GTN Charlotte's reach grows with new website, videos

Megan Lambert and Sean Cosby share a good-luck toast with sweet-potato smoothies

By Rich Haag
The Green Teacher Network for schoolyard garden advocates may be living up to its name in a new way – as a digital network for information and sharing.
Several groups involved in health, nutrition and education formed GTN Charlotte earlier this year to help share information among the many teachers and volunteers working in our area’s nearly 100 schoolyard gardens. Each quarterly workshop provides one major instructional program, additional information and time for participants to share and learn from one another.
But many teachers have a tough time getting away from school for half-day meetings. So GTN Charlotte has begun producing instructional videos, as well. You can find them on the group’s new website, GTNCharlotte.org.

Our debut: “Gardening 101” in 14 short clips

Our first video offering as well as the new website went live last week. We took the keynote presentation at our Nov. 1 workshop, ”Gardening 101,” by Henry Owen of Friendship Gardens, and converted the 40-minute talk into 14 easy to watch segments.
Anyone can access the videos via the resources page at GTNCharlotte.org. Segments cover topics such as “Getting teacher buy-in,” “Watering with kids,” and “Priceless advice.” Most clips are 2-5 minutes long.

Coming next: “Chefs in the Classroom" video series

We just posted the first of four cooking videos that we shot last week. The Chefs in the Classroom series features Megan Lambert, senior instructor at Johnson & Wales University, and Sean Cosby, a J&W graduate and personal chef. Each of them prepares two simple dishes using common schoolyard garden produce such as kale, onions and sweet potatoes. (Thanks to Piedmont Natural Gas for letting us use their kitchen at the PNG facility on Yancy Road.)
• CLICK to watch chef Lambert prepare Plant Part Salad with Sweet Poppy-Seed Dressing.
Our Chefs in the Classroom videos will be available on the resource page of GTNCharlotte.org and on the Catawba River District’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/CatawbaRiverDistrict. We’ll announce when they are ready to view at Facebook.com/CatawbaRiverDistrict.

GTNCharlotte.org is live

Finally, the Catawba River District has created a new website for the Green Teacher Network. You can find it at GTNCharlotte.org. The site will house learning resources such as the videos and other useful materials. We will also use it to handle event and newsletter registrations

Third STEM Outdoor Learning Event was picture-perfect fun

Jennifer Covington with Huber Technology explains how we are able to clean and reuse water

CLICK to view the event video

A beautiful fall morning at the Duke Energy Explorium on Lake Norman: Who could have asked for a better setting for the Third Annual STEM Outdoor Catawba River Learning Laboratories?
On Sept. 27, more than 500 fifth graders from schools in the River District came to get hands-on learning and inspiration about the importance of science, technology, engineering and math. The Catawba River District coordinated the event in partnership with the UNC Charlotte Center for STEM Education
Scores of volunteers from local businesses, colleges and environmental groups oversaw the learning stations and shared their knowledge and enthusiasm with eager learners.
One veteran of previous STEM fairs was Jennifer Covington with Huber Technology. As she waited with co-workers for the first students to come to their water-cleansing activity, she reflected on how much learning takes place when kids have access to hands-on programs like this.
“There are so enthusiastic and ready to learn. They love touching things and looking in microscopes. They really just enjoy the entire event,” Covington said.

Instructor Wayne Fisher talks to the students about deer

The students spent two hours moving among nearly 20 learning activities. Belmont Abbey College students led students through a pollution activity. WCNC meteorologist John Wendel not only talked about the weather, he created a mini-tornado for students in a mist cloud.
Craig Wyant with the NC Wildlife Federation had many animal skins for students to touch, while David Fogarty with the Gaston branch of the NC Cooperative Extension explained local flora. Wayne Fisher, who oversees science instruction in Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary schools, even got kids to pretend they were deer.

Mayors Patrick Cannon, left and Bryan Hough handle snakes for the crowd of kids.

Lesson in snake handling

The event ended with lunch on the lakeside lawn and a chance for students and teachers to get one last lesson: in snake handling!
“Do you think these two gentlemen are going to be able to hold our snakes,” a naturalist asked to loud cheers as others handed large nonpoisonous snakes to the event’s two celebrity guests, Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon of Charlotte (now mayor) and Mayor Bryan Hough of Mount Holly.
Children and adults alike laughed as the two men cautiously let the snakes slither up their arms. The snakes don't see us as humans, the naturalists explained. They think we are trees for climbing!
Jeffrey Ruppenthal, principal of Mountain Island Elementary School, spent the day with his fifth graders. The STEM fair is a valuable learning event for his students, he said. “For one thing, they’re right next to the river. It’s important to see that not only is this the waterway for their community, but it’s also the water-drinking source, and then they’re out here doing hands-on experiments in the beautiful weather.”
Students also liked this different way to learn. “We had all these activities,” one boy said, “which made it fun.”

Interactive Learning Station hosts:

• Belmont Abbey College Elementary Education
• Carolina Raptor Center
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Elementary Science
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services
• Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities - Grease Free Education Program
• DoYourPart - Terri Bennett
• Huber Technology
• Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation
• Mecklenburg County Air Quality
• Mecklenburg County Environmental Health – Groundwater
• Mountain Island State Education Forest
• NC Cooperative Extension – Gaston County
• NC Wildlife Federation
• ReCommunity
• UNC Charlotte Center for STEM Education
• UNC Charlotte Recycling
• WCNC – meteorologist John Wendel

Participating schools

• Ida A. Rankin Elementary
• Catawba Heights Elementary
• Mountain Island Elementary
• River Oaks Academy
• Whitewater Academy

Event sponsors

• Duke Energy
• Huber Technology
• Piedmont Natural Gas
• Novant Health
• Catawba River District

Mark your calendars: Clean water starts here

Lake Norman Charter students show off their haul of trash in the 2012 Big Sweep

What would Charlotte be without a clean and reliable source of water? Learn how the river has nourished humans for thousands of years at the Catawba River Women’s Group monthly meeting on Sept. 17, then pitch in to keep it clean by volunteering in the Great Sweep on Sept. 28 and the Lake Wylie Riversweep on Oct. 5. Stay on top of these local activities and much more by checking out our calendar at CatawbaRiverDistrict.org.

Meanwhile, here are more details about upcoming events. Have fun, and maybe I'll see you there!
– Rich Haag

Great upcoming activities in and near the River District

• Catawba River Women's Group Evening Social – 5:30-7 p.m. Sept. 17 at A Mighty Fortress Lutheran Church in Coulwood: You're invited to join other women interested in the Catawba River for an evening of fun and education. Guest speaker Rusty Rozzelle is an expert on both Catawba River water quality and history (ever heard of Rozzelle's Ferry Road?). Learn more by calling Barbara Lawrence at 704-605-2461. Or reserve your spot by Sept. 15 by sending an email to catawbariverwomen@gmail.com. Event is free, but $5 donations are welcome.
• Mecklenburg Big Sweep – 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 28 at 6 Mecklenburg streams and lakes: Help clean up the Catawba and its streams in this annual event. Hundreds of people pulled 5 tons of junk out of the water last year. This year’s six targets include Latta Plantation Nature Preserve on Mountain Island Lake. Register and learn more at charmeck.org/stormwater/ or call Deania Russo at 704-336-5463. The website has directions and maps to each location.
• Lake Wylie Riversweep – 8 am-1 pm Oct. 5 at various Lake Wylie locations; Help clean up the shores of Lake Wylie in the 12th annual Riversweep, organized by the Catawba Riverkeeper. Come alone or bring your family (kids included), friends, co-workers or neighbors. You `will join residents from all around the lake who care about maintaining a clean and healthy environment. People who have limited physical ability can fulfill many of the tasks performed at each volunteer site. Visit catawbariverkeeper.org to learn more and register.

Send us calendar submissions, too

Does your group have an event of interest to people who live or come to play in the River District? Send us details. We may add it to the calendar. Here are guidelines:

Appropriate items include special events in the River District and programs in or near the River District that are focused on environmental preservation, outdoor activities and community fun. Events must be open to the general public.

The calendar does not list regular meetings except by a handful of important watchdog groups, such as the Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake Marine Commissions.

Please be aware that we cannot list everything and reserve the right to accept or reject a calendar item at our discretion.

Send your items: EMAIL your items to Rich Haag and include River District Calendar in the message line.

Green Teacher Network - New support for schoolyard gardens

Aug. 20 Network participants get a math-science lesson with eggs

Who can help us get a garden started? How can I teach math with farm produce? Can I really have chickens at school?

These were among the many topics covered at the first meeting of the Green Teacher Network. Two dozen Mecklenburg and Gaston educators and experts in fields ranging from health to fish farming came together on Aug. 20 to learn from one another about schoolyard gardening.

The Catawba River District, a leader in schoolyard gardening, is launching the network this fall with support from both school systems, local Cooperative Extension offices, Mecklenburg Health Department and numerous nonprofit groups including Friendship Gardens and the NC Wildlife Federation.

Interest in schoolyard gardens has soared in recent years. More than 100 Gaston and Mecklenburg schools now have vegetable gardens, and another 50 say they are planning to add them.

The Network’s introductory session took place at uptown Charlotte’s First Ward Creative Arts Academy – home to perhaps the most extensive schoolyard garden in the region. Clucking chickens in a portable coop greeting the participants and helped set one of the day’s themes: ways to teach math and science with eggs. The River District bought the chickens and coop – called a Chicken Tractor – last spring and have shared it for a week at a time with area schools.

Learning from each other

The No. 1 theme for the day, of course, was getting support from like-minded people.
“If you’re the teacher who has a school garden, you think, often, that you’re the only one doing it because you have this day-job kind of thing. You can’t just sit and call other teachers at other schools. So one of the best things we could do was to tie them together and let them talk with each other,” explained Cindy Klemmer, a horticulture expert who’s helping launch the Green Teacher Network.

Chickens "networked" too!

Judy Fisher, a parent volunteer who started a small garden last spring at McAlpine Elementary School, said she came to get ideas to take back to the teachers.

Angel Fleming, a teacher at River Oaks Academy, told the group about her school’s partnership with the Catawba River District to provide hands-on math and science instruction.  “We’ve experienced the chicken tractor. The eggs are great!” she said.

Resources for starting and nurturing garden programs

The day’s program included an overview by River District Executive Director Edna Chirico on what the Network hopes to accomplish, followed by presentations on local resources available to help schools launch gardens and make the most of their new teaching tool.

Henry Owen with Friendship Gardens explained how his program – a part of Friendship Meals – works with nearly 60 local school and community gardens to turn their surplus into nutritious meals for hundreds of homebound people across the region. Friendship Gardens also can help your school set up a garden, Owen said.

Another local resource is the NC Farm Bureau. Darlene Petranick, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg science teacher and instructor for the NC Farm Bureau, explained how teachers can get small grants to set up gardens and $500 awards to buy materials that support garden-focused learning.

“We have two winners in Mecklenburg County. They were awarded their checks of $500 last night,” Petranick said. “One of them wrote a grant for an iPad, because she found a ton of agriculture aps, and so she wanted an iPad so the kids could use the aps.”

Lessons with eggs

How big is a raw egg? 

One new challenge facing teachers this year is aligning their lessons with the state’s newly adopted Common Core curriculum standards. Using the day’s theme, Petranick presented several quick ways that teachers across several elementary grades can use eggs to teach math and science.

She even led participants through a hands-on lesson – designed for second graders - called “Mass and Matter. The room filled with conversation and occasional laughter as people struggled to wrap eggs in measuring tape without dropping them. But do you measure in inches or centimeters? Do you measure length or diameter?

Petranick stopped the experiment at this point but explained that the next step would normally be to record the results, boil the eggs and have the students take the measurements again. Boiling changes eggs from liquid to solid, she noted. Students would now discover whether the egg also changes size and weight.

She also reminded the group that a big part of learning happens as students talk with one another.
“The really cool thing about it is that adults are just grown-up kids,” she told the group, “so remember that the conversations you are having with each other are the same conversations that second-graders will have with each other.”
The Network will have its second meeting in mid-October. Participants were encouraged to sign up to receive email updates (see below).

Learn more

You can learn more about the Green Teacher Network by visiting CatawbaRiverDistrict.org or emailing Edna Chirico, the River District executive director.
Join the group’s mailing list by emailing a request to Rich Haag.

Get help with gardens

• NC Farm Bureau programs: ncagintheclassroom.com
• Friendship Gardens: friendship-gardens.org or email Henry Owen