

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Chicken Video

The Tadpoles made a short video to introduce the chicks to their parents!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Chicks are now 2 weeks old!

This week the chicks will celebrate their 2 week birthday! The tadpoles have been learning about how chicks grow, what chicks need to be healthy and how to care for our chicks as they grow.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Exploring the Moon!

The Butterflies have had a blast the last week exploring the Moon! First, they created Moon Journal's to observe and record the phases of the Moon and find out how long it takes for the Moon to go through all of its phases. The phases of the Moon are: New, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, and Waning Crescent.

They also explored what happened to Earth's craters by creating a crater in flour and using a rock as a meteorite. They girls made some great analysis about the differences between the Moon and the Earth! They hypothesized that there are no sandstorms on the Moon because there is no air and, therefore, the Moon's craters don't get swept away.

Finally, they did an experiment to learn which type of asteroids (meteorites that land on the Moon) make the biggest craters. The accompanying pictures show the girls engaging in this experiment.

Great work, Butterflies!! You all have promising futures as planetary geologists!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

From eggs to chicks!

After 3 long weeks of watching over our eggs in the incubator, the BUGS students were able to see the first pip (a chick's first hole in her egg) in the first egg and the next day watched a baby chick hatch! On Monday night the first four eggs hatched and Tuesday during the day four more baby chicks hatched! Now there are 13 baby chicks for the BUGS students to watch over. Some of the baby chicks will go back to live with Ms. Karen in Virginia but some will stay here and live at BUGS! We are all excited to watch them grow!

Eggs and baby chicks that have just hatched in the incubator!

Just one day old and keeping warm in the brooder!

Yesterday we held our baby chicks for the first time!

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.