Biodiversity Builders℠ Summer Highlights!
23 teens from Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge helped nature heal through native plant sales and installations, invasive plant removals and field work. Guided by staff, college student mentors, and guest speakers, they learned new things and had fun!
Students from both sessions posing after an afternoon of kayaking to the floating wetland.
“Biodiversity Builders is a program that informs and teaches teens about environmental issues of the present day. The program focuses on the collaboration between students as well as individual leadership and learning through various challenges and experiences. Overall, this program is much more than Building Biodiversity; it’s about the future generation making a change in our world. ”
Arlington/Belmont Pilot Program
Meeting three mornings/week, high-school juniors and seniors created and installed two native plant gardens for clients, maintained and labeled native plant gardens for others, removed invasive plants from two community spaces, conducted citizen science in nature preserves, and investigated new topics for their self-directed projects. Projects included poetry, foraging and cooking native and invasive plants, removing invasive buckthorn, designing native plant gardens for public spaces and painting with dyes derived from plant material!
“This was the best job I had this summer. I learned so much about native plants and designing gardens, made good friends, and felt satisfied with the work I did…”
A visit to the MIT museum.
Cambridge MYSEP
Our Cambridge Bio Builders℠ (participating through the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program), toured the MIT Museum, kayaked to the Floating Wetland with Charles River Conservancy, met with citizen scientists at Mount Auburn Cemetery, took a bee safari at Tufts Pollinator Initiative with Beecologist Nick Dorian, and probed soil with Liz McNerney and Lisa Brukilacchio of Mother’s Out Front Soil Regeneration group. They also designed four and installed one native plant garden, participated in 6 invasive pulls, orchestrated and hosted Jerry’s Pondfest, tended to a native plant garden in Alewife Reservation, explored Magazine Beach with Paul Kelley of Mass Audubon, and sold 184 plants at their native plant sale!
Thank You to our Community Members!
The success of both of our sessions would not have been possible without encouraging support and generous donations from community members like you! Together, we are empowering tomorrows’s stewards to make a positive contribution today!
Kayaking to the floating wetland.
