Eagle Eye Institute is first conceived when co-founder Anthony Sanchez, receives a vision from an eagle soaring overhead. The eagle tells him that to fulfill his task on earth he will need to buy land and start Eagle Eye, an Institute of higher learning. Anthony holds on to his vision for 25 years. "It's like a hemlock tree that can grow in the shade for up to 25 years," Anthony muses now, "waiting for an opening in the canopy which will allow it to grow up."
Anthony meets MaJa Kietzke who provides that opening in the canopy. She shares the vision and becomes his partner in life. MaJa is a travel agent and former Peace Corps volunteer with a personal mission to promote cooperation and understanding among people through travel. Anthony and MaJa decide to create an international peace camp dedicated to three aspects of peace: peace with oneself, peace with others, and peace with nature.
Realizing that owning land is a major part of their vision, Anthony and MaJa search for land. While visiting a friend's land in Nova Scotia, where eagles came to feed, they reconnected with the vision and importance of buying land. They meet a woman in Lenox, Massachusetts who knows of "the perfect relator." They contact Eileen, the realtor. After searching many other properties, Anthony and MaJa asked her if they can see a site in Peru, Massachusetts which Eileen had dismissed as "too remote." "When we saw it and felt the energy of the land, we said 'This is it!'" Anthony remembers. "The land was so incredible! It had the perfect energy and the correct balance of natural elements. We knew this was the place of visions." The land even had a beautiful waterfall.
MaJa and Anthony want to buy the land, but it's been taken off the market. While in Hawaii, surrounded by waterfalls, MaJa awakes with a feeling about the land. Sure enough, a call to the realtor reveals that the land is again available. The two make plans to purchase the land.
Eagle Eye is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) and the founders begin creating the Institute. When they share their idea about an international peace camp, enthusiastic friends point out that they don't need to fly youth over from other countries -- their own community of Somerville is international. They envision a program that brings urban youth to the newly acquired Eagle Eye Land Trust.
Also in 1991, Anthony and MaJa attend a three-day workshop that teaches landowners about managing their land for wildlife, and as part of the workshop are asked to educate others about the benefits of forests and wildlife. This leads to a plan: bring urban youth to the land in Peru for one-day Learn About Forests programs. They ask the workshop leader, David Kittredge, to become the first Learn About Forests instructor, and he agrees. The Learn About Forests program is born!
Eagle Eye Institute runs four Learn About Forests programs. "These programs were so successful," Anthony remembers. "Young people came there, learned a lot, and were very excited. Most had never been in the forest before. A lot of them had never been outside their own communities. It was as though we had stumbled upon success. And the land taught us the elements needed
Since 1992, Eagle Eye Institute has continued to have great success with Learn About Forests, introducing more than 1800 multi-ethnic youth to the beauty and peace of forests. Past participants have gone on to studies and careers in environmental fields.
Eagle Eye Institute initiates two new programs: Learn About Water and the advanced, three-day long Learn More About Forests.
Eagle Eye Institute's Rainbow Stewards program is launched in Somerville, to give young people the opportunity to learn about the value of urban street trees while conducting a city wide tree survey.
The Wings Initiative is launched as a result of overwhelming interest for the Learn About Forests program. Through this initiative, Eagle Eye begins to train and support partner organizations to coordinate, or "champion" Learn About Forests programs for youth from their own communities. In addition, Eagle Eye staff offer the Learn About Agriculture program for the first time.
"Trees Are My Friends," Eagle Eye Institute's campaign to introduce community forestry to urban people of color, is launched nationwide with an NUCFAC grant from the USDA Forest Service. The Trees Are My Friends PSA is broadcast in major metropolitan areas, reaching an audience of 20 million.
Received the National Arbor Day Foundation 2002 Advertising and Public Relations Award for the "Trees Are My Friends" campaign. Rainbow Stewards summer youth peer leadership program held for the first time in partnership with the Boston Harbor Islands National Park; 8 peer leaders participated in the 6-week program. Funding was provided through a five-year partnership agreement with the National Park Service.
Awarded a two-year USDA Forest Service NUCFAC grant of $103,500 to train more Champions to deliver Eagle Eye's Learn About Forests (LAF) programs; 6 Champions ran 15 LAF programs in New England as well as Columbus, GA. Began a community stewardship program engaging youth organizations in the learning and stewardship of their own urban natural environment.
Eagle Eye Insitute successfully piloted a summer internship program in partnership with Southern University of Baton Rouge, LA. with funding from the USDA Forest Service Civil Rights. This program placed and supported interns with Eagle Eye Champions who ran Learn About Forests programs.
Began a three year comprehensive Green Industry Career Pathway (GICP) program in partnership with The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR), YouthBuild USA and four YouthBuild affiliated programs in MA (New Bedford, Brockton, Lowell and Springfield). GICP is Eagle Eye's first time delivering its three tiered program model (learning, stewardship and career bridging programs) to one youth audience over a 9-month time period.
YouthBuild Boston and YouthBuild Just-A-Start Cambridge added to the affiliated YouthBuild programs Eagle Eye is working with in the Green Industry Career Pathway program.
Eagle Eye Institute is first conceived when co-founder Anthony Sanchez, receives a vision from an eagle soaring overhead. The eagle tells him that to fulfill his task on earth he will need to buy land and start Eagle Eye, an Institute of higher learning. Anthony holds on to his vision for 25 years. "It's like a hemlock tree that can grow in the shade for up to 25 years," Anthony muses now, "waiting for an opening in the canopy which will allow it to grow up."
Anthony meets MaJa Kietzke who provides that opening in the canopy. She shares the vision and becomes his partner in life. MaJa is a travel agent and former Peace Corps volunteer with a personal mission to promote cooperation and understanding among people through travel. Anthony and MaJa decide to create an international peace camp dedicated to three aspects of peace: peace with oneself, peace with others, and peace with nature.
Realizing that owning land is a major part of their vision, Anthony and MaJa search for land. While visiting a friend's land in Nova Scotia, where eagles came to feed, they reconnected with the vision and importance of buying land. They meet a woman in Lenox, Massachusetts who knows of "the perfect relator." They contact Eileen, the realtor. After searching many other properties, Anthony and MaJa asked her if they can see a site in Peru, Massachusetts which Eileen had dismissed as "too remote." "When we saw it and felt the energy of the land, we said 'This is it!'" Anthony remembers. "The land was so incredible! It had the perfect energy and the correct balance of natural elements. We knew this was the place of visions." The land even had a beautiful waterfall.
MaJa and Anthony want to buy the land, but it's been taken off the market. While in Hawaii, surrounded by waterfalls, MaJa awakes with a feeling about the land. Sure enough, a call to the realtor reveals that the land is again available. The two make plans to purchase the land.
Eagle Eye is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) and the founders begin creating the Institute. When they share their idea about an international peace camp, enthusiastic friends point out that they don't need to fly youth over from other countries -- their own community of Somerville is international. They envision a program that brings urban youth to the newly acquired Eagle Eye Land Trust.
Eagle Eye Institute runs four Learn About Forests programs. "These programs were so successful," Anthony remembers. "Young people came there, learned a lot, and were very excited. Most had never been in the forest before. A lot of them had never been outside their own communities. It was as though we had stumbled upon success. And the land taught us the elements needed
Eagle Eye Institute initiates two new programs: Learn About Water and the advanced, three-day long Learn More About Forests.
Eagle Eye Institute's Rainbow Stewards program is launched in Somerville, to give young people the opportunity to learn about the value of urban street trees while conducting a city wide tree survey.
The Wings Initiative is launched as a result of overwhelming interest for the Learn About Forests program. Through this initiative, Eagle Eye begins to train and support partner organizations to coordinate, or "champion" Learn About Forests programs for youth from their own communities. In addition, Eagle Eye staff offer the Learn About Agriculture program for the first time.
"Trees Are My Friends," Eagle Eye Institute's campaign to introduce community forestry to urban people of color, is launched nationwide with an NUCFAC grant from the USDA Forest Service. The Trees Are My Friends PSA is broadcast in major metropolitan areas, reaching an audience of 20 million.
Received the National Arbor Day Foundation 2002 Advertising and Public Relations Award for the "Trees Are My Friends" campaign. Rainbow Stewards summer youth peer leadership program held for the first time in partnership with the Boston Harbor Islands National Park; 8 peer leaders participated in the 6-week program. Funding was provided through a five-year partnership agreement with the National Park Service.
Awarded a two-year USDA Forest Service NUCFAC grant of $103,500 to train more Champions to deliver Eagle Eye's Learn About Forests (LAF) programs; 6 Champions ran 15 LAF programs in New England as well as Columbus, GA. Began a community stewardship program engaging youth organizations in the learning and stewardship of their own urban natural environment.
Eagle Eye Insitute successfully piloted a summer internship program in partnership with Southern University of Baton Rouge, LA. with funding from the USDA Forest Service Civil Rights. This program placed and supported interns with Eagle Eye Champions who ran Learn About Forests programs.
Began a three year comprehensive Green Industry Career Pathway (GICP) program in partnership with The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR), YouthBuild USA and four YouthBuild affiliated programs in MA (New Bedford, Brockton, Lowell and Springfield). GICP is Eagle Eye's first time delivering its three tiered program model (learning, stewardship and career bridging programs) to one youth audience over a 9-month time period.
YouthBuild Boston and YouthBuild Just-A-Start Cambridge added to the affiliated YouthBuild programs Eagle Eye is working with in the Green Industry Career Pathway program.