BROOKLYN

Brooklyn Compassionate Communities - 2020

In March of 2020, the children of New York City joined the rest of the world in a global lockdown, suddenly losing the space to really be with the people in their wider community - their friends, teachers, neighbors, and many family members - and finding themselves sheltered away from the physical places that define their communities. As Spring began to slowly arrive, they were largely missing from the parks and playgrounds, the local shops and neighborhood streets, the river walks and the ocean shores. Parents and teachers worked tirelessly to both protect and nurture them through this isolation, trying to knit up the broken connections in a haphazardly virtual world, learning new ways to socialize, play, and teach.

And through all this, our youth have shown, once again and in so many ways, that they are more than alright: they are ready and willing to stand up for and reach out to others in need, and are able to find creative ways to stay connected to their living, natural world. 

While many of our participating schools were not able to submit final presentations on their projects, the wonderful student-created work that we have received gives voice to the joyful, natural empathy that our youth can bring to their engagement with the animals and natural places of their neighborhood when they are asked to step up and be leaders in imagining a better world, and take meaningful action towards that future. This spirit of reverence and resolve, that we hope to foster with all of our HEART programs, is beautifully captured in a poem we’d like to share that is included in one Brooklyn student’s presentation. 

Thank you to all the students and teachers who have joined and inspired our Compassionate Community this year!

The Crying Ocean 

I can hear you everywhere,            

in an shell, or at the beach,                      

I hear your crashing waves,                     

singing to me, a clam song,                   

  that calms you down,                               

I see the tears that you cry,                           

we are destroying you

the home that you give to others,                

I can hear your cries,                       

when the wind blows,                             

do you believe in us that we can save you, 

even if we’re small,                                  

please believe we will make a difference.

By Leyri Cruz