March 2013
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The BYEN Insider
Contents
                                GOAL and TBHA
                       
Enjoy our new Newsletter!
Welcome to the first issue of the BYEN Insider, a monthly newsletter to keep you informed of environmental education, youth employment, and science learning projects and events happening across Boston and Massachusetts. Each issue will spotlight an Organization of the Month and include articles on the happenings of BYEN and active organizations.
 
Thank you for reading,
The BYEN Staff
OotM~ Organization Spotlight ~
 
The organization of the month of March is Alternatives for Community and Environment! ACE builds the power of communities of color and low-income communities in Massachusetts to eradicate environmental racism and classism, create healthy, sustainable communities, and achieve environmental justice. REEP, the youth-led program of ACE, is currently focused on three main issues: 1) reducing diesel emissions that contribute to the asthma epidemic, 2) transforming vacant lots into neighborhood gardens, and 3) reducing the cost of the MBTA for youth riders. Dave Jenkins from ACE recently facilitated a workshop with BYEN to help organizations integrate environmental justice in their youth programs, and REEP youth organizers coordinated "Trying 2 Catch R Breath," a dance-off in Dudley Square to raise awareness of the asthma epidemic in Roxbury.
  
Want to learn more?
 
For teachers and youth workers, bring your teens on an "Environmental Justice Toxic Tour of Dudley Square," led by REEP. Contact David Noiles at [email protected] to schedule a tour.
  
For youth, join REEP at the ACE office for game nights, member meetings, political education, actions and volunteering on any Wednesday or Thursday night. Contact Olmis Sanchez, [email protected], for more information.
 
Congratulations, ACE! Thanks for the work that you do!
newsNews and Events
 
Youth Workforce Partnerships Award

 

 

The Boston Youth Environmental Network was awarded the Youth Workforce Partnerships Award at the 3rd Annual Massachusetts Jobs and Workforce Summit last October.

  
CEC and the MA Job Shadow Day
  
  
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center showed several students what it's like to work in the clean energy industry on February 1st. Job Shadow Day is hosted by the Boston Private Industry Council. See pictures here
The Program Manager Workshop Series Continues...
  
Come attend workshops that teach you subjects to add to your programs! The next will be on March 8 and focus on wind energy curriculum for youth employment programs. Click here for more information and to register!
AmericorpEveryday Explorers AmeriCorps Members Teach Science in OST!
  
Americorps members pose with the turbines they made with their students.
The Everyday Explorers Program connects dedicated AmeriCorps members with afterschool programs around Boston, where they work with site staff to implement hands-on science learning projects and to lead students on community projects.
 
Once a month, the Everyday Explorers AmeriCorps members gather to participate in workshops to help them develop their afterschool programs. The January workshop's focus was "Integrating Service-Learning" and highlighted how service-learning is more than just community-service by students; it is also education through hands-on means by which they identify, research ,and address real community challenges. In the workshop, the AmeriCorps members discussed ways that they could help their students to better their communities using the science they learn.
 
Lavell Williams, a member stationed at the Mattahunt Community Center with the Boys & Girls Club, elaborated. "I do projects to guide them and make sure what they know what they want to do. I help them find what they find concerning. [For example,] during a tour, if a kid points out the dead-end sidewalks, then I work with them to fix those issues. Dead end sidewalks that don't go anywhere, they can be dangerous because students have to walk on the streets." The AmeriCorps members empower their students by bringing them to recognize and address issues in their community.
  
To read the entire article, click here.
EJWorkshopEnvironmental Justice Workshop for Program Managers
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Facilitator Dave Jenkins looks on as participants write down their thoughts.
The Program Managers Workshop Series is a series offered by BYEN as part of the Urban Youth Park Stewardship Initiative, and provides environmentally-aware content to be incorporated into programs. The first of the series took off on January 25, with Dave Jenkins from ACE facilitating conversation on concepts of environmental justice. Youth-serving organizations from both in and arond Boston sent representatives to learn from and network with each other.
 
Dave gave a brief but illuminating history on the environmental justice movement, then took the attendees on the Toxic Tour of Dudley, in which he showed sites where youth were able to bring about changes in previously dangerous and harmful areas. The workshop finished off with members sharing the different methods they used to talk to their students about concepts of injustice.

 

During the training, the members recieved papers, studies, and other resources to supplement their own knowledge and curriculums. Those resources and the the rest of the article can be accessed here. For more information on the upcoming workshops, check out the News and Events above.

TBHAGOAL Collaboration with The Boston Harbor Association
  
Students are excited to be on Deer Island!
The Boston Harbor Association's (TBHA's) "Harbor Bound" program serves hundreds of high school students every year. In 2012, TBHA partnered with BYEN's Get Out and Learn! (GOAL) initiative to connect their resources with their intended audience, the Boston public high school students, marking GOAL's expansion into serving high school students. With this partnership, TBHA was able to focus on providing the experiences while BYEN connected students to this opportunity, and together they served a record 600 students last year.

On every part of the program, from the ferry ride to the walking tour, participants are engaged in hands-on learning. For many students and sometimes for the accompanying supervisors, these trips are the first time they have been on the Harbor, even though they live so close by. The Harbor Bound trip is an eye-opening experience, where the students feel a sense of belonging and gratitude for the availability of these spaces,and understanding that they are the future stewards of these natural resources.
  
TBHA and BYEN plan to continue their collaboration with more tours for the coming spring. More information on the Harbor Bound program as well as direct applications can be found here.

 

The rest of the article can be found here.

Who are we?
The Boston Youth Environmental Networkan initiative of Boston After School & Beyond, is a comprehensive system of organizations providing hands-on environmental education and employment opportunities for children and youth.

 

 

Our resources and connections help individual providers more effectively engage kids in outdoor learning, academic achievement and career exploration.

Want your organization highlighted in the BYEN Insider? Shoot us an email with a two-paragraph description of what your organization does and what events/activities you are doing!
  
Do you have an event, a program, a conference, job openings, or other opportunities centered on environmental education or youth employment? Let us know and we'll put it on our website!