This design lab team focused on reducing food waste in Boise. Through their research, they discovered that over 133 billion pounds of food are wasted each year in the US alone. They completed several empathy experiences to hone in on a specific problem. Some of the empathy experiences included interviewing the head chefs of Thomas Cuisine and A’Tavola, visiting the Ada County Landfill, and interviewing the founder of the Roots Zero Waste Market.
Ladder Up: Treefort Volunteer Training Program
The Ladder Up DLab team has been working closely with the staff and volunteer coordinators of Treefort Music Fest to address challenges faced by their Under-21 volunteer program. According to Gus Marsden, one of the leads for the U21 volunteer program, the program as a whole has been very successful, but Treefort has had some struggles with organization, transparency, and lack of engagement in their volunteer system.
Yogafort Inclusivity
Paralellenting: Kid and parent learning
The Parallelenting team has been working with Jody Malterre from Parent Teacher Coach. Parent Teach Coach is an organization that works to create positive dynamics at home and at school through classes for parents.
In their first discussion with Jody, the team learned that parents often felt guilty for leaving their kids with a babysitter during the class, and there was no structure to the childcare program during previous classes.
Pet Therapy
People experiencing homelessness face many challenges, but One Stone learners found that man’s best friend can play a key role in helping lift spirits and bring hope.
The Pet Therapy Design Lab team partnered with New Path Community Housing. New Path is a local organization that utilizes a housing first model to provide 40 of Boise’s most vulnerable citizens who have experienced chronic homelessness with a stable living environment. Through interviewing residents, the team learned that many residents wish they were able to interact with animals more often, but are unable to have pets of their own due to the expense of pet ownership and rules in place at New Path.
Boise Urban Garden School
The BUGS Design Lab team worked with with the Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS). BUGS is a non-profit that teaches youth and adults about the fundamentals of gardening through science, nutrition, and environmental-based lesson plans and activities. They also hold culinary classes for the Boise community and donate the harvest of the BUGS garden to charities. The problem the team solved for was a lack of winter-specific programming for gardening and culinary opportunities.
Creating Art Against Vandalism
Reducing Single-Use Plastics at the Boise Farmers Market
The Food Coalition Design Lab team designed scalable solutions to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic dishware at the Boise Farmers Market.
Single-use plastics represent an unsustainable packaging model and generate large amounts of plastic waste that are detrimental to the environment, which makes this topic an issue of critical importance both globally and locally.
Knifemaking
Two learners advocated for a new-to-One Stone project, designed and led a new learning experience for their peers, and found their passion in the process. It all began with Jadon Chen and Dylan Baker, two students who decided to pursue their passion and prepared a pitch to explain their interest in knife making to leaders around One Stone.
They delivered their pitch to Jeff Roelke, the Lab51 Coach and Foundry Manager. “When I first heard about knife making at One Stone, I wasn’t sure what to think. Was it legal? Was it safe?” He said. “Ultimately, it became clear to me that this was not only something they were passionate about, it was exactly what we’d been asking them to do at One Stone. This was the definition of student leadership.”
With approval to design and create knives in the foundry, they forged ahead. “The experience of advocating for myself was incredibly impactful for me,” says Jadon, “because it was the first time in my school career where I was actually listened to by educators.
I felt in control of my life for the first time.”
Life in the Big Apple
Former One Stone learner Elise Malterre on art school, activism and street food.
About four months ago, I moved to the biggest city in the country to study Integrated Design and Environmental Studies at Parsons School of Design at The New School. As excited as I was for college, I didn’t want to put my life on hold for four or five years to be in a complete bubble of school…
Taking the Climate Into Our Own Hands: A Louder Student Voice
On Friday September 20, 2019 history was made. Four million young people across the world gathered to demand climate justice from their leaders. Strikes were made everywhere you could think of, from Antarctica (seriously) to Idaho to Latvia.
The strike was born from #FridaysForFuture, a school strike demanding climate action started by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg.
What's Mine is Ours
Suppressing Suppression: Empowering Student Voice
One Stone learner Fawn H. was deeply impacted by a fall immersion experience called What’s Mine Is Ours, during which students visited a mining site to explore Idaho’s complex history with the industry. Here, Fawn shares her insights on the two-day deep dive into mining and its many impacts on the state, and how immersions such as this one support and empower student voice at One Stone.
Creative minds are trampled by what’s considered to be “tradition." Their voices and opinions go unheard by those who decide what their education must and will include…
Hopeless to hopeful
Today, he’s a passionate advocate for learner-centered education and a freshman at Antioch University in Ohio. But just a few years ago, Marcus Wade-Prince completely gave up on his own education.
All because of a broken bone.
“I broke my wrist my junior year, and I realized my teachers didn’t really care about me. I was done with school,” he says.
Building relationships: partnering to support student voice
NYC activist and student Marcus Alston
Marcus Alston is pretty comfortable with a megaphone in hand.
For him, student voice is second nature. As part of the public action team for Teens Take Charge, a group that empowers students to become civic leaders, he organizes rallies and protests as part of the group’s push for integrated schools across New York City’s five boroughs.
A great experience. Hands down.
Voices Up! A conversation about student voice with Workspace learners
Fully Immersed: What learning looks like at One Stone
If you step into One Stone’s Lab School this fall, you’ll hear a lot of buzz about about immersions, or immersion experiences.
What are immersions?
At One Stone’s Lab School, immersions are how students learn. At its core, the word itself means absorbing involvement – which is exactly what One Stone learners get a chance to do during each experience.
Create Good at Hands Down, Voices Up
Forging an army of good, for good.
That’s One Stone’s vision and the driving force behind Hands Down, Voices Up – A Summit to Empower Student Voice at JUMP in Boise, Idaho from October 23-25. The interactive gathering for students and a supportive adults will focus on three ideas: how to inspire, practice and create good.
