Page 20 - Port of Baltimore - September/October 2018
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PORT ENVIRONMENT
Role Model Helps Youngsters Build Sea-bots,
Learn Sound Environmental Practices
Students from Baltimore-area middle schools ended their summer environmental course with a field trip to Masonville Cove, where they water-tested their sea-bots. The program was part of Safe Alternative Foundation for Education (SAFE), established by Van Brooks Jr., center, after the football injury that changed his life’s plans.
EVERY CHILD SHOULD BE
LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A FEW “NORTH STARS” — those trusted adults who help guide their way. For many children, Baltimorean Van Brooks Jr. is their North Star.
After much personal adversity, Brooks founded the Safe Alternative Foundation for Education (SAFE), providing free after-school and summer educational and vocational programs for middle school students. The SAFE Center also stresses the importance of an education and alternate career plans if life throws you a curve ball, as it did Brooks.
At Loyola Blakefield High School, Brooks excelled at sports and may have been headed for a professional sports career. During a routine tackle, however, he broke his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. Brooks did graduate high school and Towson University on time. After eight years of physical therapy, he is able to take steps. SAFE is the outgrowth of his accident and recovery.
The Maryland Department
of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) is a sup- porter of Brooks’ educational programs. Because Brooks’ father, Van Brooks Sr., is a longshoreman at the Port, Brooks is familiar with the many career and youth opportunities the Port offers.
This summer, a group of Baltimore youth attended an eight-week SAFE program to build sea-bots, underwater gadgets with remote controls that can
be used to perform tasks in the water. With a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Brooks created hands-on lessons with a mix of design, engineering and environmental education components about the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
Made of PVC pipe and pool noodles, to which a camera can be attached, and operated via remote control, the sea- bots were inspired by the trash wheel at Masonville Cove. “The trash wheel captures trash and helps keep the water
[18] The Port of Baltimore ■ September/October 2018