Hi!

Hi! I am Alex, a graduate student at the Department of Natural Resources. This is my second time with the CUSP program. The main thing I enjoyed last time in 2005 was the opportunity to combine research and community service.

Two year ago I helped Cornell Cooperative Extension to promote the Garden Mosaics program (educator training) that teaches youth in communities with limited resources. I was very happy to develop long-term relations with some of communities, and worked with them even after my first CUSP internship was over. For example, last year we organize an online exchange among kids from the Abraham House in the Bronx (with whom I worked in 2005) and Russian kids who also implemented the Garden Mosaics at the same time. Educator from the Abraham House said that was very meaningful because kids in the Bronx often do not have opportunities to learn about other communities.

I hope that this year I will also develop some meaningful and long-term collaboration with environmental educators in NYC. See other messages for more information about my current research project.

Alex