School Partnerships
Brooklyn Botanic Garden & Margaret's Place
BASE is a Partnership between Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), Prospect Park Alliance (PPA), and the NYC Department of Education. The school was founded by all three institutions in 2003 and has remained dedicated to providing students with opportunities for outdoor, hands-on learning. The Partners work with students, teachers, and families to incorporate nature and environmentalism into everyday experiences in the classroom, at home, and in communities.
Programs
Field Studies is a unique credit-bearing science course that teaches students scientific inquiry through real-world learning. All 9th grade BASE students have the privilege of using Prospect Park and BBG as “classrooms” to complement their Living Environment class. Fall classes are devoted to studying different ecosystems in Prospect Park and Brooklyn Botanic Garden to learn to design and implement a controlled experiment. In the spring, they begin an intro to Science Research and learn the basics of science writing.
Internships give students real world experience, teach them college and career skills, and help students develop a network of mentors outside of the school setting while earning money. Some unique opportunities are available exclusively to BASE students through the partnership, such as Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s “Garden Apprentice Program,” the Woodlands Youth Crew and Park Youth Representatives Program at Prospect Park, and 2- and 4-week summer internships with Audubon NY and The Nature Conservancy. See our Student Opportunities pages for more information and check for applications in the Guidance Office!
Garden Crew is a volunteer group of students who plant, grow, and harvest vegetables in the Children's Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). They harvest twice a year and serve the food to their classmates at the bi-annual Harvest Lunch. Look for opportunities to sign up in your classrooms!
Hiking Club brings students in all grades togther for weekend hiking excursions in the New York City area and along Metro-North. Trips usually occurr once a month and cost $5. See Mr. Hockert for more information!
Volunteering: Each year, we help coordinate several student trips including the Sophomore Trip, the Junior Retreat, the hikes mentioned above, and summer Dragonfly Expeditions. These experiences help students learn leadership skills, discover new talents, and build relationships among their classmates and their teachers. Listen to 3rd period announcements and check the bulletin boards for information on upcoming opportunities.
BASE students should plan to complete 100 hours of community service in their four years at the school. That means that each student should spend 25 hours a year giving back to their community in some way. Prospect Park Alliance (PPA) and Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) offer many opportunities for students to earn community service hours throughout the year, including the Park's Volunteer Corps, Halloween Haunted Walk, Hands on NY Day, and the Garden's Sakura festival. Information for these and other opportunities is available in the Guidance Office.
Founded in 2002 by Joe Torre and his wife Ali, Margaret's Place provides schools with a counselor and a safe space for students to come and talk about issues that matter to them. Margaret’s Place is a room where respect and confidentiality are key in its dedication to addressing community and interpersonal violence. Here at BASE, the Margaret's Place Art Therapist, Ms. G, provides individual and group counseling, classroom workshops, trainings for staff, school-wide anti-violence campaigns, and much more. During COVID-19 pandemic time the room is not available, Ms. G is available to connect through email and the Margaret’s Place Google Classroom where most of the programs are still taking place.