New Earth Kids
If you would like to learn about the New Earth Project, please contact us at co************************@***il.com.
Episodes of New Earth Kids (click on the episode number to listen):
New Earth Kids: Jose Barrios Bike Club
Host Nan Franzblau joins over three dozen kids who make up the Jose Barrios Elementary School Bike Club. We listen in as they discuss bicycle safety & maintenance, riding etiquette in a group, and the many reasons to ride bikes. Then we pedal along as the club rides to a local bike shop in downtown Silver City. Whether you enjoy bicycle riding or not, these kids will inspire you with their undaunted courage and adventurous spirits.
New Earth Kids: ALHS Seniors’ Current Events Roundtable
Host Nan Franzblau sits in on an Aldo Leopold High School senior Government class. As students prepare to graduate, they share their perspectives about current political issues, how these issues may shape their plans for the future, and what matters most to their generation.
New Earth Kids: Teens Connect at Ecocamp
Host Nan Franzblau heads into the Gila National Forest to visit Ecocamp, a four-day wilderness camp for teenagers hosted by the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance. Campers describe skills they have learned, such as how to build a fire from scratch, which forest plants are edible, and how to identify their bird neighbors. As participants dig deeper into their experiences, they share how their time spent at Ecocamp has strengthened their connections to nature, each other, and themselves.
Episode 14 – MAY 2024:
New Earth Kids: San Lorenzo & Hurley Elementary Schools Journey Through the Food System
Host Nan Franzblau accompanies students as they discover where food comes from and apply this knowledge to their own experiences. Beginning with the creation of soil, the sprouting of seeds and the water cycle that nourishes those seeds, students learn how plants grow, make more seeds, provide food, and how that food gets from the fields to our forks. Representatives from several local non-profits help guide the young participants, who reflect on how to make healthy choices regarding sugar intake, homegrown or local vs. factory farmed produce, and the importance of consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables.
New Earth Project: Empowering Youth to Curb Climate Change
Host Nan Franzblau visits the New Earth Project work sites to talk with kids on the crew about the goals of the project, how the crew collects and processes large amounts of food and wood “waste” each week, and what they are learning from their jobs. The kids share details about how to build, fill, and maintain Johnson-Su bioreactors and how this composting process is unique in its capacity to create a fungal dominant soil amendment.
The New Earth Project directors also chime in with not only their hopes for how the project will continue to empower the kids, but how the kids have helped to shape the project.
Episode 12 – FEBRUARY 2024:
New Earth Kids: Jose Barrios 4th Graders Share New Earth Experiences
Host Nan Franzblau talks with six 4th graders from Jose Barrios Elementary School about a variety of activities they have done with the New Earth Project. The kids share their passion for redworms, how they care for the worms in their classrooms, and what worm cocoons look like. They address what lives in healthy soil and how all living things depend on decomposers. Finally, throughout this delightful and engaging conversation, the kids focus on solutions to pollution and climate change by presenting alternatives to overusing fossil fuels and putting garbage in the landfill.
Episode 11 – NOVEMBER 2023:
New Earth Kids: Keana Huerta & Matthew Chavez Explore Paths to Youth Activism
Host Nan Franzblau talks with recent Cobre High School graduates Keana Huerta and Matthew Chavez about what motivates them to take action and the positive changes they would like to see in their communities of Hurley and Bayard. They also share their experiences as participants in the Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session, how that prepared them to be effective leaders, and how it inspired Keana to become the youngest member in the history of the Hurley Town Council. Throughout the conversation, both Keana and Matthew emphasize the importance of building community through service, connection and love.
New Earth Kids: Youth Activism in the March to End Fossil Fuel Use AND Beautifying Bayard
Host Nan Franzblau joins youth activists as they lead Grant County residents in a march to end the use of fossil fuels, adding their voices to the global movement. The kids share their concerns about climate change, what inspires their activism, and what others can do to make a difference. In the second half of New Earth Kids, we’ll hear a roundtable discussion with residents of Bayard who enlisted an art class at Cobre High School to dream, design, and paint a mural on the side of the Bayard Library. The result is an imaginative collage of images that celebrate reading, cultural diversity, elements of the natural world, the Kneeling Nun, and New Mexico’s colorful history with UFOs!
New Earth Kids: The Good Work of the YCC (Part II)
This episode is Part II of a two-part series featuring kids working for the Youth Conservation Corps. Host Nan Franzblau talks with kids from the YCC Water Harvesting, Trail, and Eco-monitoring Crews, who describe the projects they’re working on, how these projects impact the community, and what they are learning, not only from the manual work but through working in groups and leading others.
New Earth Kids: The Good Work of the YCC (Part I)
This episode is Part I of a two-part series featuring kids working for the Youth Conservation Corps. Host Nan Franzblau talks with kids from the YCC Mural and Garden Crews, who describe the projects they’re working on, how these projects impact the community, and what they are learning, not only from the manual work but through working in groups and leading others. Be sure to tune in to Part II next month as well, when we’ll feature YCC members from Trails, Water Harvesting, and Eco-monitoring crews.
New Earth Kids: 20th Annual Children’s Water Festival Celebration!
This month, 5th graders from all over southwest New Mexico come to the Gila to celebrate the river. In this episode, kids from Cliff and Stout Elementary Schools share their favorite riverside activities: identifying riparian trees, collecting macroinvertebrates that indicate river health, distinguishing between skulls of carnivores and herbivores, plus making surprising discoveries about the many ways the river supports all life. We also hear from recent high school graduates who are passionate about instructing and assisting the kids in their learning adventure. Finally, all reflect on the importance of preserving this unique and pristine natural resource that brings together plant and animal communities alike!
Episode 6 – APRIL 2023:
New Earth Kids: Gardening at San Lorenzo Elementary in the Past, Present & Future
Host Nan Franzblau and reading interventionist from San Lorenzo Elementary, Pat Ross, talk with seven 4th and 5th graders from Mimbres about the gardens and greenhouse on their school grounds. The kids share plans for maintaining an aquaponic system they are currently building before delving into the importance of native species, decomposers, compost, soil health, photosynthesis and plant anatomy. Their enthusiasm is contagious as they share the many benefits of growing their own food as well as some surprises from their plot, including human-shaped carrots and native beans that grew from seeds that had been planted in years past! Finally, they reflect on all they have learned, the bonds of friendship forged, the importance of community, and their own “garden superheroes.”
New Earth Kids: Garden Goodness at Stout Elementary
Students from GW Stout (and an alumna) come to the table for a lively discussion about their 4th grade gardening program. Facilitated by 4th grade teacher Julie Dunning-Farmer and County Commissioner Alicia Edwards, these students detail their gardening adventures, from breaking up asphalt 7 years ago to cultivate their school property, to making salsa and pumpkin pies from their harvests. As they discuss the evolution of their garden plots and their discoveries of fresh, new food and recipes, these kids also reflect on the myriad benefits of their outdoor classroom. Finally, by emphasizing community support and interpersonal connection, these students from Stout inspire hope for the future.
Episode 4 – FEBRUARY 2023:
New Earth Kids: Cliff Elementary 5th Grade Murals
Host Nan Franzblau and co-host Cliff School Librarian Mary Giardina are joined by Mrs. Quattrocchi’s 5th grade students. The students discuss the five large murals they created for the Cliff School cafeteria that inspire others to compost their food waste and educate them about the process. Students talk about how composting happens and its benefits and impacts on the environment. They also describe their murals in detail, even down to some of the worm-characters’ names! Finally, they talk about their artistic processes and how creating these murals as well as the practice of composting itself will help to shape their lives in the future.
Episode 3 – JANUARY 2023:
New Earth Kids: ALHS 9th Grade Environmental Science
Host Nan Franzblau and New Earth Project founder Carol Ann Fugagli are joined by five 9th grade Environmental Science students from Aldo Leopold High School. The students discuss and evaluate the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals and how they are meeting many of these goals through their restoration project at the Waterworks. They also explore the implications of climate change in their own lives and our need to go beyond sustainability to implement more positive, regenerative actions both individually and collectively. Finally, the students touch on ideas of environmental justice and the importance of diversity and equality in all communities on our planet.
New Earth Kids: ALHS Eco-monitors
Host Nan Franzblau and Youth Conservation Corps Eco-monitoring crew supervisor Mike Fugagli talk with nine high school students about their roles in the Eco-monitoring Program at Aldo Leopold High School. The students describe many community projects they have worked on, including replacing non-native plant species with natives along San Vicente Creek, filling Johnson-Su bioreactors with the New Earth Project, and visiting the tar spill in the Gila National Forest. They also discuss ecological concepts like the Anthropocene, keystone and invasive species, and climate change. These conscientious kids wrap-up their fascinating conversation by sharing how they plan to move forward and address the many challenges facing our local and global communities.
Episode 1 – NOVEMBER 2022:
New Earth Kids: Climathons
Host Nan Franzblau and New Earth Project founder Carol Ann Fugagli talk with six 4th graders about Climathons held at their schools. The students discuss the projects they completed at the Climathons: worm boxes for vermicomposting, short videos about the benefits of composting, and posters showing the whys and hows of composting. Students talk about what they learned and how to make composting more widespread in their community.
If you would like to learn about the New Earth Project, please contact us at co************************@***il.com.