Rachel's Service Learning! (A little late)

I was given an amazing opportunity to work with a well known fitness coach and nutritionist on a healthy eating seminar!  Unfortunately, the one I was scheduled to help with was cancelled due to low enrollment, and was post-poned until mid May.  I will still be working with her at this seminar.  We planned to do lots of juicing, cooking, and baking and distribute them to the people who comes to this specific gym.

Although that specific project will have to wait, I took action in my after-school program.  I work with k-2 students at a local program.  These kids bring in the most disgusting of foods for snack and for lunch during school vacation.  Their parents load their bags with processed and fatty foods.  Very rarely do we see a child take out fruits and vegetables.  So we came up with this plan for me to present an eating club at work.  I printed and cut out pictures of all of the foods I see them eating and copied them.  I did the same thing with healthier choices (fruits, vegetables, etc), and copied them, too.  So what I had them do was make their own collage of their favorite foods.  Some of the options were Oreos, chips, fries, McDonald's, fast food items, ice creams, etc.  Then with the healthier foods it was just your normal fruits and vegetables, yogurt, cereals, etc.  I mixed them all up so they couldn't see that there was really a difference.

Once their collages were complete, we went around and shared.  It was interesting, but not surprising, to see their choices.  I saw a correlation between food choices and socioeconomic status.  I was able to look at their EEC voucher status on the attendance while looking at their collages, it was remarkable.  When they were finished sharing, I shared my own collage, which was full of nutrition and healthier choices.  I told them why I like them, and why I didn't eat the things I didn't chose.  I told them about the long term effects, and what it does to our bodies.  I made sure to keep it appropriate for their age.

It took some time to really see a huge difference, but by school vacation (which was last week) a lot of the student who were in my club were bragging about their new food choices! I saw some apples, carrots, and organic fruit snacks.  I even saw much healthier choices at lunchtime.  A lot less lunch ables, that is for sure.  It was interesting, and we are planning to do the club once a month (at least).

Service Learning

Service Learning:

 By: Autumn Gadd

 

I did my service learning project through the company I work for, Flatbread Company in Amesbury. I have mentioned before that my company buys all local, and organic food to feed to our customers. Everything they stand for is awesome, and they are always looking to help a new organization and donate to others. 

One of the farms that they purchase food from is Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, which is an organic farm. I did not know until I started this blog that waste, and products that to do look appetizing anymore such as wilted lettuce is separated form the trash into a compost bucket. When buckets are filled they then have that food picked up by Cider Hill, and it is fed to the animals there. I thought that this was awesome that the food is not going to waste but instead being fed to the animals on the farm that help run our company. 

Finding this out I decided that I wanted to help separate the trash from the compost food. As I was doing this (not the most appealing job) I tried to throw in lemon peels. One of the guys downstairs with me stopped me and told me that the animals wont touch the food if the lemon peels are in there, and they hate them. I thought that that was really interesting, and it informed me even more how concerned they are. We do not just throw all food in this bucket, its only the wilted lettuce, carrot scraps, celery scraps,  and other vegetable that we have at the time. 

Doing this project gave me more respect for farmers and the work that they do. The time I put into separating the food is nothing compared to the labor they do to produce healthy organic food for the local people, and companies. 

 

Service Learning

Service Learning

            I believe that it is one thing to talk about what you stand for and another thing to act on it. By taking action on a subject I feel strong about, I felt like I was actually making a difference.

            At first I was nervous about bringing organic fruit to classroom for the chance that it would taste no different or even worse than the regular fruit. Since the idea of bringing organic fruit in was to promote it, I was hoping it would be delicious. I then remembered that the main purpose of eating organic is not because they taste better but the positive effects it can have on the environment, your health, and local community.

            I was able to run my lesson during snack time which worked out well. I asked the children what organic meant. One child quickly chimed in with some information about how her mom only shops at Trader Joes. “It means that there are no chemicals in it,” she said. I then expanded on her thoughts and described some of the process most food goes through including pesticides, GMOS, and hormones, I then showed them one of the apples in my basket. I asked them if they could observe any differences. “It looks dusty,” said one child. I talked to them about how this is how an apple looks naturally and that it is the wax that makes it look shiny. I offered the organic apples to anyone who wanted one. Fortunatly, the apples were incredible. They were perfectly ripe, with a satisfying juicy crunch. As they enjoyed there apples I talked more to them about how organic vegetable are better for your health, and the environment.

            The service learning project seemed to be effective. Although they are just children, they understand that poisons used for plants can hurt the environment, and that it makes sense that plants are best to be kept natural rather than modified by humans.

            I stated previously, it felt good to take action on a topic I feel is important to our community. So often we do no more than just talk about it rather than make a difference. I believe that I will do similar activities with my future students as well. I believe that the one big difference for my future students is that I will do my best to give them the pros and cons of both sides so that they can form their own opinion.

 I plan on being an activist throughout my whole life. My plan is to do my “service learning” my Peace corp. in Northern Uganda. As I Christian I feel a constant urge to do God’s work by spreading love and showing it through my actions and hard work. I think there is no better gratification but to do something for the benefit of someone else rather than yourself.

I think that this is a great assignment to push students to make a difference. I do believe that with how hectic the semester is, it would be helpful if there were already connections made with different places for students. I think this would allow students to do cooler activities. For example, I would have rather got to work on a farm, but after a few hours of trying to find a placement, I gave up.

Tom Gillespie

Wrap up!

What I learned:  Being very knowledgable of the topic, I thought this would have been a good route for me.  Turns out it was a much harder topic than imagined.  The issue of organic food is highly controversial and wide spanned. There are so many areas that go into it, such as; too high of price, labeling, what is considered organic, and the benefits of eating organics.  I have learned that there ARE such policies in place, providing necessary information to us.. but it is not enough.  We still don't really know what is going into organic foods, and we deserve to know.  We deserve to know every piece of information about the food that is going into our bodies. 


Where I stand:  I have been a huge supporter of organics for a while.  But right now I feel that until we get the policies we want in place, it would be a hard decision to spend money on organics.  We don't really know what organic is and what brands can be trusted.  I will continue to eat organic foods (meat, dairy, vegetables), but I will wait to go completely organic.  I would love to pursue a holistic lifestyle in the future!


Curriculum:  Referring to current events such as this is necessary for classrooms.  Although we don't want to preach, it is important for kids to know about healthy eating.  But it is even more important for them to learn about the issue, and learn what we can do to fix it.  In an older classroom, it could be a nice idea too learn about the issue and take action as a class.  Spreading awareness about things we can control is an important lesson for students. 


Service Learning: So far I have spoken with two people regarding our topic.  One person is the nutritionist at my gym, and the other is my pilate's instructor!  I have learned a lot from them, and I have discussed participating in a seminar with them in the very near future.  They give lectures about healthy eating and organics, and what we can do to take action!

Service Learning

                  Creating a blog is a great way to motivate an individual to do research by producing a sense of ownership. Through this experience I learned more about my topic, formed stronger opinions, and thought of ideas on how this topic could tie into an elementary curriculum.

What I learned

·      Genetically modified organisms are in the food we eat(especially soy beans) and do not need to be marked on the label

·      Eating organic plant based diets can reverse the effects of cancer

·      Organic farming helps our environment by increasing soil fertility, encouraging natural organisms to flourish, and allowing plants and animals to boost their natural resistance to disease instead of relying on antibiotics or fungicides.

·      Scientists now know what we consumers have known all along: organic food tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved in taste tests when the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter.

·      Research suggests that pesticides have harmful effects on humans, specifically pregnant women and children. One study found that the frequency of leukemia in children was 650% greater in homes where indoor and garden pesticides were used.

Where I stand

·         GMOs should be labeled

·         Local farms should be utilized by locals

·         Organic food tastes better

·         Organic food is safer on humans and the environment

How could this information tie into an elementary curriculum?

·         Science lesson on fruit seen growth process

·         Field trip to a local farm

·         Cutting fruit into fractions, taste test between organic and non-organic

·         Policy on labeling of foods

·         Effects of pesticides on humans and environment

Service Learning Project

                         I have decided that a great service learning project for my topic would be to bring in organic fruits for the children I work with during their snack. They are used to fruits that come from far off places and large amounts of pesticides are used. I will leave out the organic apples and while they eat them I will explain that they are organic and what that means.

If I had a 4^th grade class, I would have them set up an organic fruit stand in town. The students would be informed about the benefits of organic food that they could share with any customers that come to the stand. This website has great ideas for service learning projects: http://www.kidsconsortium.org/resources.php?gclid=CNvnov-IxK4CFYOo4AodUAk8dQ

By: Tom Gillespie

 Organic Healthy Living & Local Farming

I learned that before doing this current event blog that I did not know much of anything about organic food. I thought that I had a pretty good idea, but after getting into it I realized I had a lot more to learn and still do. Organic farming helps our environment by increasing soil fertility, encouraging natural organisms to flourish, and allowing plants and animals to boost their natural resistance to disease instead of relying on antibiotics or fungicides.  

For the Kiddos
Research suggests that pesticides have harmful effects on humans, specifically pregnant women and children. One study found that the frequency of leukemia in children was 650% greater in homes where indoor and garden pesticides were used. Studies show that pesticides can adversely affect the nervous system, increase the risk of cancer, and decrease fertility.  

On the Rise
According to Organic Farming Research Foundation, as of 2007 there are approximately 13,000 certified organic producers in the U.S. compared to about 2500 as tracked in 1994. More and more organic farms are coming around, because the demand in the products are rising. 

I am 100% for organic food and local farming, and for the policy that wants the FDA to have to tell label exactly what we are eating. Signing the petition was one way of showing my support, and want to become more involved.


Elementary Curriculum
You could tie this topic into an elementary curriculum with current events by bringing students to a local farm. Students could see with their own eyes in a real life situation about what organic farming really is. Instead of just informing them and having them create their own pictures of what they think is going on they would be able to be there and witness how it really works. Bringing children on a field trip will get them excited about the topic, involved in their community, and they will learn from the experience. 

 

By: Autumn