The Growing Power of LEEF

The following blog post was written by Sarah Pilato,
Lead Sustainability Educator on Spark-Y school program partnership with Edison High School.

Two years ago, Spark-Y began an exhilarating new program in collaboration with Edison High School called the LEEF Pathway. LEEF (Leaders in Environmental and Entrepreneurial Futures) is a pathway that Edison students can choose to follow throughout their high school career which will allow them to gain knowledge that is necessary on their journey towards graduating, in a way that is innovative and experiential.

The idea was born from the successes of already established programs and from the hearts of our Spark-Y team that saw what a meaningful impact these programs were having on the Edison community. Students involved in previous years programming showed extremely high interest in the hands-on nature of the projects and increasing engagement and attendance as the year went on. What Spark-Y was able to create was an environment that catered to students who learned by doing. Activities, labs, and independent projects that have real-world outcomes are the cornerstones of our programs and we knew we had to find a way to expand those opportunities to include more students.

When the idea of LEEF was just budding (pun intended) it included our existing environmental science class known as EASYpro (Edible Agriculture School Yard Professionals) and LEEF Biology. Students taking these classes were using aquaponics systems to learn about plant and fish biology and ecosystems; gardens and greenhouses to learn about entrepreneurship and population studies; vermicompost to learn about closed-loop cycles and decomposition. Edison High School has so many amazing resources as a part of their Green Campus and not allowing students to utilize and learn from them would be a wasted opportunity. It is our goal to integrate these and other systems (such as the solar roof and rainwater catchment) into as many LEEF classes as possible since they provide such a wonderful hands-on way of showing how what’s learned in school can apply to real-life scenarios.

Lead Sustainability Educator, Sarah, teaching a group of EHS staff and students about the school’s aquaponic system, which was designed and built by EASYpro students.

Smaller scale aquaponic systems that are used in LEEF biology throughout the year.

Our pilot year of the LEEF Pathway seemed to be off to a great start! Students were excited and engaged, more and more were wanting to enroll in LEEF classes, and expansion of the program was becoming not only realistic, but necessary. It was time for us to really start sprouting!

The last two years have seen a lot of growth within the LEEF Pathway. What began as a simple pilot with just two classes now reaches across many departments at Edison High School. In addition to environmental science and biology, Spark-Y now collaborates with the science department in physics and chemistry; we have helped develop an environmental art class; and have begun a special education collaboration in addition to several other opportunities. (See the full list below if you are curious about all of the classes that Spark-Y partners with at Edison.)

EHS junior Ramel, and senior Fartun measure bamboo to be cut for pollinator houses

I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this process since the beginning. I spend much of my working time directly in Edison and get to see and work with many of the students currently going through the LEEF Pathway. Current EHS senior, Fartun, who took environmental science during first semester told us that it was her favorite class she’s taken this year because she loved working in the aquaponics lab rather than sitting at her desk all hour.

It is also very exciting for me to be the driving force behind some of the program expansions. This year is our first year of programming within Edison’s special education department and is probably the most fun I have with a class all week long. DCD teacher Ross Porter has opened up about the growth he has seen in his students this year saying “it’s extraordinary how excited they are to participate.” It’s clear to see that even small activities make a huge impact when students feel included in their community.

EHS students Kinnicki and Abdullahi harvesting pea microgreens that their class had grown.

My hopes for the future of the LEEF program are that we continue to find innovative and empowering ways to meet students where they are at. I hope to use this pathway to reinvigorate a love of learning in students who feel that they don’t fit perfectly into the current education paradigm, and to further encourage those who have already found their passions in life. I truly believe in this program and believe that it is an environment any student can feel successful and empowered in.

LEEF Pathway classes at Edison High School:

• LEEF Biology

• LEEF Chemistry

• LEEF Physics

• EASYpro

• Art and the Environment

• Special Education: DCD collaboration

• EEA (Edison Entrepreneurship Academy)

• Global Communities

• Career Readiness

• Work-Based Learning

• Credit Recovery

• EHS Green Team

Tangents, Passion, and Failure: Parting Words for Our 2019 Seniors

The following farewell address was written by
Sarah Pilato, Spark-Y Sustainability Educator.

My job at Spark-Y allows me the privilege of spending a part of every day at Edison High School with many of our LEEF (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Environment, Future) classes. LEEF was designed to be a pathway that Edison students can follow throughout their high school education that incorporates innovative and hands-on project-based learning. Students involved in this pathway get to explore the real world that exists far outside of their classroom and how they as individuals can have an impact on it.

Sarah Pilato with Edison High School Youth

Since I get to spend so much time with these students throughout the year, I have the opportunity to form very strong relationships with them and the end of the year is a very bittersweet experience. It is especially so for those that are seniors who will be graduating and not returning the following year.

If I am able to leave anything with my graduating seniors to take into their futures, I hope that it is these lessons from our time together:

Embrace life’s tangents

At this point in the year, many of my students have learned that they can very easily get me off on a tangent during class. I make myself and my classroom open to these spontaneous discussions because often times, I find that they happen when students are their most excited and engaged. During a garden planning exercise, a discussion about which crops are able to grow in Minnesota quickly turned into an all-out war over pineapple on pizza (it absolutely does belong, for the record). Another day began with students participating in nutrient testing but eventually ended with a passionate discussion about what the government is doing (or not doing) to regulate various types of pollution and how those students can make more drastic changes.

When my students ask me genuine and thoughtful questions, I am more than happy to share that knowledge with them. These tangent discussions became the space where my students did their best learning. They opened up their minds to new ideas, further cemented relationships with their classmates and teachers, and gained a deep sense of pride and ownership over something that may have been brand new to them.

I hope that my students take from these small classroom experiences, that when life throws an abrupt change of course at you, it may very well just be an opportunity to learn something new, have a new experience, or find a new passion.

Find something you’re passionate about in everything that you do.

I am very much a realist when it comes to my classes. Not every student is going to love every single activity, and I try to be upfront with them about that. My challenge to them in these instances, is to find a way to connect our current adventure to something that you are excited about. A great recent example of this came during our soil health unit from just a few days ago. I’ll be the first to admit that soil health and nutrient testing can come across a lot less glamorous than some of the other topics we get to cover in a year. One particular student couldn’t have cared less about the phosphorus levels in the garden soil but what he did care about was his “pizza garden”. We were able to have a great conversation about his hopes for this garden space - production of enough tomatoes and basil that he could use them in making his own pizza sauce - and how healthy growing plants would be impossible to get without first having healthy soil. Tying this seemingly boring activity back to something that this student already cared about and had taken ownership of, reinvigorated his interest in the soil testing.

I hope that my students take from these tiny challenges that life is worth being excited about. Not everything you do will necessarily be something you are deeply passionate about, but taking even those dull moments and flipping them around can ignite a new understanding or perspective you might not have considered before.

Failure is ahead of you. Don’t be afraid of it.

Failure is a thing that is going to happen to you. I’ve learned this lesson myself many, many times over and every time I learn it, it gets a little less scary. One of my goals for my classroom throughout the year is to create a “fail safe” environment. I want my students to come to class everyday not being afraid to try something new on the chance that it might not work out the way that they want it to, or worse, for fear that they will get a bad grade if it doesn’t.

During a bridge building competition (a stepping stone to our first major building project of the year), 2 of my students were becoming increasingly frustrated when the tactic they were trying kept resulting in broken popsicle sticks before their bridge was even completed. After resetting their minds a bit and making a few adjustments, they were able to improve their bridge’s weight-bearing capabilities. Another student attempted a fish breeding experiment that resulted in exactly 0 offspring being born. Reflecting with some of his classmates, he wrote a really powerful presentation on every possible source of error and has requested to try his experiment again next year, despite not even being enrolled in the class.

I hope that my students take from these experiences that instant success is not the only way to be successful. Failed attempts are opportunities to learn, grow, and persevere your way to a rewarding outcome.

Congratulations to the graduating seniors from the class of 2019! We at Spark-Y are all so proud of you!