Finding Connection: Human Health & the Environment: Farmer's Market Edition
I have a friend who recently started her own business as freelance educator and is very passionate about education being a global catalyst for positive change. She sold everything and bought a van “ ShanShan’s Van Van” and was driving from the east coast of Canada to the west to start her freelance educational career. As a pit stop along the way, she stopped in to spend the night at my place and let’s just say ideas started flowing. Her goal in her business to connect local non-profit organizations to schools in their region and run various creative programming to teach the mission of the non-profit, promote the work they are doing and essentially build a more longer term partnership. She has created escape rooms related to wetland conservation and designed school wide games related to wildlife habitat and conservation. Essentially, she acts as a consultant and works with both organizations to design a unique program that will benefit both organizations.
Over a coffee I was updating her on my current involvement with the Greater Sudbury Market Association, or more commonly known as the local farmers market association. I am an executive member on the board and was just starting to think about the potential this organization has to educate on local food production, supporting local producers, growers and artisans and connecting with community. I also talked about my final project with my Masters program being about the connection between environmental health and human health through the lens of agriculture and told her how I would love to integrate the two somehow.
For more information on Shanshan Tian and her work please visit:
This quickly led to a growing idea about designing a program with the schools in the city in partnership with my friend Shan Shan. Voila an idea was born, and now in these more unpredictable times I have decided to build up my vision for the program as far as messaging goes and get some feedback from the Board of Directors at the GSMA. From there I would send this draft proposal to my friend Shan Shan to see what she can create from a programming perspective. Once the trial program is completed, I would like to create a course, added to my RGeneration online school I created for my masters to help others re-create this type of program.
Link to the Finding Connection: Human Health & the Environment
Project Proposal & Living Schools
I have made up a preliminary proposal for this idea and included its relation to the living schools model and its impact for sustainability. These ideas will be presented to both ShanShan and her organization as well as with the Greater Sudbury Market Association
