Fishing for Cognizance - EfS... An Intern’s Perspective

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Fishing for Cognizance - EfS... An Intern’s Perspective

Learning About EfS From An Intern’s Perspective

“Well, I knew nothing about sustainability at all!” Nozomi Sakata explains when asked how she decided to apply for an internship at The Cloud Institute a few weeks ago. It turns out that she is simply graceful at stumbling. Happening on the Cloud Institute through an email from her school’s internship program, Nozomi was mainly interested in the fact that it produced innovative curriculum platforms; the Institute’s focus in Education for Sustainability presented, more than anything else, a foreign concept to explore. In that same happenstance way, she recently happened to see that Jaimie Cloud was presenting a two-day workshop called “The Essentials of Sustainability Education Workshop” at Columbia University Teacher’s College, where Nozomi is a student. The opportunity was, she explains, “a chance to learn about the ideology of EfS from an introductory perspective

Nozomi isn’t an anomaly. All the interns here at the Cloud Institute have different motivations and reasons as to why they were drawn to this office, providing an interesting window into the many facets of EfS.

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The Key Is Bees

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There are beautiful moments in education when learning about the world around us also teaches us about ourselves. A scientific study about bumblebees’ spatial relationships and color perception, published in the December issue of the Royal Society’s Biology Letter and written and devised entirely by a group of 8-10 year-olds, is an example of just such an opportunity.
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Education for Sustainability: Bridges and Solutions from an Intern’s Perspective

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As a new intern to Cloud, I knew very little about the New Jersey Learns Program. Words like practicum and indicator were foreign to me. The week prior to the recent NJ Learns meeting, I helped to organize participant practicum information to prepare for their certification. I stared at the mysterious names and read email exchanges describing how these people were incorporating sustainability education into their lives. It was inspiring and I was happy to help Cloud, but I felt removed from what was actually happening with the program. Then the ladies invited me to come to the final day! I was delighted to travel into the ‘field’ and be a part of the action.
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Sustainability as Resilient Community | EfS @ St Paul’s Episcopal School

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The Mission of St. Paul’s Episcopal School in New Orleans is to instill in children the strength of intellect and strength of character in a Christian environment that is positive, respective and familial. They encourage their students to strive to do their best, to be humane, and to appreciate the beauty of life. Merry Sorrell, the Head of School, came to the school at a critical point when, due to the floodwaters of hurricane Katrina, the school was questioning its own ability to keep its doors open and to keep its student registration up.
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