Green Team
The Green Team is an environmental jobs program for high school youth. In its third year, the Green Team will focus on two projects in Somerville: sustainable landscaping and urban agriculture. The young members of GWS’s Green Team will focus on Somerville's challenges through three activities: 1) sustainable landscaping practices at Somerville Housing Authority developments; 2) maintenance and harvest of local gardens; and 3) sale of produce at the local Farmers' Market. Anticipated outcomes include, but are not limited to: maintaining at least 18 trees in low-income neighborhoods with resident participation; development of sales skills in youth through regular sale of produce at the local farmers’ market; regular donations of local produce to food pantries; and creation of at least one new garden, to be utilized by low-income and at-risk youth and families.
Two Teams: There will be two (2) teams of youth participating in this program: 1) Ten young people will work together on the Urban Gardeners Team which will focus on maintaining and harvesting from Groundwork Somerville’s schoolyard gardens at 8 schools across Somerville; 2) Ten young people will work together on the Urban Landscapers Team, which will plant flower gardens and maintain the landscape at Somerville Housing Authority developments across Somerville. The Urban Gardeners will work three days a week maintaining the schoolyard garden sites across the city. Every two weeks, the Urban Gardeners Team will harvest produce from these gardens to sell at the Union Square Farmers’ Market. All 25 Green Team members will have the opportunity to sell produce at the Union Square Farmers’ Market. This will be a great experience for young people to gain sales skills, entrepreneurial experience and time to give presentations to the community at large. The Sustainable Landscapers will learn sustainable practices in landscaping. In addition to creating a sustainable community, young employees will learn how to manage daily work projects: time management skills, sustainable practices, and landscaping equipment skills training. Finally, there will be a mentorship component to this year’s Green Team. Groundwork Somerville will be hosting a 4 week AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) this year. This group of 8 18-24 year olds will work directly with each Green Team, acting as role models and adding insight into another future career path.
Each week, Green Team members will participate in Monday/Friday education sessions, focused on a different “green industry” such as solar power, Department of Public Works, green building techniques and building insulation, wind power, urban agriculture, green roof creation, urban forestry and the National Park Service. These education sessions are aimed at creating a core competency in STEM as it applies to real-life careers. Ample time with experienced professionals in the green industry will increase the effectiveness of these sessions.
National Parks: Finally, we will visit three National Parks and complete maintenance projects at each one: Marsh Billings National Park in Vermont, the Minuteman National Historic Park, and the Lowell National Historic Park. These service projects are part of our partnership with the National Park Service, with the goal of bringing more urban youth into parks throughout New England. Maintenance projects include trail maintenance, community education projects or historic building repair. Critical in these trips is the importance of camping out in rural National Parks and learning how to “leave-no-trace” while there.
© 2008, Groundwork Somerville
