Cool new Organization

One of the coolest parts about my internship is the fact that I get exposed to hundreds of different organizations that are doing great things around the world. I am genuinely surprised each day, because many of them are extremely innovative, most work with the extremely poor, and they are all passionate about changing the world. I guess I’m more used to hearing about organizations working in Africa, Asia or Latin America, mostly because the issues they deal with and the level of poverty in those regions is much more visible than anything in the United States. Recently, however, I began paying attention to some great local organizations. I am currently taking a Microfinance class at Stanford and have therefore been exposed to economically oriented organizations (like Opportunity Fund and C.E.O. Women) and today at work I found another really interesting organization.

The Edible Schoolyard (ESY), a program of the Chez Panisse Foundation, is a one-acre organic garden and kitchen classroom for urban public school students at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. At ESY, students participate in all aspects of growing, harvesting, and preparing nutritious, seasonal produce. They incorporate math and writing (they keep journals they must complete after every gardening class) with gardening, and teach the children valuable health and environmental lessons. In a time when a very high percentage of children are obese, this initiative fills a very important gap. The lessons these children are learning are extremely valuable, and I’d be willing to bet that the innovative ways in which writing and math are being integrated into the gardening project and proving quite effective.

It’s really cool to see what a small group of people with a common vision, a big heart, and a little bit of money can do. The coolest thing about this project is it can (and it should) be easily replicated. We need healthier and more environmentally conscious children if our generation is to solve the great myriad of issues that lie ahead; I’d say this is a great step in the right direction!