Bermudian Denaye Hinds came up with a novel means of increasing encouraging 'green' lifestyle education for children in low-socioeconomic communities.

She created GreenBean Inc., a non-profit organisation that develops and implements innovative approaches to sustainable education so it reaches the people that need it most.

Programmes teach children about waste and water conservation, air and water quality, energy consumption, renewable energy, sustainable gardening and healthy living.

Currently based in Florida, Ms Hinds is working with organisations there, conducting workshops on request. She would eventually like to develop a curriculum for schools.

"I realise that there are many children who can benefit from what I do, and they too can do their part in being environmentally conscious," said Ms Hinds as she explained how the charity came about.

"I founded GreenBean Inc. in March. My goal is to allow GreenBean to grow to national and international status. [I hope to] educate children about the benefits of living a sustainable lifestyle, introduce them to the diverse world of environmentalism, encourage their educational growth and most of all, enhance their reading abilities.

"Nearly 61 percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children's education, which also leaves a void in resources available for children to learn about environmental issues."

Her first workshop was based on plants and plastics, Ms Hinds said.

"The programme focuses on the 'down and dirty' facts of trash. We teach the children how garbage affects our environment and what they can do to reduce the production of waste through composting, reducing, reusing and recycling.

"With the Plants & Plastics workshop they reuse plastic water bottles as planters and learn the concepts of urban gardening to grow green beans in their reused plastic containers. They learn that many common items can be reused to create beneficial and sustainable lifestyles, and they reduce their impact on the environment through diverting waste from the landfills."

The lessons are taught with interactive slideshows. Participants then participate in the planting.

"They decorate their plastic planters and are also given mini reusable bags, to decorate as well," said Miss Hinds.

"The concept of the reusable bag and the plastic container is to give them the understanding and get them into the habit of reusing.

"They can identify with the importance of having reusable bags in their home, whether it is through encouraging their parents to use them for grocery shopping or the children using them to hold school supplies.

"The trickle effect is that they take what they learn in these workshops home and share it with their families, as the overall objective is for the family to adapt to the concepts."

She continued: "I would like to bring GreenBean back to the Island by working with local organisations to use GreenBean's programmes and workshops.

"If I could start a division of GreenBean in Bermuda, so to speak, it would be perfect."

For more information visit: www.greenbeaninc.org.