TEDxManhattan - Stephen Ritz - Green Bronx Machine - Growing Our Way Into A New Economy

http://www.tedxmanhattan.org/2012talks

Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx teacher/administrator.  With the help of extended student and community family they have grown over 25,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. His Bronx classroom features the first indoor edible wall in NYC DOE which routinely generates enough produce to feed 450 students healthy meals and trains the youngest nationally certified workforce in America.  Stephen has consistently moved attendance from 40% to 93% daily, helped fund/create 2,200 youth jobs, captured the US EPA Award for transforming mindsets and landscapes in NYC, recently won the ABC Above and Beyond Award, helped earn his school the first ever Citywide Award of Excellence from the NYC Strategic Alliance for Health and attributes these results directly to growing vegetables in school. His speech at Columbia University, "From Crack to Cucumbers," along with the release of a You-Tube Video (Urban Farming NYC) resulted in a national following including an invite to the White House Garden. Dedicated to harvesting hope and cultivating minds, Stephen dreams of opening a nationally replicable Career Technical Education public school in the poorest Congressional District in America rooted in urban agriculture, green and sustainable initiatives. For more information, visit www.greenbronxmachine.com

More information at http://www.tedxmanhattan.org

About TEDx, x = independently organized event:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• United States
• English
• TEDxManhattan
• Technology
• Design
• Science
• Education
• Architecture
• Community
• Culture
• Food
• Health
• Social Change
• Sustainability
• Garden
• changing the way we eat
• urban farming
• food justice
• slow food
• south bronx
• edible wall

[DietitianDiva]

LOVE every bit of this- plan to share this video on my blog and just made your video a favorite on my YT Farmer.

[iclipshin]

Absolutely incredible. We are fighting to save school garden funding in our rural northern California community and I will share this video, and Stephen Ritz's vision and energy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring and making change happen.

[Bongosmania]

THIS IS THE WAY to fight Drugs, Crime, Jail, Domestic violence, Health, Reunite families again, show Love, but most of all; To hElp sAve our ONLY plaNet! Way to go Bronx! SI SE PUEDE :-)

[MrGonb]

Talk About Tuned-IN Tapped-In, Turned-ON

Blessed Be and within such great LOVE.

Thank you Steve and your beautiful kids

for your Living JOY!

[linagee]

If you tried to grow stuff on a wall like this at home, the cops would shut you down because they think you have a meth lab going. Guilty until proven innocent! Welcome to America!

[linagee]

Urban farms are the silliest thing I've ever seen. That land is way to expensive to waste like that. You could bus the kids to a real farm outside the city a few times a year and save on costs! Rent that land out as a $500/mo parking spot or whatever crazy high prices city people are willing to pay.

[Hyperkeys]

Awesome. I never foist stuff on people. I am sending the URL for this . . .

[MrManhattankid]

Awesome! This should be the model for all of the United States schools! Lets get our citizens off of junk processed food and eating yummy produce!

[bookmarkthis]

welcome everyone, to the future. urban permaculture.

[JennyNatural]

Stephen Ritz ROCKS!! AMAZING!! Although I do not know any of the kids involved in the projects, I feel tremendously proud of each and every one of them!! BRAVO!

[HenkPoley]

Interesting technology, these "green walls".