Green Chimneys program participant, Indy, shows me their seed starting corner.

I recently had the privilege of facilitating a creative blogging workshop for a wonderful group of youth participants in the Green Chimneys Nature-Based Career Training Program. The New York City  program, which serves mainly LGBTQ and allied youth, is an 18-week training opportunity that develops marketable skills and provides hands-on experiences in outdoor settings cultivating plants, tending to animals, or managing an outdoor facility.

Urban Lives and the Natural World
The nature-based program offers participants the opportunity to explore careers in “green” professions and to develop individual, interpersonal, and professional skills that will help them make valuable connections between their urban lives and the natural world. While preparing them for career paths in their chosen fields, the program not only teaches life skills and green career skills, but also helps trainees successfully transfer these skills and lessons into an urban environment.

Exploring the Possibilities
The group with whom I worked was just beginning a three-phase program that begins with workshops and skills training focusing on career exploration, leadership development, workplace etiquette, financial management, and goal setting as well as basic job seeking skills. To help participants identify areas of interest for Phase II, they begin by exploring their relationship to nature through field trips and experiential learning, and a retreat to the Green Chimneys upstate outdoor education facility.

The group of emerging bloggers with me and the program coordinators.

Blogging the Journey
The trainees are encouraged to use blogging from this first phase forward, to reflect on their work outside the classroom and to share their experiences. Each participant contributes to the program’s blog, whose purpose is to connect them to wider audiences and engage them in conversation around a range of topics related to job development and program themes.

Through creative writing exercises and examples from Urban Gardens, I worked with the group one morning to introduce them to blogging and to warm them up and get their creative energy flowing. They turned out to be a very creative group. Giving them permission to express themselves in a variety of forms, I explained that “content” could be just about anything that communicates–writing, photography, drawings, video–whatever means of self expression they felt comfortable employing. Within an hour, a number of the group’s members generated some very poignant and creative work, including a beautiful poem. The link became very clear between their nature-based training and their respective life journeys.

Raquel on chicken duty…

Thinking Outside
In addition to ongoing classroom work, the group travels on field trips to urban farming and nature programs where they are introduced to the range of employment available in outdoor environments. This phase includes weekly on-site training at Green Chimneys’ Farm & Wildlife Center or Clearpool campuses with experts in animal care, horticulture, and outdoor education.

Putting Skills Into Practice
After successful completion of the first two phases, participants test out their new skills in a final six-week urban externship experience where they sharpen skills while building professional connections. Trainees receive ongoing guidance as they complete their training and begin to seek permanent employment. They also benefit from additional development opportunities including monthly presentations from urban organic farmers, landscape architects, professional beekeepers, horse trainers, and park rangers.

Growing Jerusalem artichokes and inspiration out in the field.

From the Blog
The following post was written by Kristina, who’s working in the organic garden in Brewster and will hopefully be interning at a New York City community garden in the next few weeks:

This girl got down and dirty last week. A city girl taking a change of scenery onto a farm. The air; oh so crisp, the landscape evoking dreams of one day possibly owing my own land. I got to touch dirt, which was amazing. How often do people actually do that? I got the opportunity to plant Jerusalem artichokes, something I have never seen or heard of, but they looked just like ginger. This vegetable is a native of North America, similar to the taste of water chestnuts. They can be used for human consumption and alcohol use, prepared like potatoes or used in the making of wine and beer. I gave up the chance to take a bite of this alien vegetable, because I must say I’m not that much of a daredevil.

First the land or section we chose to plant on had to be plowed ‘n prepped. Next we made 2 inch holes in the dirt to make way for the artichokes. After placing them in, I covered and patted the earth. I was told they grow pretty tall; can’t wait to see the progress and what is in store for next week.

This group is now a few weeks into their program and their blog has developed into more than a record of their program activities. It it has evolved into a testament to this group’s determination, capability, and creativity as they grow into their new lives.
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The program really needs laptop computers. If you or your company are able to contribute any, please comment below and I will put you in touch with the program coordinators.