VOA标准英语2015--Nonprofit Makes Environmentalism Part of Schools' Curricula

Nonprofit Makes Environmentalism Part of Schools' Curricula

DENVER—

Getting teens to do their homework? Good luck! Getting them outside and into the mountains to research solutions for environmental problems? That, it turns out, is not that difficult.

"Getting kids out into the environment inspires them to protect it, because if you don't know what you are protecting, why would you bother?" said Juliet Luna, a senior at New Vista¹ High School in Boulder², Colorado.

That's the Cottonwood Institute's mission. Working with teachers, the Denver-based institute supports programs that incorporate environmental projects into local school lesson plans. Cottonwood also teams up with another nonprofit, Community Adventure Programs, to take students on hikes and overnight camping trips.  

As a class, the students at New Vista High School and the other schools Cottonwood works with choose an environmental issue to work on. They explore possible solutions and then team up with local environmentalists to implement³ those changes. At the end of the 6-to-12-week program, students come away with a better understanding of environmental issues and how they can make a difference.

"I've learned a lot about CCD, which is colony collapse⁴ disorder⁵, which has to do with the disappearance⁶ of bees," said senior Jaden Games. "I've also learned a lot about fracking and water pollution."

In some cases, the environmental lessons hit very close to home. One program encourages students to come up with solutions to reduce their school's environmental footprint.

Cottonwood's founder⁷ also wants the teenagers to think about future generations.

"A big thing that is important to us is making sure that our students take care of the land they are exploring," said Ford⁸ Church. "In the city, you may drop a piece of trash on the ground and [that] may not be a big deal, but that is a big deal to us because this is our playground. This is our office, so to speak, and we really want to take care of it."

For students, like Jaden and his classmate Cassidy Lam, it's a chance to experience how one person can make a difference.

"It's really good to learn about the ecology and learn about the [problems] that we cause in the environment and how we can work on that and fix that," Games explained.

Lam added, "It just felt like all of the things that were happening to our planet that are negative feel so big and impossible for me to change. But while getting involved in this program, I realized that it is actually really easy to take it step by step."

Last year, the decade-old Cottonwood Institute served 415 students, guiding them through nearly 5,000 hours of projects that gave them a chance to explore the outdoors and make a difference in their community.

1 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

6 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。