Fish Friends Relocation Project

The following blog post was written by Ryland Sorensen,
Spark-Y Sustainable Systems Coordinator.

No fish were harmed in the creation of this blog.

This pandemic has brought many unprecedented outcomes and has left some people jobless, feeling vulnerable, and feeling scared. It’s important to remember our resiliency and to not give up when times get hard. We can come together and help each other, especially those who can’t help themselves. If this pandemic has taught me anything it’s that caring for other people and creatures really helps with the bad feelings that come with scary times like this.

At Spark-Y we focus on hands-on education with an emphasis on sustainability, and we use aquaponics as a learning tool. Aquaponics facilitates a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants. In simple terms, fish waste in the water feeds the plants and clean water is returned to the fish. It’s a great way to grow fresh produce all year long.

When you heard that schools were closing you probably didn’t consider all the classroom pets that might be affected. Who will feed all the classroom turtles, guinea pigs, and fish? Their human friends won’t be around to feed them or keep them company. Luckily for them they have a place to go, and some lucky people will have a new friend to care for and to take their minds off things during this time of uncertainty. When I found out that the fish might be locked in schools without anyone to take care of them I knew I had to move quickly.

Working for an organization that uses fish as a learning tool is great, you feed the fish, you talk to the fish, and they become your little buddies. I think about them a lot. I wonder about things like, do they like their food? Are they being bullied by the bigger fish? I never thought one day I would be scrambling around the Twin Cities and beyond to try and rescue fish from being stuck in schools due to a virus.

Mini aquaponics systems at Crossroads Elementary.

On Monday morning rules for school closings were changing by the hour. There was talk of schools closing and it was unknown whether we would have access to take care of the fish. Luckily, Edison High School allowed Spark-Y to use the garage to relocate fish from other schools. Other schools were understandably very strict and we were told we would have to move our fish by the end of the day Tuesday or risk fish death. Schools are expected to remain closed for 3 weeks and possibly longer. We had to act fast to collect about 100 fish from seven different schools in less than two days.

Edison High School aqauponics system

I reached out to everyone who needed help relocating. Our goal was to save the fish! We not only needed to make sure they ended up in safe temporary homes, but also save as many plants as we could and to make sure that our systems were put on pause and ready to be put back to work when the coast was clear. That evening we collected all the buckets and supplies needed to relocate all the fish. Everyone was ready for the big move.

Listening to NPR on the way to the schools Tuesday morning set a tone of doom and gloom despite the sunny weather. Our first stop was Roosevelt High School where we needed to move the 15 koi to Edison. This is just one story out of many fish that had their lives totally rearranged that day.

Every school I arrived at had a similar atmosphere. Students and parents were lining up to take home lunches and school supplies. With buckets in hand, I walked past happy students and concerned parents. Staff cautiously waved me along and the custodians waved goodbye to the fish.

I used a net to carefully put the fish in their travel buckets and hauled them to my truck.

The fish were buckled up and rushed to join the rest of their relocated fish friends. On the way there one feisty bluegill jumped out of the bucket and onto the car seat. I pulled over on the side of the highway and quickly grabbed the flopping fish and put them back in the bucket. *phew*

Leaving the systems behind was a bit dreary. Pumps, filters and aerators were unplugged and the buzz of the filters ceased. The drips and dribbles of water that liven the otherwise quiet corners of the schools slowly faded. When I got back to Edison the garage had been transformed into an aquarium, bustling with the sounds of splashing water and the humm of the pumps. It was a happy moment on a gloomy day. I was very proud to see that all my co-workers were working really hard to save all the fish and to make sure they had everything they needed to get through the transition. I can’t wait to return the fish back to their homes and to see all the lovely people we work with again.

Don’t forget to be nice to each other.

Resilience in Uncertain Times

As schools officially close today, we remember that every storm has a silver lining. Though we face uncertainty, we are all in this together.

Right now we are being given the opportunity to unite together as a global family while acting locally for the good health of ourselves and our neighbors. We are reminded that we all share this Earth, together. And what we do determines our destiny no matter the direction the wind blows.

At Spark-Y, we provide the opportunities that allow youth to discover sustainability. Central among a variety of skills, our youth are learning how to grow food (including year-round in cold climates), how to reduce unnecessary waste, and even how to create resources from their waste streams. At the heart of much of what we do at Spark-Y is helping youth to remember they are strong, resilient, and capable -- no matter what life brings. This is empowerment.

We can all remember and embrace this empowerment message right now. We are striving to find the balance between the real risks, while not becoming overwhelmed with the challenges. As spatial distancing ramps up, there are further unknowns about how long it may last, and how sustainable the length can be. We commit to being proactive -- and staying cool, calm and collected. We will help those affected. The education of our youth must continue with excellence, the production and growth of food must stay stable, and our economy must stay strong. We can and will find ways to safely operate and navigate together. And yes we ALL have a part to play.

With this in mind, and in light of COVID-19 and the closing of Minnesota schools, Spark-Y is dedicated to serving the state community in an expanded capacity. Our team will continue to provide youth empowerment programming through innovative ways together with our school and community partners. We will also be available to our community as a resource for sustainable, resilient steps you can take at home, work, or with your kids during social distancing and while following health guidelines.

From now into the foreseeable future, Spark-Y is committing effort to the following, starting with our current school and community partners and campus systems and spreading from there:

• Virtual options: Our incredible sustainability educators are mobilizing to provide online content for youth in our programs, and webinars in partnership with our partners. We will also be providing training for our partners on how to execute online instruction.

• Drop site kits: Our team is mobilizing hands-on education kits that youth and youth/parents together will be able to use at home for education with useful results.

• Helping Twin Cities residents grow record amounts of food locally this season led by youth: Our Plant Sale will be focused on “resilience gardening,” helping those new or seasoned gardeners navigate the best plants and seeds to grow for high-yield food production in small or limited growing spaces - (stay tuned for venue and social distancing updates on the May 2nd Plant Sale). [Update: We are now hosting an Online Plant Sale with curbside pickup, including Resilience Gardening Kits. Full details on our event page, here.]

• Resilient and antifragile mindset: We will be embedding much of our curriculum with self-sufficiency, growing food at home, and other topics designed to empower young people in uncertain times.

We will keep you posted as more methods and practice come to light to help the center of our future - our youth. We must remember to honor and listen to their voice in this process.

We would like to thank and support the continued efforts of our teachers, healthcare, and other service professionals. We will look to you for guidance and inspiration in this time. We pledge to help and protect your kids, and do whatever it takes to keep you safe on the front lines.

While we all might prefer this to be a sprint, we are strategically positioning for a marathon. Let’s continue to take excellent care of one another, and be a light for each other when all others go out. The shorter our marathon gets, the more we can rejoice.

We welcome anyone who wants to join us in these activities, please reach out if you would like to help or connect with resources or solution-oriented thoughts:

Online: spark-y.org/connect
Instagram: @sparkyorg
Facebook: SparkYouthActionLabs

Let's do this - together.

Thank you,
Zach Robinson, Executive Director

The Growing Power of LEEF

The following blog post was written by Sarah Pilato,
Lead Sustainability Educator on Spark-Y school program partnership with Edison High School.

Two years ago, Spark-Y began an exhilarating new program in collaboration with Edison High School called the LEEF Pathway. LEEF (Leaders in Environmental and Entrepreneurial Futures) is a pathway that Edison students can choose to follow throughout their high school career which will allow them to gain knowledge that is necessary on their journey towards graduating, in a way that is innovative and experiential.

The idea was born from the successes of already established programs and from the hearts of our Spark-Y team that saw what a meaningful impact these programs were having on the Edison community. Students involved in previous years programming showed extremely high interest in the hands-on nature of the projects and increasing engagement and attendance as the year went on. What Spark-Y was able to create was an environment that catered to students who learned by doing. Activities, labs, and independent projects that have real-world outcomes are the cornerstones of our programs and we knew we had to find a way to expand those opportunities to include more students.

When the idea of LEEF was just budding (pun intended) it included our existing environmental science class known as EASYpro (Edible Agriculture School Yard Professionals) and LEEF Biology. Students taking these classes were using aquaponics systems to learn about plant and fish biology and ecosystems; gardens and greenhouses to learn about entrepreneurship and population studies; vermicompost to learn about closed-loop cycles and decomposition. Edison High School has so many amazing resources as a part of their Green Campus and not allowing students to utilize and learn from them would be a wasted opportunity. It is our goal to integrate these and other systems (such as the solar roof and rainwater catchment) into as many LEEF classes as possible since they provide such a wonderful hands-on way of showing how what’s learned in school can apply to real-life scenarios.

Lead Sustainability Educator, Sarah, teaching a group of EHS staff and students about the school’s aquaponic system, which was designed and built by EASYpro students.

Smaller scale aquaponic systems that are used in LEEF biology throughout the year.

Our pilot year of the LEEF Pathway seemed to be off to a great start! Students were excited and engaged, more and more were wanting to enroll in LEEF classes, and expansion of the program was becoming not only realistic, but necessary. It was time for us to really start sprouting!

The last two years have seen a lot of growth within the LEEF Pathway. What began as a simple pilot with just two classes now reaches across many departments at Edison High School. In addition to environmental science and biology, Spark-Y now collaborates with the science department in physics and chemistry; we have helped develop an environmental art class; and have begun a special education collaboration in addition to several other opportunities. (See the full list below if you are curious about all of the classes that Spark-Y partners with at Edison.)

EHS junior Ramel, and senior Fartun measure bamboo to be cut for pollinator houses

I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this process since the beginning. I spend much of my working time directly in Edison and get to see and work with many of the students currently going through the LEEF Pathway. Current EHS senior, Fartun, who took environmental science during first semester told us that it was her favorite class she’s taken this year because she loved working in the aquaponics lab rather than sitting at her desk all hour.

It is also very exciting for me to be the driving force behind some of the program expansions. This year is our first year of programming within Edison’s special education department and is probably the most fun I have with a class all week long. DCD teacher Ross Porter has opened up about the growth he has seen in his students this year saying “it’s extraordinary how excited they are to participate.” It’s clear to see that even small activities make a huge impact when students feel included in their community.

EHS students Kinnicki and Abdullahi harvesting pea microgreens that their class had grown.

My hopes for the future of the LEEF program are that we continue to find innovative and empowering ways to meet students where they are at. I hope to use this pathway to reinvigorate a love of learning in students who feel that they don’t fit perfectly into the current education paradigm, and to further encourage those who have already found their passions in life. I truly believe in this program and believe that it is an environment any student can feel successful and empowered in.

LEEF Pathway classes at Edison High School:

• LEEF Biology

• LEEF Chemistry

• LEEF Physics

• EASYpro

• Art and the Environment

• Special Education: DCD collaboration

• EEA (Edison Entrepreneurship Academy)

• Global Communities

• Career Readiness

• Work-Based Learning

• Credit Recovery

• EHS Green Team

Building a Growth Mindset at Best Academy Middle School

The following blog post was written by Andi Twiss, Spark-Y Sustainability Educator, on our school partnership with Best Academy Middle School.

Spring semester just started up at Best Academy Middle School and students are happily back in the classroom and reluctantly recalling what was learned during the previous semester. As the primary classroom teacher of these 120 students, we have learned so much already and there is so much more to learn.

The 2019-2020 school year is the first year Best Academy Middle School (BAMS) has partnered with Spark-Y and it has been a partnership of growth and opportunity. That is one of the primary themes reinforced to scholars at BAMS in each of their classrooms: a growth mindset. Throughout the hallways you'll find posters reminding students to be aware of a closed mindset and push towards a growth mindset. It's no different for us at Spark-Y.

Programming is a little different here at BAMS than with other Spark-Y school partners. Traditionally, a Sustainability Educator like myself would partner with teachers in an existing school classroom. Here at BAMS though, I am a primary resource for science education and operate closer to a traditional classroom teacher. I get to teach these scholars each and every day and Spark-Y gets to be the primary resource for their science education. This has been a partnership of growth in expanding our curriculum, scope, and depth in Life Science and Earth Science themes, and an opportunity to serve new students, enable, empower, and resource a new school, and work our Spark-Y magic in a new framework.

As the primary resource, I get to build each lesson around the holistic, sustainable systems design we employ. Instead of fitting our hands-on entrepreneurial-driven activities as a supplement in a traditional classroom setting, we get to build the curriculum around a Spark-Y experience.

One example of how we have built (I mean, literally, built) a robust Spark-Y classroom experience, is 7th grade scholars have built their aquaponics system! They have plumbed it, water is in the tank, and we are planning on fish this month! They submitted designs analyzing the classroom space, put thought in how to incorporate grow bed space for each class period, and excitedly counted down the days until they could get their hands on a chop saw! This final product will be the backdrop for lessons on ecosystem health, population analysis, and even introduction to animal anatomy. They are also hypothesizing ways to sustainably decorate the design and leave their mark as the class of 2021 that built it for all future classes to benefit from.

As for 8th grade, they will be spending the spring semester designing, budgeting, planning, and building raised garden beds for their school. This work will be done alongside their lessons of atmosphere and weather and reinforce the lessons learned on water cycle, erosion and deposition, and soil fertility. The efforts these 7th and 8th graders undertake will provide a permanent staples of a green campus for future scholars at Best Academy and I am so appreciative of their enthusiasm and drive they show knowing they are making a classroom resource. They take great pride in their work and I am thankful for it.

My scholars set New Year resolutions and goals for this semester. Some academic and some personal. Most pertaining to passing classes, turning in work, staying out of detention (although one included "growing taller"). I look forward to next year's group of scholars whose goals will focus on 'mastering material through brand new methods', 'pushing scientific inquiry both inside and outside the classroom', and 'leading investigative studies using the systems developed by students that came before me'.

The growth mindset being instilled in scholars is a great initiative. This mentality paired with Spark-Y's sustainable and entrepreneurial resources has huge potential to fundamentally change science curriculum in this middle school.

This initial year is setting amazing groundwork of a robust curriculum that sustains the entire academic year, going well above-and-beyond state standards. 2020 is off to a great start and I look forward to normalizing this method of teaching and securing future partnerships to the benefit of even more scholars.

To those of you who don't get the privilege of walking the halls of a middle school each day and witness the growth I get to witness, I'll share with you the words from one of the growth mindset posters that serve to remind students that are constantly pushing the bounds of their minds: “Change ‘I just can't do it' to ‘I just can't do it, yet.’''