B4E

Painting by B4E student Nakaia Millman

The Field Course

Our first project: The Systems that Feed Us.

We studied food as it moves in and out of our communities, from four distinct angles: environmental, nutritional, economic, and creative.

As such, each student focused on and received credit in a different "discipline" ranging from environmental studies and sustainable business, to journalism, photography and audio/visual production. Credit was earned in one or more of the following courses: Contemporary World Problems, Global Issues, Journalism, Photography, Advanced Media Studies, and Event Production.

Students co-created the curriculum with mentor/producer Jonathan Safir, and each researched and wrote their own syllabus and academic petition for accreditation, with the guidance of principal Whitney Meissner, Ed.D. of Chimacum High School.

The common goal was to share the students' passion about healthy food and land stewardship, and to engage more youth in project-based learning programs in our community.

The program took place in two phases:

• Phase One: Summer Intensive, August 10-21:

The two-week field research incorporated visiting local farms, food producers and vendors, as well as attending field seminars with community elders. We learned about the systems that feed us and the questions about food resiliency that face our community, while conducting interviews, photographing, and recording audio from all seminars.

• Phase Two: School year, fall 2011 - spring 2012:

Two eighteen-week semesters have given students time for more extensive research, specific follow-up interviews, and collaborative work with community mentors to "digest" the material (creating artwork, diagrams, collages, and excerpts of interviews). We will disseminate it throughout our community by publishing a book, a website, and a Facebook blog, to provide resource guides for the community and to promote local food projects and businesses.