We are growing lots of different fruits and vegetables here at West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science this summer with the help of our Garden Apprentices Hope and Kianna.  Here are a few items to look forward to on the salad bar this fall: 8 varieties of tomatoes, wax peppers, jalefuego peppers (fire hot!), jalepeno peppers, sweet corn, Indian corn (for grinding and making corn bread in the mud oven), 5 varieties of potatoes, watermelons, muskmelons, lots of beans for using as a dried bean and fresh green beans, tomatillos to add to our salsa, garlic, onions, carrots, radishes, spinach and lettuce, pumpkins and gourds!  On Monday nights we have a Garden Club that is open to all WMAES families -- we will work in the gardens, and then create something yummy to eat after all of our hard work. We will even play some games! 

So, why do we put all this work into growing our own vegetables? The average meal travels 2500 miles to get to your plate!  That requires a lot of natural resources to grow and transport the food to us.  By growing just a small portion of what you eat, or what we serve to the students at lunch we are making an effort to use less natural resources like water, soil, and OIL! So, come on out to WMAES some Monday night and let's garden, eat, and help the earth while having fun!

In April, Maranda TV from Wood TV 8 came to West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science to showcase our green art class.  Maranda spoke with art teacher Brooke Sutherland, who explained different environmentally friendly art projects her students are working on.  Students were shown making items out of plastic bags and other reusable materials they had around the classroom.

This summer, West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science has several opportunities for children to attend exciting and educational summer camps.  There are four different camps taking place throughout the summer; Overnight Survival Camp, Macro Invertebrate Mania, Where the Wild Things Are, and Great Garden Adventures.

Overnight Survival Camp will teach campers about edible and medicinal plants, making rope out of tree bark, and building a fire out of natural materials. Then campers get to spend the night in a hand-made shelter in the woods.

At Macro Invertebrate Mania, campers will use several techniques to catch and identify bugs, and determine the health of many different ecosystems.

Where the Wild Things Are is about all things WILD! Campers will enjoy games and songs while they discover the wild things in nature.

For the campers interested in gardening, Great Garden Adventures is the right choice. Campers start each day doing garden work and having some fun with the chickens. They will also help harvest and prepare fruits and vegetables for eating.

We also have a variety of free Preschool summer camps taking place between July 13-July 30.

Matt Wilhelm, three time X-Games medalist is visiting West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science today, May 12, to put on an outside show for the elementary school students.

Wilhelm travels across the country speaking to over 300 schools each year about topics such as perseverance, bicycle safety, bullying, goal setting, drug awareness, and character counts.  His programs are 40 minutes, and cover perseverance and two other topics chosen by the school.

While at WMAES, Wilhelm will be addressing the topics of perseverance, bicycle safety and goal setting.  His discussion on perseverance explains to children that hard work and never giving up pays off. He shares his own life story of being told he would never be good enough, and not letting that slow him down. Through his bicycle safety topic, Wilhelm uses volunteers to demonstrate the three common places where bike accidents occur: the street, driveway and intersections. For the subject of goal setting, he encourages the students to find something they like to do, practice, and set goals. Each goal should be written down, specific, and measurable. He also encourages each student to go to college.