#BuildBiocitizenLA Grow a school!
Tax deductible
Dear Family & Friends,
As some of you already know, I have recently undertaken the position of Director for Biocitizen Los Angeles, a nonprofit school of environmental philosophy. Biocitizen is new to LA, but has been thriving in Western Massachusettes since 2009. I am so excited to share the school's mission with you, the families of North East Los Angeles, and beyond! We are currently launching our initial fundraising campaign, with details included below. Please reach out to me with any questions you have. I would love to talk with you more about it!
Regards,
Jesse Carmichael
Director, Biocitizen Los Angeles
biocitizenLA.org
Who & What & Why
Biocitizen's mission is to create "biocitizens" by getting kids "off the screen and into the green!" We are a non-profit organization providing educational instruction via Field Environmental Philosophy (FEP). FEP is simply the practice of inquiry-based learning while on the move.
“Biotic citizen” is a term coined by one of our nation's first wildlife managers, Aldo Leopold. Leopold co-founded the Wilderness Society and is widely celebrated for conceiving the “land ethic.“ At its core, the land ethic is an ethic of caring. Caring about people, about land, and about strengthening the relationships between them.
“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” - Aldo Leopold
Biocitizen provides immersive and experiential learning for ages 6-14. Our FEP curricula and teaching philosophy is designed to “unplug” your child by bringing them into direct contact with the creatures, geologies, hydrologies and infrastructures of their biome. We provide a place where kids reengage and emerge re-interested in the world around them. Once engaged, we encourage them through emotional and intellectual inquiry to internalize the Land Ethic and bring it to their own [biotic] community.
Where:
Our outdoor classrooms will be based in the neighborhoods of North East LA, extending throughout the Los Angeles River Basin Biome, and will include the coastal and mountain regions.
This amount of ground will require more than just our feet.
To get everyone there:
Our primary purpose for this campaign is to raise funds for a 15 seat passenger van.
This will allow us to get the kids out into the field, to the sites that are beyond the reach of public transportation.
We are also dedicated to increasing our accessibility to all socioeconomic groups by creating the BiocitizenLA Scholarship Fund.
The Details:
Ford e350 15 seat passenger van
- $13,000 budget
- Used (2010 - 2012)
- 80,000 -150,000 miles
Biocitizen Scholarship Fund:
- $9,000 Goal
Materials & Gear General Fund:
- Any remaining funds
When:
Time is of the essence!
Registration for Biocitizen's Our Place Summer School 2017 has already begun, with class beginning June 26th!
We will need to purchase the van as soon as possible.
It is also crucial that we have scholarship funds available for any student that needs financial assistance.
We are asking that you give generously to our Build BiocitizenLA campaign. Your tax-deductible donation will help support our kids, our [biotic] community, and ultimately our planet. Now, more than ever, we must work to engage, educate, and create evironmental leaders.
Please share our GoFundMe link far and wide - from family & friends to community leaders & organizations who would support our mission.
We are also excited to announce that we have received a $2,500 Neighborhood Purpose Grant from the Echo Park Neighborhood Council.
-----
Background, Origins & Creds
Biocitzen was concieved and founded by Dr. Kurt Heidinger in 2009. In the last 8 years, the school has served over 3,000 students and has been recognized by the academic community for it's cutting-edge pedogagical research. In his own words, Kurt describes his vision of Biocitizen as a peripetetic school; one that "specializes in teaching place, for the purpose of stimulating awareness of natural and cultural history, and of raising critical questions about how we live—in a way that allows students to discover their world, instead of having it downloaded into them".
Biocitizen teacher and Fulbright Scholar Rika Tsuji is quoted in a recent article about the Our Place Summer School “Science is one thing and it is very important, but it only describes the situation. Environmental philosophy helps us figure out what to do with that information,” Tsuji said. “It is about how we translate the messages from nature.”
The school is now recognized by the Fulbright Foundation Institute of International Education as an accredited source of training for Fulbright Scholars in the field of Field Environmental Philosophy.
The new LA school joins Biocitizen Chile and the still-forming Biocitizen Brooklyn as extensions of the original Westhampton school.
Thank you for your time and, hopefully, your dollars! Your contribution truly means the world to us.
Finally, check us out on social media!
Facebook Biocitizen Los Angeles
Instagram
Twitter
#BuildBiocitizenLA
As some of you already know, I have recently undertaken the position of Director for Biocitizen Los Angeles, a nonprofit school of environmental philosophy. Biocitizen is new to LA, but has been thriving in Western Massachusettes since 2009. I am so excited to share the school's mission with you, the families of North East Los Angeles, and beyond! We are currently launching our initial fundraising campaign, with details included below. Please reach out to me with any questions you have. I would love to talk with you more about it!
Regards,
Jesse Carmichael
Director, Biocitizen Los Angeles
biocitizenLA.org
Who & What & Why
Biocitizen's mission is to create "biocitizens" by getting kids "off the screen and into the green!" We are a non-profit organization providing educational instruction via Field Environmental Philosophy (FEP). FEP is simply the practice of inquiry-based learning while on the move.
“Biotic citizen” is a term coined by one of our nation's first wildlife managers, Aldo Leopold. Leopold co-founded the Wilderness Society and is widely celebrated for conceiving the “land ethic.“ At its core, the land ethic is an ethic of caring. Caring about people, about land, and about strengthening the relationships between them.
“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” - Aldo Leopold
Biocitizen provides immersive and experiential learning for ages 6-14. Our FEP curricula and teaching philosophy is designed to “unplug” your child by bringing them into direct contact with the creatures, geologies, hydrologies and infrastructures of their biome. We provide a place where kids reengage and emerge re-interested in the world around them. Once engaged, we encourage them through emotional and intellectual inquiry to internalize the Land Ethic and bring it to their own [biotic] community.
Where:
Our outdoor classrooms will be based in the neighborhoods of North East LA, extending throughout the Los Angeles River Basin Biome, and will include the coastal and mountain regions.
This amount of ground will require more than just our feet.
To get everyone there:
Our primary purpose for this campaign is to raise funds for a 15 seat passenger van.
This will allow us to get the kids out into the field, to the sites that are beyond the reach of public transportation.
We are also dedicated to increasing our accessibility to all socioeconomic groups by creating the BiocitizenLA Scholarship Fund.
The Details:
Ford e350 15 seat passenger van
- $13,000 budget
- Used (2010 - 2012)
- 80,000 -150,000 miles
Biocitizen Scholarship Fund:
- $9,000 Goal
Materials & Gear General Fund:
- Any remaining funds
When:
Time is of the essence!
Registration for Biocitizen's Our Place Summer School 2017 has already begun, with class beginning June 26th!
We will need to purchase the van as soon as possible.
It is also crucial that we have scholarship funds available for any student that needs financial assistance.
We are asking that you give generously to our Build BiocitizenLA campaign. Your tax-deductible donation will help support our kids, our [biotic] community, and ultimately our planet. Now, more than ever, we must work to engage, educate, and create evironmental leaders.
Please share our GoFundMe link far and wide - from family & friends to community leaders & organizations who would support our mission.
We are also excited to announce that we have received a $2,500 Neighborhood Purpose Grant from the Echo Park Neighborhood Council.
-----
Background, Origins & Creds
Biocitzen was concieved and founded by Dr. Kurt Heidinger in 2009. In the last 8 years, the school has served over 3,000 students and has been recognized by the academic community for it's cutting-edge pedogagical research. In his own words, Kurt describes his vision of Biocitizen as a peripetetic school; one that "specializes in teaching place, for the purpose of stimulating awareness of natural and cultural history, and of raising critical questions about how we live—in a way that allows students to discover their world, instead of having it downloaded into them".
Biocitizen teacher and Fulbright Scholar Rika Tsuji is quoted in a recent article about the Our Place Summer School “Science is one thing and it is very important, but it only describes the situation. Environmental philosophy helps us figure out what to do with that information,” Tsuji said. “It is about how we translate the messages from nature.”
The school is now recognized by the Fulbright Foundation Institute of International Education as an accredited source of training for Fulbright Scholars in the field of Field Environmental Philosophy.
The new LA school joins Biocitizen Chile and the still-forming Biocitizen Brooklyn as extensions of the original Westhampton school.
Thank you for your time and, hopefully, your dollars! Your contribution truly means the world to us.
Finally, check us out on social media!
Facebook Biocitizen Los Angeles
#BuildBiocitizenLA
Organizer
Jesse Carmichael
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Biocitizen, Inc.
Registered nonprofit
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