4/30/09-Anna’s Final Post :(

I am glad to say the Teach-In was a success.  My second workshop went more smoothly than the first.  The first workshop was full of friends I knew very well and they didn’t take it that seriously.  That made it more difficult for me to concentrate.  The second workshop went much more smoothly.  The kids took it more seriously and I was more relaxed and confident.  One thing I learned about teaching is it’s a lot easier if you aren’t close friends with the people you are teaching.   I think when you are a teacher you need to be a friend but not that close a friend.  I enjoyed working in our set up groups even though we had to stay until 5:30 we accomplished a lot and had a good time.  Sophie taught us how to do the “stanky leg.”  From watching “Flow” I was shocked to learn that bottled water and tap water are the same thing.  It was so funny when they did the bottled water taste test in the restaurant and people preferred “tap water over tap water,” thinking it was bottled water.  I also have a new perspective on Nestles and won’t just think of them as a good chocolate maker.  Overall, I have learned so much from our sustainability project.  I met people like Carey Pulverman, Amanda, John and Peter who help save our planet by educating people about reducing how much garbage ends up in our landfills.  I went from being afraid of red wriggle worms to being an expert on them.  Although I must admit, I still gag when it comes to dealing with 1,000 of them all at once.  I just remind myself they mean no methane and no ammonia polluting our air. This project introduced me to the world of urban composing and when we began I never even heard of it.  I also learned a lot from visiting Animal Haven about non-kill non-profit animal rescue centers.  Animal Haven is a great organization to work with because they taught me how to make kitties with leukemia comfortable and how to socialize animals so they can find homes more easily.  I hope all the people at the Lower East Side Ecology Center and at Animal Haven keep fighting the good fight to sustain our planet.  And I will try to do my part too even though this project is over.