Green Teens engages middle and high school students at nine local schools in weekly activities during which students identify problems and solutions, engage in service projects, and use digital technology to explore new questions and share their experiences.
Keep Austin Beautiful Green Teens have had a wonderful year exploring the outdoors. While hiking, fishing, rock climbing, and gardening, students captured the moments with digital cameras. By placing a camera in the hands of students, a beautiful surprise emerged – their natural photographic eyes were awakened.
Bee In Flower by 6th grader Olivia Venegas, Martin Middle School, The Great Outdoors.
Arms Silhouette by 8th grader Michael Reyes, Martin Middle School, The Great Outdoors
During each session, youth explored not only what would make a great photo, but also the beauty in their immediate surroundings. They began to notice the relationships which exist in the environment. Photographing a flower spurred conversations about pollen and pollinators. Photographing a pollinator led to insights about shapes, patterns, and adaptive designs. The effects of litter and pollution came to the forefront when trying to capture a clean image of a landscape. Each of these concepts further enhanced student learning and empowered the Green Teens to view and understand their natural environment more completely.
The collection of compelling photos are now being showcased. This summer, you are invited to stop by our Keep Austin Beautiful office at 55 North I-35, Suite 215, 78702 to view first-hand the nature-inspired and technology-powered exhibit.
Messy Hands by educator Adrianne Kartachak, Travis High School Garden
Ladybug on Finger by 11th grader Rebecca Del Riva, Travis High School, Travis Highschool Garden
Keep Austin Beautiful would like to extend a big thank you to Applied Materials, Dell, and Texas Parks & Wildlife for their continued support of Green Teens and to Austin Art & Frame and Extend-a-Care for their support of the photography exhibit.
