Workshop #3: "Rainforest Preservation"

In conserving the rainforest, we can save thousands of species of plants, animals, and insects that could be vital in creating medicinal cures now and in the future.  The tropical rainforest is also a critical source of oxygen for our rapidly expanding population, as well as the indigenous peoples that live within the rainforest.

Naturally, our vocabulary started off with the general theme of the day...

1. Rainforest: a tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing, broad-leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall--aka "jewels of the earth" or "the world's largest pharmacy."

2. Shaman: a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc., especially among North American Indians.

 

3. Deforestation: the cutting down and removal of all or most of the trees in a forested area.  Deforestation can erode soils, contribute to desertification and the pollution of waterways, and decrease biodiversity through the destruction of habitat.

 The students knew a lot about the words, particularly deforestation.  Then, we gave them some facts to demonstrate how extensive the damage is to the rainforest (in a fun way!):

• Rainforests cover only 2% of the earth's surface, but provide habitat and nutritional support for over 50% of Earth's species.
• There were 10 million Amazonian Indians living 500 years ago, yet only less than 200,000 still exist today.
• Most shaman are over 70 years old, and each time 1 dies it's as if a library has burned down.
• Over 20% of the world's oxygen is supplied by rainforests.
• Rainforests contain over 3,000 fruits, but we only use 200 of them (Native Indians use 2,000).
• Rainforests produce 1/5th of the world's freshwater supply.

 

Displaying these facts in a "fill-in-the-blank" manner encouraged the kids to guess and provided an element of suspense as we revealed the answer to each statistic: i.e., how many Amazonian Indians are alive today if 10 million were living 500 years ago?  This fact really shocked the students, too.

Finally, the activity "What's In Your Jungle?".  Divided into 4 groups, each group was given a notecard describing the plants, animals, and insects of a specific layer of the rainforest.  Then, they drew pictures of some of the animals and insects, as well as pasting leaves to the corresponding section of the flipboard.  When we put the 2 flipboard sheets (each with 2 layers of the rainforest) together, they were able to visualize what lived where in each layer!

The finished product:

Again, the students adored drawing their own images and putting together a "collage" of animals and insects that call the rainforest home.  If they show as much enthusiasm for the next workshop, Climate Change, it will certainly be great!

Hasta luego,
Caryn, Chiara, and Katelyn

Second Workshop: "Sustainability and Recycling"

The second time around, we emphasized the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.  With finite resources, small contributions to limit consumption and waste can make a big difference!  Here are some fun facts that kept the students on their toes:

• Americans represent 5% of the world's population, but produce 30% of the world's garbage.
• Energy saved from recycling 1 aluminum can could operate a computer or TV for 3 hours.
• Americans throw away enough wood and paper annually to heat 500 homes for 200 years.
• 200 pounds of recycled paper can save:
• 400 gallons of oil
• 3 cubic yards of landfill
• 17 trees
• Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour, but only 1 out of 4 are recycled.

With the students' attention, we moved into the vocabulary words..

1. Recycling: materials that could be wasted are turned into valued resources.  It prevents pollution, saves energy, and conserves natural resources.

2. Biodegradable: the breakdown of materials by the environment.

3. Landfills: a carefully engineered depression in the ground (or built on top of the ground) into which wastes are put.

We explained that it is essentially a bathtub in the ground, but that the world is running out of room for these and they have the potential to leak as well.

4. Go Green: a movement to create a "culture of conservation" within a community, it aims to conserve and protect natural resources for future generations.

Activity: "Just Decorate It!"
Last week we asked individuals students if he/she would prefer to decorate a reusable tote bag, recycling bin, or water bottle.  The majority of the girls chose the tote bag (one chose a water bottle), and the remaining boys were excited about their water bottles and bins.
We provided the students with fabric markers and paint pens, and the children had a field day decorating!

When asked where they could carry their newly-decorated bags, bins, or bottles, the students were ready to bring them everywhere!

Recap:
Although the activity was a little messy, the students really enjoyed putting their own personal touch on objects that can be used in a sustainable way.  Making sure that in their enthusiasm the students didn't paint the walls and themselves was quite hectic,  but it was great to see such passion for objects that they can use in the future!
The seeds from the first workshop are growing..and next week we focus on the rainforest!

Hasta luego,
Chiara, Caryn, and Katelyn

The First Workshop

"Planting Seeds and Living a Healthy Lifestyle"

After introducing ourselves and the purpose of Semillas sostenibles, we explained some important facts:

• Healthy eating and sustainability is beneficial for ourselves and our environment--sustainable means that we don't destroy our resources, but can reuse them more than once
• Child obesity rates (ages 6-11) rose from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008
• Fast food and healthy food: you can achieve a healthy balance with a colorful plate

Vocabulary: we show pictures that align with the images in the individual vocabulary books and ask the students to guess what the pictures represent.  They LOVED it!  It turned into a guessing game with the following words: 

1. Farmer's market: markets, usually outdoors, where farmers sell their local produce to the public

2. Organic: of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plan or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides

3. Community garden: shared space in a neighborhood where residents who live in apartments or houses without suitable yards grow produce

 

4. Environment: a) the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its from and survival; b) the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community

5. Health: the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially: freedom from physical disease or pain

Activity 1: "Where Does Your Food Come From?":

Each student was given 2 index cards with pictures of food.

It was their job to figure out where the food came from (tree, ground, ocean, chicken, or cow) and stick the picture on the corresponding image!

Many of the students knew right away where the food went, but some products, like sugar and pomegranate, that were a bit tricky!  Some thought the activity was easy, whereas others thought it was more difficult.

Activity 2: "Planting Seeds":

With the germinated seeds and expanded, peats, we came prepared for the kids to plant their own bean sprouts.  We explained that growing your own food is less expensive and it is important to know where your food comes from, and whether it has been affected by dangerous pesticides.  Some of them wanted to immediately start planting outside!

Recap:

Overall, the kids were VERY engaged and learned a lot--only 1 had heard of farmer's markets before our workshop!

We plan to spend more time on the vocabulary "game" at the next workshop, titled "Sustainability and Recycling."  More to come (with video!)...

Hasta luego,

Chiara, Caryn, and Katelyn

Preparation

After we established our business plan for each workshop, we got to work on preparing for the first session.  Steps included:

• Buying materials at Office Depot, Lowe's, and Wal-Mart
• Established the vocabulary words and associated images
• Created their individual vocabulary books and the instructional flip-board 
• Activity 1: made index cards complete with images of food products and the items' names in English and Spanish
• Activity 2: germinated seeds and expanded peats
• Rehearsed facts and information to present to the children

We hope our hard work pays off in the first workshop!

Hasta luego,
Chiara, Caryn, and Katelyn