Golightly students present Education to Life gardening projects

[caption id="attachment_5835" align="aligncenter" width="432"] Alan Greenburg (back left) of Detroit Renewable Energy presented checks to Golightly Education Center six graders (left to right) Ariel Harriston, Mia Mitchell, Jalen Billings and Dejuan Anderson for their Education to Life program participation. They were accompanied by their teacher Ms. Vincent (center). PARRIS JONES PHOTO[/caption] By Parris Jones Special to the Michigan Citizen DETROIT — Sixth graders at Golightly Education Center presented their discoveries of the inaugural Education to Life gardening project June 11. This spring, the sixth grade science classes, led by their teacher Ms. Vincent, planted gardens for a hands-on lesson about climate, location, resources and healthy food cycles. Students presented, by PowerPoint, their project findings to a panel of judges made up of Detroit Renewable Energy executives. DRE’s Education to Life program is an example of a local school using innovative, experiential teaching methods to promote science education in the schools, which helps foster environmental and social awareness, according to organizers. The Education to Life mission is to make science education impactful and positive for students, so they might have an increased interest in science coursework and, eventually, science careers, says DRE spokesperson Sarah Glazier. DRE’s judges were impressed by both presentations and decided to split the prize money between both sixth grade classes. The team of Dejuan Anderson and Jalen Billings and the team of  Mia Mitchell and Ariel Harriston both received checks for exemplary projects/presentations. Alan Greenberg, DRE’s director of environmental affairs, presented the students with their checks. All participants received a Golightly Education Center Education to Life T-shirt.