Green Options

In a beautiful archipelago in an pristine ocean, pirates have pillaged the natural resources of all the islands except one.  Emerald Island is the the only island left in it’s natural state and the pirates have their eye on it too.  Your child, with the help of his friends, must act to thwart the pirate’s efforts by planting and cultivating gardens to keep a delicate eco-system in balance.

The world is fast becoming more complex and it’s problems of sustainability are easily keeping pace.  In a world that is increasingly more interconnected how do we prepare our children to face these problems with an eye toward creative and sustainable solutions?  This question is the inspiration for Facing The Future, a non-profit organization based out of Seattle, Washington.  Facing the Future’s aim is to arm educators with curriculum and resources to raise student’s awareness of global sustainability issues and give them the critical thinking skills necessary to come up with solutions. 

Although I wholeheartedly agree with it, I have to admit to stealing that line from Thom Henley and Kenny Peavy, authors of As if the Earth Matters. This book can serve as a textbook, a field guide, or an outdoor manual for teachers, parents, and children. It is full of hands-on activities which have been developed and field-tested by the authors and their students.

Thom Henley is well known in the world of conservation, having been instrumental in protecting and forming Canada’s Gwaii Haanas National Park on the Queen Charlotte Archipelago. He is an associate professor of the Stream Keeper Academy in Washington State and serves as Honorary Director of the Rediscovery International Foundation. The author or co-author of nine other books, his environmental accomplishments are too numerous to keep listing here.

” We need to respect the environment because it’s the only thing we have that’s close to magic”

This quote came from an 8th grader after I asked the class to tell me why it is important that we respect the environment. I’ve learned to appreciate moments like this as a teacher.  This one, however, was particularly satisfying as it came in the first weeks of our first school year at Green School.

Aptly named, Green School (www.greenschool.org) is an ambitious new international school on the island of Bali, Indonesia.  Its aim is to produce students who not only respect, but also understand the environment along with the challenges we face in regards to its health.  The classrooms have no walls, and the roofs are made from bamboo, our most renewable of trees.  The children read and write under natural light, and are cooled by breezes instead of air-conditioners. They tend gardens with the guidance of a permaculturist as part of a hands-on and holistic curriculum.