Mission
Greener Way Associates, Inc
Living a Greener Way !
Mission:
To help transform society by creating learning environments that embody the principles of The Earth Charter through eco-landscaping and water reclamation, plus business objectives that empower personal growth and thereby build and sustain caring cooperative communities.
Our commitment is to find meaningful paid employment for graduates and/or mentor them through college as a way of helping foster their personal and economic well-being and promote sustainability and care of the earth through organic edible landscaping, water reclamation and other best practices for urban horticulture.
With Volunteers serving as mentors for small groups of youth, GWA will provide job site opportunities, training youth as edible organic landscapers, which will be used to get paying jobs for youth, transforming residential, commercial and public properties, helping everyone reclaim a sense of self-worth.
Our promise to customers hiring our graduates: All training and work done to your satisfaction … A Greener Way.
Curriculum
Our Students under the tutelage of Master Gardeners, Mentors, and Teachers will engage in hands-on apprentice learning. The environmentally friendly garden skills needed to transform lawns into edible, visually aesthetic sustainable landscapes will include, but are not limited to:
- Team work and cooperation using Social Contracts
- Permaculture principles, design and hardscape installation
- Soil preparation and mulching
- Design and installation of backyard fruit orchards
- Care and maintenance of fruit trees
- Installation of a variety of garden types, especially the following:
- 12 month vegetable gardens (square foot, vertical. intensive, raised beds)
- Healing herbs and flower gardens
- Container gardens
- Ocean friendly gardens
- Xeriscapes, succulents and rock gardens
- Integrated pest management (IPM)
- Biodynamic composting and worm farming
- Rainwater harvesting, grey water installations, bioswales, curb cuts and other
- best practices for Total Water Management
- Proper use of power tools and construction materials
- Learning how to stay current with sustainable urban horticulture methods
& techniques - Learning food handling, preparation and sales
- Mentoring with the opportunity to acquire higher education
As part of the micro-entrepreneurial curriculum, under the tutelage of a Webmaster, Teachers & Artists, the Youths will engage in hands-on apprentice learning of web creation and editing skills including:
- Updating the website at /Gardening
- Setup and run Twitter and other social media tools, such as Facebook
- Upload documentary photos, edit a blog/diary of activities and monitor discussions
- Learn about HTML, CSS, Java Script and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Learn how to use Google Analytics , Docs, and Email
- Photo Shop and other media editors
- How to use the world wide web to develop business and educational opportunities
- Development of personal/social/financial life skills
Create job placement opportunities. Among which are:
- Residential and commercial installations and/or maintenance
- Schools and Churches/Congregations
- Senior, community and health centers
- Water reclamation installations
- Brush clearance, mulch & compost suppliers
- Preparing workers for major landscaping businesses
- Nurseries and garden centers
- Slow food and other businesses opportunities
- Web creation and management
Create and maintain a model urban residential property as a show case home to promote business for graduates as service providers in sustainable landscaping and resource management.
Expand and redefine our educational and environmental programs from time to time as necessary to meet continuing challenges of sustainable development