Art and Ecology Camping Trip
As part of a field work based learning expierence, it is important in fostering the earth and its communities as living systems to get the students into the wild landsape. We created this trip as a way for members of the activist community to build mentorships with the students and to allow them to mutually benifit from all the silence away from city life had to offer.
Communication
For our communication field work, we contacted the local independent radio station: KKFI and had one the board members and DJ's come out talk with our students not only about the value of independent media but the basics of communicating IE a proper handshake and greeting, good times were had by all.
Community
For our community field work we took a trip to the Green Impact Zone in the heart of the Kansas City urban core, where they are working to combat a food desert and build the local economy. We then had a speaker from Bridging the Gap come and discuss the 5 things you can do to make a difference.
Graduation, Celebration Parade
The culmination of our program brought two interns from the Kansas City Art Institute who helped the students pick and prepare a costume based on an animal or plant native to the region, we then marched from school to a local coffee house: One More Cup who practices 95% no waste and treated the students before graduation.
Economy
For our economy field work, Robin and Arial from: Loaves of Grass Bread came and taught the students how to make real sourdough bread from a 5 year old starter created in San Francisco. The students then "gifted" their loaves to neighbors in the the community around the school in exchange that the recipient would pay it forward teaching them that currency is only a marker for value, and value itself is equivalent exchange.
Agriculture
We were able to introduce the students to our relationship with the amazing founders of the Bad Seed Farmer's Market and Urbivore Farm. The students got a walk through of the farm, a chance to meet the animals and finally taught how to plant and harvest in no till plots.
Introduction to Curriculum and Value Exchange
One of the founding principles behind our work with the students was the lesson of equivalent exchange, and community building through social capital. We had the students write down their favorite things, activities they were good at, and those they would like to learn how to do. We then paired them with older students and they were tasked to foster each others skills over the course of the term.
Nutrition
For our nutrition field work , we took a trip to the Blue Bird Bistro in the West Side of Kansas City where the owner gave us a tour and described where each of the ingredients of the meal we ate came from emphasizing the relationship between farmer, vendor and customer.
Resources
It was important to be able to take the students to a time before modern convenience was so readily available, so we taught them how to make organic local beeswax taper candles and each was given the homework of spending an evening using no light except their candle, to appreciate the ease of modern life.
Self Esteem
We were lucky enough to be invited to a wonderful place in Kansas called Learning2Fly run by a 4 time professional boxing champion Sumya Anani where she teaches yoga and aerial fabric. The students got a hand's on lesson and ended the day with a good meal.
Shelter
I was beyond lucky to have Studio 804 a green architecture firm based inside the University of Kansas agree to have a couple of their alumni come out to a few of their sites and give us guided tours of their work, learning about innovative sustainable design, shoestring budgets, and teamwork. We ended the day with a lovely meal in a local park.
The Satellite Letter Project
Based dually on a principle called Derive by Guy Debord and the Golden Record from the Voyager Project, the students had to compose a letter about their experience during the LSP and convey one thing they had learned to a complete stranger. We handmade ink from crushing and boiling local black walnuts, made our own quills out of bamboo and paper to boot. The letters were sent based on a random selection of Motuv contacts that agreed to participate in hopefully building a relationship with the student so they could have contacts "out in the world" and to convince them to continually broaden their horizons.
Transportation [350 Field Trip]
The entire school took a trip to some rural land owned by a patron of the Academy, where we made this painting for the 350.org 10/10/10 world wide event to combat climate change. It was a wonderful day.
![View the album Transportation [350 Field Trip]](http://motuv.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/wppa/thumbs/144.jpg)
Water
For our first field work, we took the students to the banks of the Missouri River in Parkville, and had Erin a rep from Water.org a local AND international non profit organization that works for clean water in all over the world come talk to the students about the state of disparity across geographical borders. We then constructed a rain barrel for the school garden.
Well macaadima nuts, how about that.