About Environmental Education

Comprehensive education and hands-on experiences are essential tools for empowering youth to solve complex problems.  Three distinct programs empower the next generation of stewards:

Training Student Organizers (TSO) creates the environmental leaders of the future though academically based service learning programs. TSO educates young people about the environmental consequences of their choices, teaches them to improve the environment in which they live, and increases their interest in environmental sciences and issues. Through TSOs hands-on programs, middle and high school students directly connect with and improve the urban ecosystem by planting trees in the watershed, building model green buildings, and identifying environmental hazards in their communities.

Learn It, Grow It, Eat It is a collaborative effort of three GrowNYC programs (Open Space Greening, Greenmarket, Environmental Education) aimed at improving the health of young people through nutrition education and improved food access in their schools and communities. The project encourages young people to take control of their health on the cusp of adulthood through knowledge, choices and action. Learn It, Grow It, Eat It gives students nutrition information that goes beyond memorizing the USDA food pyramid; helps them make the connection between the environment and food consumption through hands-on gardening; and introduces healthy food choices that they can incorporate into their diet with in-school food preparation and offerings featuring Greenmarket produce. 

Greenmarket Youth Education Project connects city children with farmers and enables them to experience food as a joyful journey that starts with a seed and ends on their plate. Through fun, interactive experiences we help elementary and middle school children gain an understanding of local agriculture and the importance of eating fresh, seasonal foods--for their bodies, their environment and their communities. Visit Greenmarket to learn more.

NYC Public Schools Recycling Champions Program is working with schools in each borough to establish model recycling programs.  In 2011, GrowNYC will issue a guide book where the efforts of the Recycling Champions will be made available for all of New York City’s 1,600 public schools.  Recycling at schools is a community effort which is why the program involves faculty, students, custodial staff, and parents working together with a long-term vision for reducing waste and recycling more.