Kristy Streett runs the Urban Education Program at the Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills. Each year, the Summer Fellowship Program employs 10 Baltimore City high school students for six weeks to teach elementary school students about nature and ecology at the center and off-site. She spoke with The Examiner about what the students get out of the experience.
What are the criteria for the high school students? They [must] attend a Baltimore City high school the year before participating. There is an application and interview process. We are not looking for the best grades. We are looking for [students] dedicated to work, [who are] reliable and enthusiastic.
What are the benefits for the high school students?They gain leadership experience. For a lot of them it?s the first job they have had. They are learning how to mentor and work in a team and lead a team. Personal growth, learning what they are good at and learning what they are confident in ? and learning it?s OK not to be good at everything.
And then of course [they learn] about natural science and how to teach kids and how to garden.
What do the younger kids get out of it? This is sometimes their only opportunity to learn outdoors. They get to be taught by someone who is still more of a peer and learn that teenagers can do positive things and stay in school. They are learning from them, but they are also forming a neat bond, which is interesting.
What do you hope they do with the information they learn? We want to give them a basic understanding and appreciation for the environment they live in. We teach the kids in the neighborhood they live in, in the schools they go to.
And the relationship is important for the high school students to know they are important and for the younger students to know teenagers can make a positive impact.
