by Elias Alvarez
Before I began this project, I did not even know that there was a Croton water-treatment plant in my neighborhood and that there are several plants for waste-treatment near where I live. In other words, I just had a basic knowledge about waste and water, but I did not know such things as where it goes? Who is dealing with it? Or how it affects our community? However, after finishing our “HabitatMap” project I can answer all of the previous questions and create my own website about water and waste.
Furthermore, this project involves the use of habit of mind a lot; by maintaining a clear point of view, collecting and searching information, and connecting the behavior of New Yorkers to the creation of waste and the contamination of the water. Moreover, I found that the fieldtrips were the most useful aspect of the project, because by visiting the actual places it provided me with an appreciation of its reality. Even more, the aspect of the NYC Water System which I investigated about was Aqueducts.
The search for this aspect brought an adventure of learning for my brain… for instance; I learned how the New and Old Croton Aqueducts Systems work and what I can do myself to help to keep it sustainable. Besides, this project makes a great connection with the four values of the Green School: Sustainable Self, by using my intellectual skills in order to search for the certain aspect and hold its information; Sustainable Relationships, by working in groups in order to share and combine different points of view; Sustainable Community, by taking fieldtrips within our neighborhoods to inquire more about it; Sustainable Society, by focusing in how the people interact with Water and Waste, and how they affect our environment. Therefore, this project was essentially important for my apprenticeship as an academic student.
