Delaware Valley Earth Force joined efforts with Network Arts for the 2005- 2006 school year to construct an environmentally themed mosaic tile mural at Frankford High School. While Josey Stamm of Network Arts worked diligently with art teacher Nina Gordon and her students on designing, sculpting and planning the mural, Earth Force staff worked with Dr. Mervyn Kline’s environmental science classes on researching three major topics: watersheds, waste management and urban forestry.
Earth Force arranged for professionals from each of those fields to come to Dr. Kline’s classes. Each expert brought scientific facts surrounding the issues, hands on materials for students to explore, and resources to help the students conduct research. In October Brian Rudnick and Drew Brown of the Philadelphia Water Department visited Dr. Kline’s classes. They came equipped with an EnviroScape, a model of a watershed which demonstrated how land use affects the water quality. A few weeks later, Sean Davies from the Philadelphia Streets Department presented a video and offered information and facts about recycling in Philadelphia. He discussed the policies of the city as well as the actual practices of the community. Next to visit Dr. Kline’s class was Cynthia Kishinchand from East Falls Tree Tenders in Philadelphia. Kishinchand brought with her a slide show, information and resources that clearly demonstrated to the students why trees are so valuable, especially in cities.
Ultimately the students created Trash Bash 2006 to curtail littering within the school. They chose a committee of students whose responsibility it was to patrol the hallways between periods. If any student was spotted tossing something in the trash, a committee member gave her a raffle ticket. At the end of 2 weeks a raffle took place with prizes that included tickets to Great Adventure, the movies and the Philadelphia Zoo, and a gift card to Barnes and Noble.
Many of Dr. Kline’s students reported that they learned a lot about Philadelphia after completing the Earth Force project. Eight of Dr. Kline’s students were chosen to present their project at the Philadelphia Zoo, an opportunity that one student said was the highlight of her senior year. Junior Quadir Quallis stated that he is much more nterested in environmental issues as a result of doing an Earth Force project, and feels he’s learned some leadership skills along the way!