Think Green is an exciting educational program that encourages and teaches youth residents about recycling.
Eden’s innovative programs strongly encourage sustainable living practices among residents and surrounding communities. Through Eden’s Digital Connectors and Think Green programs, low-income youth living in Eden Housing properties lead in educating themselves, each other, their families, and their communities on how green practices foster a healthier community and planet. Not only do these programs result in knowledge-sharing and education, but they contribute greatly to developing skills, raising self-esteem, and empowering youth to become leaders in their communities.
To learn more about these and other Eden programs and accomplishments, click on the program names below.
- Digital Connectors Technology and Leadership Program
Eden Housing’s Digital Connectors is a youth leadership program that cultivates students’ potential for civic responsibility through the use of 21st century technology. Over the course of the program, students gain knowledge and mastery over computer software and hardware. Eden believes that these skills are critical to a young person’s success both academically and professionally in our rapidly changing, globalized world. In addition to the basics of computer technology, students learn to use sophisticated media technology and create their own video projects for presentation to their peers and fellow residents.
“Go Green” is a major theme of the Digital Connectors program. Eden’s Digital Connectors each serve in a leadership role to create videos and other multimedia projects for presentation before their fellow residents, peers, and communities. The projects bring together all the skills the students learn during the program. Students synthesize their newly-acquired knowledge of computers and media technology with their love of the Earth's environment to create something tangible and effective that they could be proud of. This powerful experience allows students to practice their leadership skills and make their voices heard.
Eden Housing staff runs the Digital Connectors program using programming content that comes from One Economy, a partner non-profit offering young people opportunities to receive technology training and learn workplace and leadership skills. Eden’s program is funded in part by the US Department of Commerce Broadband Opportunities Program, US Department of Education, US Department of Justice, and Comcast Corporation.
- Think Green
Eden’s Think Green Program is an exciting resident education and outreach program that was started at the Downtown River Apartments in Petaluma. It is a component of PG&E’s Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) grant, and was implemented by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Marin and Southern Sonoma Counties, Downtown River Apartments staff, and the residents. The Think Green program includes activities and projects to educate all of Eden’s residents on ways to take care of our community and our planet by recycling and conserving resources.
Downtown River Apartment’s Think Green program kicked off in January of 2010 with a field trip to the Petaluma Recycling Center, where youth residents learned about the recycling process. They brought that knowledge back to Downtown River Apartments to jump-start a recycling collection program, starting with a well-attended meeting with the residents. The recycling program has been an enormous success. Fired up from their field trip, and tasked with helping to teach their adult neighbors about recycling, the Think Green kids created a brochure, door tags, recycling bags for the residents, and t-shirts to wear when they go door-to-door to pick up the recycling on Mondays and Fridays.
On a weekly basis, the youth collect materials from approximately 80% of Downtown River Apartments’ 81 units, and the results are quite impressive. To date, this project has reduced the number of garbage pickups by two per week which will save the property over $13,000 per year and help to save the planet!
Hoping to have the same level of success as Downtown River Apartments, this program was replicated and launched recently at two additional Eden Housing sites.
