TED Press Release - "Greening the Gardens"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Donyiel Crocker Director of Media Relations 630.301.1203 dcrocker@colum.edu

Greening the Gardens NEW YORK – March 19 -- Greening a garden may sound redundant, but for TEDizen Angela Dunlap and the residents of one of Chicago’s most troubled and neglected public housing projects, it’s a job that has to be done.

TEDizen Angela Dunlap is looking forward to submitting her idea worth spreading. Her TEDtopix about environmental sustainability was inspired by a neighborhood’s journey towards environmental justice and one child’s desire to create a healthy and sustainable neighborhood for her classmates, family and friends.

Angela Dunlap had just taken a job as a science teacher at George Washington Carver Primary School, which sits in the middle of a troubled, low income neighborhood on the far South Side of Chicago. Despite the overcrowded classes and limited resources, Angela refused to give her students a second rate education.

So, she reached out to some of her colleagues for ideas. One of her classmates from college responded. He had taken a teaching job in the South Bronx – another troubled, low income neighborhood – and was working as a computer instructor at one of the elementary schools. He recommended she check out a couple of online sites, including one she had never heard of, TED.com. Curious as to what exactly TED was, she searched the site and discovered a non-profit organization which brought together the worlds of technology, entertainment and design to promote ideas worth sharing across the globe. “My desire to teach is fueled by my belief in the power of knowledge and ideas to change the lives and attitudes of my students,” shares Angela, “This is at the heart of what TED is all about.”

During her search into all that is TED, she fell in love with TED talks – short speeches by some of today’s best and brightest minds about ideas they passionately believe in. “That night, for two hours straight, I was glued to my computer screen watching talks” she admits, “The speakers’ enthusiasm was inspiring and contagious. I knew right away that my students needed to see one, but I wanted to find a talk they could really relate to.” Angela did a search for inspiring talks and came across one by Majora Carter, an environmental activist from the South Bronx, entitled, “Greening the ghetto.” She spent the next few minutes listening to a talk that would change her life and the lives of her students forever.

-moreGreening the Gardens Page Two Majora’s passionate story about the environmental injustice in the South Bronx and its effects on low income neighborhoods and the minorities who live there hit close to home for Angela. Most of her students lived in the Altgeld Gardens, a public housing project not too far from the school. The “Gardens” as most of her students called them were surrounded by a mix of industrial plants, abandoned factories, toxic waste dumps, landfills and a sanitary waste site.

As a result, a number of them suffered from chronic respiratory ailments, such as asthma and bronchitis. But up to now, she really didn’t know what she could do or how she could change anything. Inspired by Majora’s story and armed with new information, she began to write a lesson plan about environmental sustainability for her 7th and 8th grade classes.

The next week, she introduced the unusual topic to her students and had them watch Majora Carter’s TED talk. A few eyes lit up as they began to identify with her words. They knew all about not wanting to go outside, the empty homes, air pollution and feeling forgotten and neglected. But the words touched one student more than the others. Olivia Carson went home that day and told her parents all about Mrs. Dunlap’s lesson and the TED talk she had seen. She cried as she asked them what she could do to change things. Moved by their daughter’s concern, the Carsons began calling around to other area residents to find out what could be done. A few weeks later, Angela got a call from Olivia’s parents inviting her to a meeting with area residents to discuss the environmental issues affecting their community. “After talking with the Carsons, I was excited about the possibilities,” she said, “But, sitting in the first community meeting and watching the real time impact of shared knowledge and ideas, just blew me away.”

The meeting was just the beginning. Angela and the Carsons met with their Alderman to present a new initiative to “Green the Gardens” and their timing could not have been more perfect. Elections were a few months away and Alderman Taylor was eager to lend a hand.

Within a month, the “Green the Gardens” initiative had garnered the attention of the local media, which resulted in a number of landscaping companies offering their services pro bono.

With help from a team of dedicated community volunteers, they were able to secure the necessary funding from the city and the project was underway. By election time, the new landscaping was completed and the neighborhood was full of excitement and pride for what they had accomplished.

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Greening the Gardens Page Three Tears of joy could be found in the eyes of many of the area’s senior residents and in those of Angela’s, as well. She felt such joy as she watched a few children hopscotch along the freshly laid stone paths. “I took one look at the garden and was overwhelmed at what we had accomplished together,” she remarked, “Yet watching the children as they explored their new surroundings reminded me that this was just one small step on the journey towards creating a healthy and sustainable neighborhood for my students, their families and friends.” ### About TED TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place on the West Coast, with simulcast nearby; TEDGlobal is held each year in Edinburgh, UK. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to organize local, independent TED-like events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

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