Megh Dixit is a student at Merrol Hyde Magnet High School and has been working with Urban Green Lab since the winter of 2022 to develop his own environmental science/sustainability course with guidance from our Director of Education, Christina Langone. Christina collaborated with Megh in the development and implementation of various sustainability education best practices in the course. The course was built by Megh and a fellow student and is now live for students and educators to complete.
Below is a summary from Megh of the work he and UGL have accomplished over the past few months, and a bit more about Megh’s journey in the field of sustainability and sustainable education.
Project Envibrate
Hello everyone! My name is Megh Dixit and I am a senior at Merrol Hyde Magnet High School. As a passionate advocate for environmental sustainability and education, my collaboration with the team at Urban Green Lab has been a fruitful experience. Our shared mission to encourage eco-consciousness among students and empower them to make responsible decisions led to the creation of an inspiring and engaging environmental science/sustainability course.
A Journey of Collaboration
To see the team at Urban Green Lab working so diligently was truly motivating. From the very beginning, it was evident that they believed education is a powerful catalyst for change, aligning almost perfectly with my own aspirations. I enjoyed presenting the course at the Music City SEL Conference and made numerous valuable connections.
The collaboration between my team and that of UGL brought together a diverse group of educators, students, and curriculum designers, all driven by an overarching goal: to equip students in Nashville with the knowledge to build a sustainable future.
The Creation of an Environmental Course
I believe that my passion for sustainability grew from my innate compassionate nature and desire to seek change. As a young child, I used to enjoy bringing home vegetable seeds and planting them in my backyard. Back then, this was my way of connecting with the environment around me. As I grew older, I began to see new ways I could impact the environment, but also spark that same interest in my peers. That is when I founded Sustainable Reasoning, a connection with my community that I hope to keep even when I go to college.
Constructing an environmental science course with the help of Ms. Langone and Ms. Bloom have inspired me to make responsible, caring decisions, and I fully believe the Sustainable Reasoning community will do the same to all the students and educators it reaches. Developing a course requires analyzing complex concepts, identifying gaps in knowledge, and creating a structured curriculum. This process sharpened my critical thinking abilities as I evaluated different perspectives and evidence. By the end of this course, my hope is that students will be fully equipped to apply the knowledge and skills gained to develop healthy identities and show empathy for others along with the environment. Our course is now available to the Sustainable Classrooms Circle community which is open to over 300 trained educators.
Imagine a world where we all understand the delicate balance between human activities and the natural environment. A world where we're equipped with the knowledge to make informed decisions that promote sustainability. This is the world I envision, and it all starts with education.
Erin Bloom serves as the Sustainable Classrooms Coordinator with Urban Green Lab. Erin received her B.S. in Biology from Austin Peay State University (APSU) and started her career as a high school biology teacher before returning to APSU for her M.S. in Biology. When not working she enjoys reading a good book, improving her birding skills, assembling Legos, spending time with her dogs, and traveling with her husband.