Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) stopped by the farm Monday to promote environmental awareness just days before Earth Day.
“Teaching our children today…
John Bowne High School in Flushing honors the Earth daily with its four-acre organic farm.
Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) stopped by the farm Monday to promote environmental awareness just days before Earth Day.
“Teaching our children today about the importance of a clean, healthy environment prepares them to be better environmental stewards tomorrow,” he said in a statement.
Gennaro, chairman of the City Council’s Environmental Protection Committee, planned a series of events for the week to celebrate Queens’ natural resources.
On Wednesday, he was scheduled to introduce a resolution to call on the city Department of Education to require environmental education in public schools.
His stop at John Bowne High School was fitting as the school is home to the only working farm at a city high school.
The school’s agricultural facilities include a poultry house, exotic animal lab, orchard and greenhouse — all run by student farmers.
“At John Bowne we pride ourselves in the Agriculture Department,” said Steve Perry, assistant principal of the department, in a statement. “We teach our kids that they are stewards of the land and literally what they put in the Earth is what they get out of it.”
Gennaro spent the first day of his Earth Week at the high school, then cleaning the streets of his district. He and his staff will be picking up trash in the area throughout the week, according to a press release from his office.
On Earth Day, April 22, he was scheduled to announce legislation that would cut back on the city’s use of pesticides.
–Cynthia Koons
