During the month of May, students in Mrs. Nicole Nolan's AP Human Geography classes worked with Andy Meyer and Tanya Gallo of Living City Project. This is the school’s fourth year working with Living City Project, and each year this partnership has something new and exciting to the intensive study of food, culture, migration, and family.
Students attended an on-campus orientation with Mr. Meyer and Mrs. Nolan on Wednesday, May 15. During this session they were given an in depth history of Manhattan's Lower East Side and introduced to the multi-layered project they were to complete in groups. The project entailed a study of family migration, connections between family migration and food, a detailed neighborhood restaurant map, interviews with restaurant owners and a menu analysis. Additionally, each group needed to create a vlog preparing one of the foods featured in their family migration stories.
On Wednesday, May 29, the students, accompanied by Mrs. Nolan, Mr. Kevin Fette, Mr. Jon McClain, and Dr. Jonathan Wilson, traveled by train and subway to meet Mr. Meyer and Ms. Gallo in Lower Manhattan for a neighborhood tour. Students visited Nom Wah and Dim Sum A Go Go in Chinatown, and the world famous Katz's deli where they were able to meet with the owners and ask questions about their restaurant's history. Students also interviewed the owners of The Pickle Guys (est. 1910), Kossar's Bagels and Bialys (est. 1936), and Doughnut Plant as part of their study of how restaurants establish and evolve in neighborhoods.
Students delivered their final group presentations to Mrs. Nolan, Mr. Meyer and Ms. Gallo on Wednesday, June 5 in the Oakwood Room. Students enjoyed learning about the neighborhoods their peers live in, discovering their shared and unique migration stories, and, of course, trying the different foods students prepared as part of their family migration stories.
This multi-year, successful partnership and unit is funded in part by the WHPA. Mrs. Nolan shares her gratitude and appreciation to the WHPA for their continued generosity and support!