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Foreword to Perspectives of Next Generation Press Perspectives of San Diego Bay is a unique field guide – indeed, it is quite
extraordinary. It was hand delivered
to me by Jay Vavra in my 17th floor hotel room that overlooked One
of the primary goals of Roots & Shoots is to help young people better
understand the environment around them and to use this knowledge to take
positive action to make the world a better place for all living things. Perspectives is a superb example of
the kind of work that motivated and environmentally aware high school
students can do when empowered to act.
High Tech High has proved its ability to deliver a very high standard
of environmental education, and the Roots & Shoots program requires that
students pursue their interests outside the classroom. This
particular group of HTH students, by integrating rigorous science with
humanitarian principles, are learning to understand their community
and their environment from a whole variety of perspectives. This has fostered
in many of them a desire for action. The result of all this is that they have
produced this incredibly well researched, informative and sensitive book. It
will be useful for the people who live, work, and play in the bay area – a
place of great natural beauty that has been extensively developed, too often
at the expense of its wildlife. The
students have seen for themselves the beauty and biodiversity of those areas
of the Bay that have been protected, observed how easily we can damage such
places, but noted too how effective conservation efforts can be. Not content
with merely presenting their results clearly and concisely – they have become
advocates for better environmental stewardship. They have taken the problems
to heart and prescribed solutions to many of them – outlined a course of
action that will help to revitalize the bay and lead to a more healthy environment for both wildlife and humans. It
is the kind of material that can impress lawmakers, for these young people of
today are the voters and the leaders of tomorrow. I
was in Most
people will be amazed to think that high school students have produced this
guide. I am no longer amazed by the capabilities of informed and empowered
youth. There are Roots & Shoots groups in more than 90 countries, many of
them involving high school students. Indeed, though it now provides materials
for all ages, from pre-school through university and beyond, the program
began with a group of high school students in -- Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE Founder, Jane Goodall
Institute & UN Messenger of Peace |