Go EcoKids.org, a fledgling organization aimed at providing local youth a conduit toward helping their environment, is starting to gather some “green” steam, which began as a dream that very quickly began turning into a reality. GoEcoKids.org co-founders Tanya Silva and Chris Miko shared a vision: “we both wanted to help the environment, and get kids involved, all while teaching them about the science behind their work,” explained Silva, the Co-director of the science department for STAR Education, a grass-roots, non-profit organization, that is highly acclaimed for its enrichment and enhancement programs for schools across California. Together with Miko, a former STAR employee who is now a 5th grade teacher and science specialist at Meadows Elementary School, in Manhattan Beach, they formed this idea which was sparked by a side-project that Miko was working on. He started an after-school science club his first year at Meadows, that eventually blossomed into the launch of GoEcoKids.org.
“The Meadows Science Club was a way for the students and I to learn about, and have fun with, topics in science then went beyond the 5th grade curriculum,” remarks Miko, “this year we wanted to add an environmental component to expand upon what we were already doing.” Disney provided the backdrop for the science club to get involved through their Environmentality Challenge, a yearly contest which aims to get kids to be more enviromentally conscious, by improving their local environment, and getting their community involved… and so, the Ballona Wetlands project began.
While Miko and Silva were discussing the details of the project, they realized several things: 1) They wanted the project to extend beyond just the kids in the Meadows Science Club. 2) They wanted the kids to investigate and learn about all different areas of ecology and the environment, not just the wetlands. 3) They wanted to help the kids realize that they can change the world and make a difference. In order to accomplish these things, Silva and Miko knew they needed help. They both reached out to all the resources they had, calling upon any family, friends, business associates, and community organizations that could help.
It didn’t take long, as help came quickly, first, from the Ballona Land Trust, and community activist Carmelo Alvarez. The Ballona Land Trust oversees all restoration activity at the wetlands, and is working to save the last 100 acres that have not been preserved, to go along with the 600 acres that have already been saved, due to their activism. Silva and Miko teamed up with Alvarez to help bring to life the ideas that the science club kids brought forth. Alvarez and the Land Trust hosted the Meadows Science Club kids in their first restoration day back in December, where the kids had their first chance to actually do hands-on work on the wetlands. There, they learned about the Ballona Creek watershed, about the wildlife that exists at the wetlands, and a little about the indigenous people that lived in the area. They also learned how writing letters to those who make decisions can make a difference. At the next science club meeting, the kids were overflowing with ideas and plans, and began their letter writing campaign to save the last 100 acres, writing letters to Bill Rosendahl, the local city councilman for district 11, where the wetlands exist.
For the students, their next step was sharing with the world their excitement and enthusiasm for a project that, rather quickly, became very near and dear to their hearts. They wanted to make a website, they wanted to make posters and flyers, they wanted to make T-shirts and bumper stickers, they wanted to stand outside of supermarkets getting signatures for petitions, and ask people to write letters for the cause. They wanted to do whatever it took to let the world know they were serious about saving the Ballona Wetlands and making a difference. Once the website went online, and the parents of the science club kids got involved, more help began pouring in.
Parents and friends of the science club kids began spreading the word, after seeing the passion and drive of the newly dubbed, Meadows Science Club, “Eco-Kids.” T-shirts were designed by two students, Gunner Robinson, and Jackson Michalski, with the help of graphic designer Amy Luwis. Bumper stickers were designed by student Sabrina Reinehr, and printed at a discounted rate by Outlaw Graphics, in Manhattan Beach. One parent, Kimberly Robinson, of The Green Hive, a company, “created specifically to advance the movement of sustainable design and building practices,” helped produce their T-shirts, which were, of course, made from organic cotton and printed with environmentally safe, water-based inks. Soon, the Santa Monica Baykeepers caught wind of the project and wanted to be a part of it as well. “Every day, it seems another group or organization steps up and wants to take part in what we are doing, it’s truly remarkable what we have going, considering the website has only been up for a week,” comments Miko. “It has also helped having the backing of STAR Education and the STAR Eco-Station,” adds Silva. With so many supporters jumping on board, it seems as though the skies are the limit for GoEcoKids.org.
As for the future, both Miko and Silva are optimistic about the prospects. There is still much to do with the wetlands, where they plan to host a monthly restoration day, introduce a native-plant seedling project, and return the wetlands to what nature intended: a natural filter and detoxification system for water runoff in the L.A. basin, before it flows into the ocean. Further down the road, they would like to expand into other areas of ecological work, get more schools and communities involved, and set-up local chapters in cities across the nation. To accomplish any of this, however, they will have to find steady funding. There seems to be a void in many environmental organizations which provide access for adults to help their environment, but lack any real programs for the youth. GoEcoKids.org would help to fill that void, which might make finding funding a little easier, providing kids a place where they can get involved, and truly make a difference to the world that will, one day soon, be theirs.
