Green Options

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.

Recently on our sister site Feel Good Style, we talked about creating happiness for us and everyone around…In reading it, did you discover the free creative lesson plans and questions for awakening kids minds? They are so fun!

For example, lesson plan idea number one for getting off to a great start with a new team (both in the classroom and out) is:

Environmental sustainability is a truly interdisciplinary subject, incorporating science, mathematics, sociology, ethics, economics, philosophy, history, government, health, reading, writing, and critical thinking. Few schools are fortunate enough to have entire courses devoted to sustainability, but most schools have teachers who are, and for those teachers, there are a plethora of resources to infuse sustainability education into their everyday lesson plans.