WEBINAR: Stephen Ritz In Conversation With Charles Platkin - Wed, June 17 - 9:30-10:30 AM EST

Free Webinar with NYC Food Policy Center

Wednesday, June 17, 9:30 - 10:30 AM EST

Talking all things Health, Education, Wellness, School Garden to School Cafe, Policy and urban Farming

Registration is required in advance and there will be a live Q/A

Please join me this Wednesday, June 17, at 9:30 - 10:30 for a free, LIVE, virtual event with NYC Food Policy Center moderated by Dr. Charles Platkin - the Diet Detective.

We’ll be talking all things equity, policy, public education, life in the age of COVID, school food, school nutrition, school garden to school cafe, health, wellness, nutrition and the role of non-profit organizations. We will be highlighting what works and why, what needs to change and how, and each and every one of us can make a difference and get involved. Let’s go from a tipping point to a turning point! I’ll even be highlighting my living room urban farm 12 stories up - in the Bronx. There will be LIVE Q and A as well.

The event is FREE and open to all - so feel free to share - registration is required for internet safety.

Click here to register

Stephen Ritz is the Founder of Green Bronx Machine and self-proclaimed CEO – Chief Eternal Optimist – of Bronx County

ABU DHABI: US Educator Outlines Urban Farming Vision in ADIBF Virtual Session

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ABU DHABI, 2nd June 2020 (WAM)

American educator, urban farmer, and innovator Stephen Ritz revealed how his tower garden-growing technology is flourishing in the UAE during the latest Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF, Virtual Session.

The talk, titled ‘Changing the World with the Power of a Plant’, on Thursday covered Ritz’s rise to fame through his innovative teaching methods in some of the USA’s poorest communities, his ongoing projects in the UAE, and the numerous books he has published.

As the 30th edition of ADIBF has been postponed until next year, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, has instead organized the virtual sessions for scheduled guests to present their talks online, so viewers can watch safely in their homes.

Ritz, who has become known as ‘America’s Favourite Teacher’, has spawned a green movement through the changes he brought to the school where he taught in the South Bronx, New York. Utilizing hydroponics and aquaponics, he began to grow plants in the classroom, which in turn encouraged his students to follow sustainable and healthy lifestyles.

He first came to the UAE in 2015 as one of the ten finalists in the Global Teacher Prize. While he didn’t win, he used his runner-up prize money to create the Green Bronx Machine, a curriculum for a green classroom, which is now being taught around the world.

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His work caught the attention of Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, KHDA, in Dubai, who invited Ritz back to the UAE. Soon Ritz was visiting schools, universities, and businesses here to explain his methods. He also began working alongside Sheikh Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, the Environmental Advisor to the Government of Ajman, who is also known as the ‘Green Sheikh’ for his environmental work. The pair are currently authoring a book called Bringing the Farm to the Desert to be released in 2021.

Ritz also works with Esol Education, the international network of private schools that operates many schools across the UAE, and has been appointed as its Director of Health, Wellness and Innovation. He is now based at Fairgreen International School in The Sustainable City, Dubai, hence he says he now thinks of the UAE as his "second home".

Ritz said he enjoys nothing more than meeting children, inspiring teachers, inspiring healthy living, and inspiring healthy learning for everyone across the UAE through his passion, purpose, and hope.

With the 30th edition of the ADIBF postponed until next year, the DCT Abu Dhabi has launched a series of live virtual broadcasts to showcase artists and authors and open up new creative conversations with readers.

The virtual sessions will run until Monday, 15th June 2020, and feature ten speakers from around the world, to discuss a wide variety of themes – from history and education to entertainment and science – designed to appeal a wide audience of different age groups and tastes.

Other ADIBF Virtual Sessions have featured the Swedish behavioral expert Thomas Erikson, military survival specialist John Hudson; Lemn Sissay, the award-winning British-Ethiopian poet; and Annabel Karmel, the children’s cookbook author.

WAM/Tariq alfaham/Nour Salman