Our program is underway for 2008! We are pleased to be working with an incredible group of students in the King Elementary EAST Lab. This year we have made some changes. We are now implementing our program during after school hours and working a diversity of ages. In addition, we have selected themes for this year's films.

Read on for more info...

ASN/KING EAST PARTNERSHIP

GREEN ON THE SILVER SCREEN

Project Goal

Create films on green topics to be shown at Market Street Cinema and entered in local and regional film festivals and competitions.

The afterschool group as a whole will focus on the themes, “The Forgotten R: Reduce!,” exploring waste and waste management in the Little Rock area, and “Fourche Creek Watershed: Protecting our City Treasure.”

As the group projects will be intermittent activities and trips, between activities and tasks, teams of students may work on their own film which will fit into the themes defined below.

Film Categories and Possibilities

How-to-Video

• Make your own eco-friendly household cleaners (ASN)
• Sprouts! Year round healthy cheap food (ASN)
• Bicycle Maintenance 101 (ReCycles)
• Intro to Gardening ( Dunbar)
• Home Energy Efficiency (Mike Wallis, Arkansas Energy Office)

Public Service Announcement

• Fourche Creek/Storm Drain Markers (Julie Hendrix, Johnny Chamberlin)
• Recycling Service Awareness (Carol Bevis, Little Rock Solid Waste)
• Community Gardens (Damian Thompson, Sylvia Blane)
• Eco-Tips! (ASN, Arkansas Earth Day)

The students are off to a great start and have begun filming several projects. Stay tuned for more info and contact us if you are interested in volunteering with us!

Read on some more for background info on this project...

According to World Watch Institute Vital Signs 2006-2007, in 2002, humanity overdrew the natural capital it depends on by 23 percent. This is NOT sustainable! Not only do communities across the globe over extend natural resources, many common practices produce unwanted by-products of unmanageable waste and negative environmental impacts. However, across the United States and across the globe, communities are recognizing the need to meet the challenge. Households, businesses, and communities are adopting more sustainable practices that produce less waste, utilize fewer resources, and produce less toxins and environmental damage. BUT - unless we cultivate the awareness of the need for sustainability in our communities, our progress will continue to be minimal.

That's a good reason to work with young people in our community to promote sustainable development.

The Arkansas Sustainability Network youth program will work with 5th grade students from the King Inderdistrict Magnet School EAST Lab. Program participants will learn about sustainability, and then create films that document community projects for sustainability or illustrate paths our community can take towards sustainable development.

Students will work with in a small team setting to plan, film, and edit the films. These films will then be used as tools to teach sustainability through school and community showings.