N.Y. Rooftop Community Garden Serves As Launching Pad For New College Readiness Program
Local high school students are earning college credits while learning sustainable practices in their backyard.
By Pete McHugh
Manhattan College
Sept. 09, 2021
Excerpt:
This summer, Manhattan College’s rooftop community garden is serving as an urban laboratory for local young people.
The garden is a key part of a new college readiness initiative that Manhattan College is offering to high school students in the Bronx and Manhattan. Dart Westphal, adjunct professor of environmental studies, is teaching a college-level course, Sustainable Cities, with a focus on the communities around Van Cortlandt Park.
Students who participate in the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance’s Urban Ecology Teen Internship are enrolled in the course at no cost. Current Manhattan College students have also served as mentors in the community garden.
After completing the course in August, the group of 16 teenagers earned three college credits. In the course, students have examined particular uses of the environment like methods of stormwater capture, issues, storage, and distribution. Students also are looking at how Van Cortlandt Park and the surrounding area exemplifies sustainability, or does not.
