Día del Niño Verde

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International Children's Day Green Festival: Día del Niño Verde.

Organized by Little Miss Recycle and The Magellan International School. Sponsored by Whole Foods Market Gateway, Semillitas de Español, Green Gate Farms, H&R Block, and Quik Print.

Earth Day Multicultural Celebration

Goal:  Cultivating community and educating families regarding sustainability

Overview

The first annual Día del Niño Verde at The Magellan International School was an amazing celebration of children, the earth and community.  We invited Austinites from around the city to join us in this free event on our school grounds.  The celebration was an opportunity for the Magellan community to share its passion for nurturing initiative and creativity in children and practicing responsible stewardship of the earth with the greater Austin community. 

Pop-Up Adventure Play works internationally, catalyzing opportunities for child-directed play within communities of supportive adults. At Magellan we decided to celebrate Earth Day organizing the first Pop-Up Playground in Austin. Parents who had never seen a Pop-Up Playground in action were instant converts as they watched the adventure unfold. The children inspired each other and us with their spontaneous joy and pride in their Pop-Up Playground creations, building a fort, tearing it down to construct a space craft, inviting friends to join them on a ride, then working together to build an airplane, complete with propeller. They neither needed nor wanted adult help. The more than 200 participants in the event also enjoyed a morning of workshops, Spanish music classes, crafts and arts, as well as organic food and gardening activities.

People involved:

(12) Teachers and the curricular coordinator, five (5) members of the staff, four (4) parents and more than 100 (one hundred students).  Twenty-five organizations supported the event and more than 200 people came to the free open to the public event.

Completed actions

- 5 workshops for students, staff and parents

- Eco-farmers market

-4 music lessons

-3 sessions of gardening activities

-16 tours to art conservation exhibition RanasanaR

-Electronic waste collection

Outcomes

- Students and parents participated in the first Pop-Up playground in Austin using only recycled materials, in an unstructured, outdoors play area, with the support of the support and guidance of Pop-Up Adventure Play

- Participants increased awareness of local green choices to become more committed with sustainability.