[Eunnye]

Five Problems & Solutions

Problem 1
NYC Seniors who don’t live with close families and friends and have minor mobility issues don’t get a chance to go outside freely by themselves and feel isolated and lonely.

Solution
Create outdoor gentle stretching class
Find person to walk together, like dog walking person to the Central Park
Find a walking company in the neighbor who also needs walking partner
Find lunch/dinner gathering
Connect with dog & cat fostering
Create mindfulness group in person & online

Problem 2
Small business owners have high upkeep operation expenses.
Local popular juice bar owner who is a vegan, cat rescuer, and advocate cruelty-free, feels shame that his business creates too much disposable plastic waste and green food scraps go to waste every day. In addition, he feels stressed because garbage pick up service is also expensive.
Implement bring your cup program
Install recycling bin & description to promote reduce single usages and brand his juice bar
Find how to donate food scrap to be composted
Find out how commercial level of compost pick up can lower the operation cost

Problem 3
10 years old Jaden loves art & craft, especially landscape drawing, but he is attending the local summer camp where he gets only one hour a week art session. He is not satisfied and less motivated at the summer camp. Parents decided to enroll him from their convenient and realistic perspective (cost conscious, closer location) rather than focus on his learning curiosity.
Create own drawing schedule at home
Find someone who has experience in outdoor drawing to draw together
Change to Art Camp

Problem 4
I have been guiding SEL teen girls group for eight months, and noticed some of them showed obsessive watching in cosmetic makeup postings from social media and following peer pressure to do the same. They feel the urge to shop everything they see to copy. They are feeling restless, anxious, distracted and not satisfied with their natural look.

Redirect their interest to learn health and beauty & other activity
Learn about harmful chemicals used in cosmetic
Show good examples not to wear makeup at an early age
Teach them power of consumer & choice

Problem 5
Three teen girls from the SEL group rarely consume vegetables, and love eating processed food, high sugar & carb and meat. They feel mood swings, are cranky and have constipation. One is skinny and small, and two are overweight.

Teach them nutrition & benefits of eating plant based food
Show them how processed food is made & real food is made
Less eating out, learn how to cook at home
Exercise & sleep routine check up

Reflection on next day
Once I started to work on it, I was able to notice more problems in the area of living healthily, sustainably, happily and communally. I think problems related to how society is organized in a certain way. I look forward to seeking out advice on this exercise.

[Eunnye]

7/27/24

I am Eunnye Yang, the Founder and Principal Mentor of the Critical Learning Club. I launched my business in 2020 after working 9 years at the monitoring company as a yoga, art mentor.

I wanted to focus on guiding young people to find and develop their areas of interest and passion while becoming more aware of compassion and sustainable living and less academic achievement.

Food scrap backyard composting has been one of my programs to teach youth. I am always excited and feel responsible to act on when I can reduce landfills.
The more I practice to be living sustainably, I desire to synchronize with nature’s rhythm, and start to recognize more problems and my limits. Sometimes, I do feel helpless about the problems and at least influencing and interacting with Youths brings me hope and joys.

I constantly develop programs for Youth to be aware of living more sustainably and appreciate nature. So, I hope to learn from the course to materialize my vision to reality and not end with wish lists.

My areas of interests:
Building ground for education: permaculture practice based restorative village
Growing food in NYC apartment
WildLife conservation
Recusing domestic animals & Fostering

Three people in my filed:
Stephen Rudin, Founder of EFCNY
Mijung Han, Business owner, who is interested in building eco village
Joon, farmer

Three people in high status
Andrew Millison, Permaculture Teacher
Brace, Living Big A Tiny House
Fonder, Ecovillage at Ithaca

Three relevant role models
Darly Lindsey, Sustainable Landscape Design
Char + Marv, Planted in the Garden
Heidi, Cat Rescuer
Mission Blue Sylvia Earle

[Eunnye]

Food scrap backyard composting has been one of my activities to teach community, youth and whenever I can since 2018. I am always excited to act on when I can reduce landfills.

During last Summer staying in Alpine, NJ not able to find a compost drop off location, I discussed with local parents and I volunteered to initiate a workshop to form youths to learn the value of sustainable living through composting. Now, they have a compost site at the community garden, and three teams of volunteers are rotating to process the materials. This was an accomplishment.

A couple of months though, I noticed an important missing piece in the current system. I realized students are banking their volunteering hours to collect prizes by their parents’ recommendations and not able to fully understand the bigger picture of being part of the solution to sustainable living. Their interests are weighed on more to get credits and recognition and instead of gathering their own brown materials purchasing mulch to add on.

I found myself once again frustrated, uncomfortable wanting to find a solution. I suggested to two local parents whom I am close to that I would reengage volunteering. I strongly felt they need Spodek Method one on one practice to connect with their intrinsic motivations and go beyond and joyfully compost and be able to teach others. I travel this Sunday in Fort Lee to meet youths and parents to start.

[Author]

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