iYES Lecture Series
Irving YES (Youth for Environmental Sustainability), an environmental education project, is continuing with a whole new look. Redesigned as a lecture series, iYES is covering sustainability issues as they relate to American history.
On September 6, the Irving YES Lecture Series launched as monthly presentations through Dr. Roy Vu's and Dr. Yolanda Romero's history courses 1301 and 1302.
At the end of each lecture, the students are given a question that they can answer/debate/discuss in the Student Forum section of the website. Participation in the forum can earn them extra points on their final exam.
During the 2010–2011 school year, students who participated in the extra-curricular project learned about sustainability through hands-on experiments. By building a miniature watershed, they learned about water conservation and how residential & commercial development impact the local watershed and water quality. When they planted a community garden in an under-utilized raised bed with pre-installed drip irrigation, they learned how they can grow food both organically and in a sustainable manner. They also witnessed the power of the sun as we cooked hot dogs in a solar oven made from two cardboard boxes, aluminum foil and shredded paper.
In the iYES Lecture Series, sustainability expert Lori De La Cruz will correlate environmental issues with our country's history. She will recount our past environmental behaviors, discuss how those have impacted our present-day situations and encourage students to express their observations on what their environmental future looks like.
Social marketing tools have been created for students to use to educate their peers about the environmental issues their generation is facing. The “Each One, Teach One” approach will allow IrvingYES participants to engage their fellow students through media they are accustomed to information through and they will be able to reach a broader audience of peers, beyond Irving.
Additionally, an online community has been established as a part of this project for registered users allow students to “blog” about the lectures and participate in online discussions outside of the classroom.
Keep up with the IYES Lecture Series through Facebook or follow iYES on Twitter.
