Eagles are soaring

Continued from home page

If you search most all of the green sustainability initiatives in the US today – you will find them reaching out to the upper middle class. That demographic is readily supporting farmers markets, local business, housing improvements and even communities whose goal is to tread a little lighter on our planet. This population has the education and disposable income to financially support these iniatives. This demographic of $75,000 and up also is the geography that attracts the Starbucks, Whole Foods, Local artist.

So why are we trying to make this transition in a demographic of $53,000? Because this is where sustainability principles are most needed. This is where older homes need weatherization, students need hands-on learning opportunities to address the academic achievement gap, communities need to be connected via greenways and sidewalks and planning needs to occur to let the groundwork for job and business development.

Nearly all of the future jobs in our global economy will require STEM skills. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The K-20 Learning World was established to bring STEM skills into this moderate demographic area and imbed them within this environmentally rich geography where 1.2 million people get their drinking water, and 1000s of acres are in public ownership or conservation easement. This is where the 10,000 children need to learn STEM skills from kindergarten on, have role models showing them the future jobs and get their hands dirty while learning these skills:

What is energy and how does it relate to turning on my lights and heating my house

Where does the water come from in my sink and where does it go?

Why should I consider eating local foods if I want to be a professional athlete?