Growing Up Green

Director Bob Gliner's PBS-aired Growing Up Green looks at ways to get young kids thinking about conservation, laying the foundation for them to become environmental stewards in the future. Gliner focuses on Michigan's Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative—with place-based learning forming part of the curriculum—in which kids work with biologists and other members of the scientific community on projects involving mussels, crayfish, salmon, and more. As one student notes, some of the projects require familiarity with physics, geometry, and algebra, meaning that the kids are learning while also doing something useful (other projects incorporate art and history). From these lessons, students have already helped their parents, neighbors, and even their schools to find more environmentally beneficial ways to clean streams, fertilize lawns, and conserve energy when running household appliances. Ramona Gligor, a project coordinator at the Detroit Institute of Technology, believes that her students have now come to see their city more as a resource or an opportunity than a hindrance or a roadblock. In doing their part to improve communities, many students are also considering conservation as a career path. Parents, educators, and students are sure to find ideas, inspiration, and encouragement in this engaging documentary. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (K. Fennessy)