A Kid by Nature
Play outdoors. Grow environmental awareness. Use less stuff.
Trash-to-Treasure Art Opening
Our art opening Thursday, December 11th at the Jefferson School Library was postponed due to the "big storm". Luckily we were able to open Friday, December 12th. We feel fortunate to have worked with teacher Sean Keller and his fourth-grade class at Jefferson Elementary School. Sean reports that "after two months of creativity, the "trash-to-art" panels are looking awesome. The kids really got excited about this project, and the Jefferson School Library has enthusiastically agreed to display our art panels on their walls. This is really cool because of the broader audience this project will reach."
It is always so rewarding to see these young minds really become engaged and understand. Here are just a few examples of what they had to say:
What did you learn?
"We can make art out of stuff that is broken & stuff we don't use anymore. We can make art!" - Ruby
"I learned you shouldn't use so much stuff that goes into the landfill because it's not good for the earth." - Quincey
What was special about this project?
"Making art!" - Myles
"Building stuff!" - Moss
"Matching colors!" - Nola
Special thanks to Colleen Mahoney for her ideas, effort, & leadership throughout this project.
A Kid by Nature Where Anything is Possible
Where Anything is Possible
As we stare climate change in the face, we can see that our children will need to be
able to move quickly in a rapidly changing world.
Kids will need skills that we can’t even imagine as technology plays an ever more important role in all we do.
We know that our generation is passing huge challenges along to the next generation. We have a mess to clean up. And, we need everyone to pitch in.
If you can reach out to a child and give him hope, if you can teach a child to care, if you can convince a child that each and everyone of use can make a difference. Then we will.
If kids are taught that our world is a beautiful place that should be respected, then this lesson may impact the choices they make in how they live in our world.
When she was in the 4th grade my daughter learned a play on words.
She happily came home to tell me “Mommy, nothing is impossible. Anything is
possible. I’m possible.”
Think of a niece or nephew, a grandchild, or a neighbor’s child. Make the time to be with a child. Take a kid out into nature. Anything is possible.
Join with us, join A Kid By Nature. We are investing in the future.
Image credit: "John Muir 1912" by Underwood & Underwood available from the Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3a10297.
The first time Muir saw Yosemite, he wrote in his journal that he was "overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower.“
— John Muir
John Muir helped preserve wilderness areas such as Yosemite and Sequoia National Park for everyone to enjoy. Read more about him here.
Video credit: produced by the National Parks Service, starring Lee Stetson as Muir.
Here's what you can do about marine debris, all the man made stuff that ends up in our water ways? Just a couple ideas to start. Click on Save to Bay above or the Pacific Beach Coalition below to find out more.
A Kid by Nature was in the Berkeley Patch in this four part article by Ann Krueger Spivack, Rosa Parks Elementary Students Look at Plastic Waste DifferentlyEnvironment Lessons in the Classroom (4-part series)
Chris Jordan is a photographer and filmmaker who documents the effects of our mass consumption on wildlife and the planet. Read more about Chris here.
Richard Louv is a journalist and author who investigate what happens when humans separate themselves from Nature. Mr. Louv is most famous for his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. He explains why time in nature can help kids (and grownups) be healthier and learn better.
A Kid by Nature's Trash-to-Treasure project was featured in this article by Ann Spivak in the Berkeleyside, Kids get new perspective on plastic, make eco-art by Ann Spivak . We just had to share it.
Ms. Carson wrote a book called Silent Spring, which explained how the pesticide DDT killed not just insects but the birds and fish who ate those insects as well as bigger animals who ate the poisoned fish and birds. Click here to read our recent blog post and learn more about Rachel Carson
Artist, art professor and environmentalist extraordinaire. Learn more about what makes Pam Longobardi our A Kid by Nature Hero!
Thank you to Jefferson and Rosa Parks Elementary Schools in Berkeley for participating in the pilot program for Environmental Art and Used Toy Drive. It was a fun and educational event.
Check out this great video about Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang, who turn debris they've collected at the beach into art.