Big Green (non-profit company)

Last updated
Big Green
Established22 February 2011  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg (12 years ago)
Types nonprofit organization   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Legal status 501(c)(3) organization   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Headquarters Broomfield   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
CountryUnited States  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Website biggreen.org   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Big Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2011 by Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson. They operated "The Kitchen restaurant group" believing that every child should have the opportunity to play, learn and grow in healthy communities. [1]

Contents

The learning gardens consist of a playground and many outdoor classrooms where children learn the basics of farming. [2] [3] It aims to enhance mindfulness about health and improve communities through the creation of practical, garden-based education opportunities. [4]

History

Big Green was established in 2011 by Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson. Its core idea is that school gardens helps boost school children’s fondness for healthy foods. These gardens were conceptualized to assist children in building up better responses to pressures and anxieties and improve learners' academic performance. [5] Its founders intend Big Green to be replicated in other schools and generate a range of school-related solutions. The first learning garden was constructed in Denver, Colorado at Schmitt Elementary.[ citation needed ]

Learning gardens

A “learning garden” is an outdoor classroom that also serves as a productive garden of edible plants. It is composed of modular, raised beds with seating and shade, providing space for teaching and learning. The gardens are designed to become vehicles for comprehensive mindset change regarding child nourishment, socialization and student achievement. [6] [7] They are also designed to go well with any type of school structure, whether urban or rural. [8]

The food harvested from the learning gardens are sold to restaurants. The activity aims to teach students to become young entrepreneurs and acquire business abilities.[ citation needed ]

Controversy

Big Green has been accused of illegally discriminating against and firing employees who were unionizing. [9] This, in turn, has generated controversy from the working class.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elon Musk</span> Business magnate (born 1971)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimbal Musk</span> South African entrepreneur (born 1972)

Kimbal James Musk is a South African restaurateur, chef, and entrepreneur. He owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, a collection of restaurants located in Colorado and Chicago. He is the co-founder and chairman of Big Green, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has built hundreds of outdoor classrooms called Learning Gardens in schoolyards across America. Musk is also the co-founder and chairman of Square Roots, an urban farming company growing food in hydroponic, indoor, climate controlled shipping containers. Musk currently sits on the boards of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, both of which his brother Elon is the current CEO. He was on the board of Chipotle Mexican Grill from 2013 to 2019. He is the brother of Elon Musk and Tosca Musk, son of Errol and Maye Musk, and a major shareholder in Tesla.

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Jen Lewin is an American interactive artist and engineer. She is based in New York City and specializes in large scale installations in public spaces, usually combining elements such as light, sound and complex engineering. Her interactive light installation The Pool debuted in 2008 and has been exhibited across the globe, in cities such as Singapore, Sydney, Denver, Montréal and Prague, and in events such as South By Southwest and Burning Man.

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Illène Pevec is an author, journalist, children's activist, and educator who works in developing youth gardens at schools and community centers. Based in Carbondale, Colorado, Pevec serves as the program director for Fat City Farmers, a local food education program in Basalt, Colorado. She is a multinational citizen and has developed youth gardens in all three countries. Pevec authored Growing a Life: Teen Gardeners Harvest Food, Health, and Joy, a book that integrates her work in US community youth gardens with observations from other disciplines to generate a better understanding of the positive effect mentored urban gardening can have on youth development.

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References

  1. Chandler, Jennifer. "Plant A Seed Day: Celebrate spring and take a step toward a healthier future". Commercialappeal.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. Severson, Kim (16 October 2017). "Kimbal Musk Wants to Feed America, Silicon Valley-Style". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. Leanna Garfield, “Kimbal Musk — Elon’s brother — is leading a $25 million mission to fix food in schools across the US,” 17 January 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018 from https://www.businessinsider.com/kimbal-musks-food-nonprofit-goes-national-learning-gardens-schools-2018-1
  4. Tom Oder, "Kimbal Musk's garden dream is growing," 24 January 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018 from https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/big-green-kimball-musk-kitchen-community-national
  5. Lewis Lazare, "My breakfast with Kimbal Musk, Elon's brother," 9 November 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2018 from https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2017/11/09/my-breakfast-with-kimbal-musk-elons-brother.html
  6. "About Learning Gardens – Big Green". biggreen.org. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  7. America Succeeds. Retrieved 8 October 2018 from http://www.americasucceeds.org/downloads/edventure/kimbal.pdf%5B%5D
  8. Jane Black, “This is how Learning Gardens grow,” 18 September 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2018 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/this-is-how-learning-gardens-grow/2012/09/18/94322aca-fcff-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html
  9. Brown, H. Claire. "Kimbal Musk's school gardening nonprofit lays off entire unionizing workforce". The Counter. Retrieved 1 December 2021.