NYC students design a rooftop urban farm

When Stacy Gauthier, The Renaissance Charter School (TRCS) principal, met the Director of Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens, they discussed the organization’s new leasing of a rooftop farm. The former production farm would now be used for educational purposes. Both loved the idea of creating a unique opportunity for students to design the farm for sustainability and interact with farmers.  Stacey reached out to Monica and thus our Permaculture Design Lab was born!

A 24-part afterschool internship, called the Leadership Program at TRCS, is a for high school program happening from October to May.  We kicked off this academic year with a field trip to Sky Farm, the very farm our students are tasked with designing. Located in Queens, Sky Farm was once a production farm. Now, it has transformed into a vibrant community hub offering a glimpse into a more harmonious future.

At BOD, we believe experiential learning is a powerful tool. Through hands-on projects, we instill the core ethics of permaculture:
    1.   Caring for the Earth
    2.  Caring for people
    3.  Designing for abundance

The impact of this program has been profound. We've witnessed firsthand the excitement it ignites in our students and the steady dedication of TRCS teacher, Ariel Sacks, who leads the program. In her 20 years of experience as a Language Arts teacher, Ariel has observed increasing climate anxiety and depression among her students. She took on the challenge to teach our program, and found it has been an illuminating experience that has successfully instilled hope for the future in our class. 

The Permaculture Design Lab is an amazing program but we want to SCALE UP! We are developing a year-long Permaculture elective and need YOUR help to make it happen! Visit our fundraiser to make a 100% tax-deductible investment NOW!