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JUNE 2005

Environmental Education:
An Interview with Jake Kheel
By Nazneen Malik

New York City is brimming with natural treasures, of which most people are simply unaware. As urban ecology carves its own niche in academia, organizations like Nurture New York’s Nature (NNYN) bring environmental awareness into the forefront of our collective consciousness.

Renowned mediator, Theodore Kheel, founded NNYN in 2003 with a gift from artists Christo and Jean Claude entitling it to funds raised from products and events related to The Gates of New York on the condition that all proceeds are directed towards environmental issues and not for profit activities. “We created NNYN to be the ongoing steward of that license agreement,” says Jake Kheel, Project Director of NNYN and great-nephew of Theodore Kheel.

Soon afterward, they approached The City University of New York with a book written by David Rosanne on the nature of New York in hopes of developing it into a course. CUNY accepted their proposal and offered the course through the School of Professional Studies the following semester. “The course was extremely well-received,” says Jake Kheel.

Although NNYN stresses environmental awareness in urban environments, and focuses on New York City, its efforts are by no means confined within domestic boundaries. Theodore Kheel has been an investor in Punta Cana, the fastest growing development in the Dominican Republic, for the past 35 years. In 2001, Kheel, in conjunction with the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation and Cornell University created the Punta Cana Center for Sustainability and Biodiversity, a research and education facility complete with laboratories, and dormitories that can accommodate up to 24 students. It also offers five to ten-week-long research programs with Harvard University, Columbia University, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Miami, and Virginia Tech.

“Typically the way that the program works,” explains Jake Kheel, “is that a professor will bring a group of students to Punta Cana as either part of a course or as a stand alone course. Although the programs vary in terms of research focus, we try to apply it to the needs of the local area,” says Jake Kheel.

For example, Punta Cana’s natural resources and coastal location provide graduate students from the University of Miami’s Rosenstein School of Marine and Atmospheric Science with the perfect opportunity to study coral reefs and coastal ecosystems while working directly with the Ecological Foundation to improve the area’s drinking water.

Columbia University’s program, however, caters to a slightly different crowd—non-science majors—and uses Punta Cana as a laboratory for learning. Students receive basic training in field research and investigation.

Early environmental education may foster an appreciation for the environment and a desire to protect it. Kheel attributes his own passion for the environment to a week long intensive look environmental issues while in grade school.  They measured tree sizes in math class and studied nature writing and environmental literature in English. “Our school was dedicated to the environment and for that week each course was taught thru an environmental lens. It really struck me and since then I knew that I wanted to get into this field.” he says.

With a graduate degree in environmental management from Cornell University’s Center for the Environment, Kheel began working closely with Theodore Kheel, in 2003, creating NNYN. He admits that he was attracted to his great-uncle’s solution oriented approach and the way he viewed the issue of sustainability as a conflict between environmental protection and development. “I’ve been converted to conflict resolution; it rubs off on you the more time you spend with Ted,” he jokes.

I think the idea of urban ecology is really relevant and becoming popular, says Kheel. NNYN is currently promoting a book, published in collaboration with National Geographic, entitled Go Wild in NYC. The book is intended for all ages but works well for grades 4, 5, and 6 and is accompanied by a website, www.gowildnyc.org.

The challenge, of course, is to get people’s attention; and that is where NNYN’s relationship with CUNY is most valuable. “CUNY can bring the intellectual firepower of scientists and researchers to the public and forge a connection between policy and research.,” He continues, “they can do it on a grand scale like that of New York City, and it can then be applied to other cities.”#

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