This week we chose our action project and began to contact members of the community who can provide us with guidance and support in our pursuit of a successful 4 Days in May. We’ve decided that Fire Mitigation would be an interesting topic to learn about and participate in. We’ve also decided that building a greenhouse and creating a composting system on campus is a goal worth devoting our time towards. In this journal discussion I’d like you to explain, in your own words, what you think about each of these projects. What are we trying to accomplish, ultimately, by learning about and participating in a fire mitigation action project? Likewise, what are we trying to achieve by the construction and creation of a greenhouse with composting system? Why, as individuals who could be doing many things with our time on this planet, are we choosing to work towards these goals? Remember, you choose these issues; think about what you wanted to gain, and give, from working on them. Your response should be no less than three paragraphs (a paragraph, by the way, is 4-5 sentences of logical and connected writing).
Thanks
alexxi
Fire mitigation seems like a good topic because we’ve learned about why this is necessary to preserve forests and such. It just has that CAP type of atmosphere to it, ya know? I have mixed feelings about building a greenhouse, but I see how it benefits the school in an environmentally friendly way.
Shanti Colo
With so many topics to choose from, I think that our class did a wonderful job of picking helpful, progressive and challenging ways to spend our Action Project/ Four Days in May. Although fire mitigation is not a particularly original idea, and I know it has been done in the past, I think it is always a prevalent issue in our dry climate and there is plenty of help needed. I also think this a great way for our class to get outside, learn more about forest preservation and maintenance, and give to our community. What I hope to get out of this sections of our project is a more immediate sense of change; at the end of the day we will be able to look at the work we’ve done a know instantly that we’ve made a difference.
As for the composting and green house element of our project, I could not be more excited. I know that this idea is big, and may not necessarily be completed during our class, but it’s the effort and idea that I think mean the most. Sustainable agriculture is one of the easiest ways to help our planet. Setting up a composting system at New Vista would not only reduce our schools waste significantly by contributing less to land fills, but it would show other high schools in the community that it is possible. Once we become a model school, hopefully other environmentally conscious schools will follow in our footprints and start reducing their waste impact as well. The concept of a green house at New Vista is about supporting local and organic produce. Having a green house will allow students to learn about and participate in the growing and caretaking of vegetables and fruits. It will educate students on the environmental and physical benefits of eating organic produce and allow room for growing interest in gardening.
I think that all three of these projects are great ones. I think that they will help the environment and the community by providing service, education and by reducing waste. I hope that this is a valuable and successful learning experience for everyone, and I hope that we all come out of this more environmentally aware and with a sense of accomplishment.
elena
I think that building a green house is a very good idea. It seems like we are taking on a big project. Although it will be fun I think it will be challenging, especially because we don’t know everyone as well as we will at the end of this quarter. I think this project might move us closer to knowing each other.
I think that the composting idea is wonderful. This will give different opportunities to the students at New Vista. It is also a step forward for being a zero waste person and community. The composting idea would be a good topic for educating little kids. This might also encourage other schools to start something of there own.
I think that doing the fire mitigation will be fun. I have done it in the past, it’s fun but hard. I always feel good after helping the earth. I think that this opportunity should be available to other schools as well as ours. I think part of this 4 days in may could be making fliers to give out to people telling them how they can help out with something.
I am really looking forward to it!
kelli
I just want to start out by saying that I didn’t vote for either one of the action projects that we have decided to do. This means that when we decided on them as a class I was a bit more than just disappointed. After about an hour of fire mitigation at Calwood I was tired of it and definitely didn’t feel like doing 4 whole days of it. I understand that fire mitigation is something that needs to be done to prevent massive destruction from out of control forest fires, but I felt like I could be making a more impressive difference in nature than just this.
Not only did I not like the fire mitigation idea, I didn’t like the greenhouse and compost idea either. I came into this class thinking that our action project would deal with a big issue in Boulder’s community. I didn’t, and still don’t feel like New Vista’s lack of greenhouse and compost concerns many people in the Boulder area. Don’t get me wrong, I think greenhouses are way cool and a great way to head towards sustainable living, but I honestly don’t think that building this greenhouse and compost is the best use of our time.
Obviously, you can tell that at first I was feeling really negative about our class’s choice of action projects. Now, I’m glad to say I’m feeling a little better about the greenhouse and compost idea. Once Jacob, Amy and I worked hard and got the survey out I felt more open to the idea, though I still had my doubts. Would students really use the green house on their own time to grow things? I knew I wasn’t about to.
I’m still not ecstatic about the greenhouse and compost, but I’m willing to give it a try and I will work hard and I do hope that they are a success at New Vista.
-kelli
Jacob G
For me, the cause itself isn’t very important. My recent philosophies about life have caused me to have a large amount of trouble actually siding with anything; whether or not those around me think it to be good or bad, right or wrong. At the end of the day, I think I just want to get off my ass and do something. It makes no difference to me if I’m picking up dog shit or saving the world from a nuclear war. What I have found is that no cause is greater than another for some people. For some individuals a small cause can encompass the span of their entire lives, who am I to say that it was an unimportant cause or that it pales in comparison to global warming or over population?
I think I like the idea of improving NVHS more than the specific ideas of compost and a greenhouse. That is not to say that I don’t love what we’ve decided to do (I think its gonna be wonderful, and fun to work on), but that I think the larger concept of improving one’s local environment. For me, this is an example of taking responsibility for your own happiness, which I truly believe is the secret to life! We are improving our live, if everybody focused specifically on improving their local environment, what could go wrong? As I’ve said before in my quote responses, to be a truly selfish environmentalist is to think about the world.
Fire mitigation I’m a little bit less excited about. I feel like its too straightforward, and that its already a well known issue. In addition, I feel like killing trees is unattractive, and that our energy would be better devoted to finding a more positive way to perform fire mitigation.
Tony
When we were deciding our action projects, I kept thinking there was a sort of paradox with them. I believed that if we did two projects, we would not have enough time to complete them both. However, if we only did one, it would take up the entire four days of May. Fortunately, since this is a class and a Four Days in May, we can do them both, but I was just afraid we would not schedule it all correctly.
They both seem like very fun action projects. I think fire mitigation is fairly self explanatory, but building a greenhouse will probably teach me a lot. Greenhouses are far more complicated than you can imagine by just looking at one. When I saw a greenhouse for the first time, I said to myself, “That looks like a clear house, but with trees and stuff.” These days, if I were to see that same greenhouse, I’d think, “I wonder why they decided on an A-frame for this? A Quonset would be much better suited in these conditions.”
Fire mitigation seems interesting, as well. I mean, it’s not quite as big a project as building a greenhouse and composting system, but it will still be useful to the trees here. I noticed when we were working on the trip that, although we worked for at least an hour, the 15 or so of us barely managed to get rid of any of the ladder fuel at Cal-wood. But it does prevent forest fires and help trees stay alive.
Overall, I am looking forward to our Four Days in May.
Tristan Watson AKA T-WAT
My favourite part of this four days in may has been watching our class come together and begin working in harmony. Seeing results from every group of people has inspired me to do my best. While I initially thought that building a green house was a lofty goal, I now believe we can do it. That is if we can effectively swim through all the bureaucratic crud.
Off the bat, I had my heart set on fire mitigation, good ol’ manual labour, nothing like it. However, after seeing the enthusiasm that some had, I was inspired. As Gus and I looked through plans, we realised this was not going to be as difficult as we had thought. While the project sets high standards, I think that we can achieve them. I am truly looking forward to next week.
Fire mitigation could be fun, but by choosing to build a green house we set new standards for CAP action projects in the future.
Michael M. King
I personally think that the action projects we chose are both feasible and intricate enough to facilitate a pleasant yet difficult experience. The prospect of actually following through with the task of adding a greenhouse to the New Vista campus excites me. It is a great way to show that we possess both initiative and competence, two traits that many people underestimate in teens. As to the fire mitigation project, I have no doubt that it will be enjoyable should we find ourselves with extra time.
Ford C.
That’s a deep question my friend.