Stephen Ritz is such an inspiring person. He is full of energy and passion, and has a true love of making a difference in the world. Stephen is a teacher in the Bronx, New York. But, he is unlike any teacher you have probably met before. After accidentally starting a garden in his classroom, his life and the lives of the children in his school, and really his whole community has completely been transformed. Stephen and his students began growing so much food, that they were able to provide food for the entire school. This soon took off, and Stephen and his students started creating gardens all over the Bronx and even supplied students with paying jobs. What Stephen and his community are doing is not only supplying fresh fruit and vegetables where they are currently not available, but also helping these children, who most are extremely low-income, or in group homes, or foster homes, to love being at school and increasing engagement. His class went from 40% attendance to 93% daily.
It's really incredible the impact he is making and people have noticed... Stephen has done several TED Talks, his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Guardian, ABC, CNN, NBC, NPR, and him and his class were even invited to the White House in 2014. And, as awesome as all of that it, by implementing the healthy eating that he has learned about and by growing his own food, Stephen has lost over 100 lbs.
I really can't say enough about Stephen. He is extremely inspiring and his energy and passion is contagious.
Check out these videos and TED Talks featuring Stephen's Work!
https://youtu.be/mygfJZAQZ3g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7uFnvnjIKw
https://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_ritz_a_teacher_growing_green_in_the_south_bronx?language=en
Check out Stephen's new book The Power of a Plant!
http://stephenritz.com/the-power-of-a-plant/
Be sure to keep up with Stephen and The Green Bronx Machine on social media:
Facebook: Stephen Ritz, Green Bronx Machine
Instagram: @stephenritz, @greenbronxmachine
Twitter: @stephenritz, @greenbxmachine
Websites:
stephenritz.com
greenbronxmachine.org
Credits:
Music:
www.bensound.com
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