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.”#
