Lift the Spirit. Love the Earth.

To provide children with abundant opportunities to become compassionate, imaginative, Earth conscious beings with self-awareness as a core value and goal. We accomplish this through hands-on, natured based and environmental programs, which include problem solving, creative thinking, and relational activities.  In addition, dynamic and progressive gift and career exploration are the key features of one of our three programs, where soul satisfaction and self-direction toward meaningful work, is our focus.

Our Vision

We see a world community strengthened by young people who value the natural world, love who they are, and can demonstrate unconditional love in the most challenging circumstances. It is our hope and deep desire to influence others in ways that bring about greater harmony, increased insight, and more love.

Our work will produce individuals brimming with self-confidence and joy; ready to  express and apply their unique gifts in a wide range of fields.

We have two areas of concentration:

1. Our Eco-hood design and build workshops (which build from the inside, out) are suitable for home and school.

2. Our G.R.O.W. program operates by sending traveling teachers into elementary classrooms to set-up and teach science based hands-on growing lessons. Additionally, farm to table food experiences can be arranged where young people prepare freshly harvested food for themselves or their parents. The GROW curriculum must be booked three to six months in advance.
   
   Amakiasu Turpin-Howze
   Founder, Educator, Writer

Amakiasu has been an educator for over 30 years, teaching in both public and private school settings. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Fisk University and Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan, her state of birth.  

In most recent years, Amakiasu served as garden educator and camp director for Atlanta’s premiere urban farm, Truly Living Well.

Amakiasu’s love for children and nature, coupled with her concern for the environment, led to the recent formation of EarthShine.

She believes that the co-housing or eco-village lifestyle is more humane and addresses many of the challenges of our modern world. In the former, there is more support, less anonymity, and greater opportunity for people to be their authentic selves in community. The Eco-hood program introduces these ideas to children and teens.