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by Melinda Tuhus | Mar 23, 2009 11:18 am

(4) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Environment, Schools

A group of eighth graders at Fair Haven School are going to be part of New Haven’s — and maybe the world’s — first Earthathon. It’s way for local folks to accomplish earth-friendly projects for themselves, for the planet, and for hard-working people of Nicaragua.

The Earthathon is the brainchild of Chris Schweitzer, a staffer at the New Haven/León Sister City Project.

Participants will collect pledges for green activities undertaken between April 10 and May 10 — like commuting on two wheels instead of four, or busing to work, or working in the Fair Haven School greenhouse, or swearing off meat for a week. These actions will promote sustainability at home and solidarity in Central America, where the fund will support small development projects in rural Nicaragua.

group%20photo.JPG These students are in Mike Soares’s ESL (English as a Second Language) class and come from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Oscar Mendez, in the rear of the photo (standing on a box to be seen, next to Soares) is from a farming family. He said the family grew plantains, sugar cane, beans, yucca, and flowers. Some they sold, and some they kept for themselves.

Soares spent two years in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, where he did some community gardening. But he said he’s learned much more from his students about the various plants they’re growing in the recently activated greenhouse on the roof of the school. Pictured above, transplanting tiny pepper seedlings are Daisy Juarez, who’s from Tlaxcala, Mexico, and Joshua Colón is from Cuamo, Puerto Rico. Daisy said she grew flowers in Mexico, while Joshua grew tomatoes, squash and cucumbers in his family’s garden.

daisy%27s%20hands%20transplanting%20peppers.JPG After the Peace Corps, Soares came to teach in New Haven. He connected with the Sister City Project, whose board he recently joined. He said the greenhouse project is a great fit with the Earthathon. “The plan is that community people can volunteer here and interact with the kids — they can learn from each other” — and support the Project’s work in Nicaragua.

daisy%20elayne%20and%20Joshua%20watering.JPG Other co-sponsors include NOFA-CT (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut), CitySeed, New Haven Land Trust, Solar Youth, the New Haven Bioregional Group, Elm City Cycling, and the Yale Sustainable Food Project.

For more information, visit the Sister City Project website or call the office at 203.562.1607.

Comments

posted by: jm on March 23, 2009 5:41pm

My son attends Fair Haven School, and I am really happy with the turn around this school has done. My child is involved in more activities and the teachers have been dedicated to his education. Im glad to have him comin home from school talking about things like the green house and basketball team. From a Happy Parent :)

posted by: Yeyi on March 24, 2009 2:27pm

Bien hecho FHS! Excellent project. La escuela esta muy bonita y los maestros son muy buenos. Felicidades a los alumnos.

posted by: Two2Three on March 24, 2009 10:03pm

Every school should have a greenhouse and/or garden project. Let a thousand, no a million, flowers and children bloom.

posted by: joshua on March 28, 2009 2:50pm

Hi my name is joshua colon and I am the boy with the brown and whight shirt.We are a group of eight grade and we are from differents places like Puerto Rico,Nicaragua and Dominican Republic.We lern with my teacher Mr.Soares he teach us how do you do we know if the plant is tomato or other food,he lern alot of things with us too.We like to plants and thats why we do each day in the school lern each day more,and we like to do that.

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