Scrapbook Finale

After the last workshop, we thought it would be nice to provide El Buen Pastor and the students with a keepsake for our time.  We laminated the ads that they created last week and bound them together so the kids could look at them!  We hope they'll show the ads to their younger peers and they, in turn, will try to be "cool" like the older kids and become curious about sustainability.

Some of our favorites:

They loved looking at their work and figuring which of their friends drew each picture!

Thank you to El Buen Pastor for letting us be a small part of the students' lives.  We truly enjoyed working together to encourage sustainability with such a young audience because these children can have a huge impact in the future!  Keep growing and recycling, semillas...

Hasta luego,

Chiara, Caryn, and Katelyn

Last Lesson: Climate Change

What a feeling after finishing our fourth and final workshop--these weeks have flown by!  We chose to end with the subject of climate change (el cambio climático) so that the students could understand the effects of everyday habits and how they can directly or indirectly damage the environment.  Pollution comes from transportation and gasoline (cars, airplanes, trains), heating and air conditioning, and electricity.  Whether water, air, or soil pollution, all forms contribute to the irreversible destruction of the environment.

In keeping with tradition, we kicked things off with vocabulary...

1. Global warming: an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect.  Expected long-term effects of current global warming are rising sea levels, flooding, melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, fluctuations in temperature and precipitation, more frequent and stronger El Niños and La Niñas, drought, heat waves, and forest fires. 

 2. Greenhouse gases: any of the gases whose absorption of solar radiation is responsible for the greenhouse effect, including carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and the fluorocarbons. Although greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, the elevated levels especially of carbon dioxide and methane that have been observed in recent decades are directly related, at least in part, to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the deforestation of tropical forests.

 3. Fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are fuels containing carbon – coal, oil and gas – that were formed over millions of years through the decay, burial and compaction of rotting vegetation on land, and of marine organisms on the sea floor.  Burning fossil fuels is the major way in which humans add to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

4. Renewable energy: energy that comes from sources such as sun, wind and falling water – sources available in an unlimited supply.

It was great to see that the students knew so much about all these terms!  Then, we decided to mix it up and incorporate fun facts in the form of a matching game! 

 It's a little difficult to see, but give it a shot! Spoiler alert: answers below...

1. False (J)—global warming is also caused by human-generated factors.
2. China (C) emits the most greenhouse gases (surpassed USA in 2006-2007).
3. A compact fluorescent light bulb (A) uses 60-80% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb or halogen bulb.
4. 100 years (E)—even if carbon dioxide emissions ceased immediately, past actions would still affect the planet for decades to come.
5. Narwhal (G)—their restricted geographic distribution, specific migration routes, and specialized diet makes them more vulnerable to global warming than polar bears.
6. 70 million tons (D)—equivalent to 1.4 billion pounds every day.
7. 20 million tons (B)—this amount lost per day is equal to the amount of water New York City uses for an entire year.
8. 150,000 (F) global deaths per year due to the effects of global warming: extreme weather, drought, heat waves, decreased food production, and vector borne diseases like malaria.
9. True (H)—rising temperatures allow mosquitoes to survive at higher altitudes, potentially bringing them to regions that lack population immunity.
10. Sometimes (I)—hybrids have improved fuel economy, but some use those savings for added power.

Activity: "What's Your Message?"

Each student was given materials to create his or her own magazine “advertisement.”  The ad can be about what the student believes is the most important regarding sustainability and the environment or simply his or her favorite topic.  Afterward, each child’s “ad” will be placed in a scrapbook for El Buen Pastor to keep, thereby commemorating what each believes to be the most important and continuing to raise awareness about the subject.

 Some decided to focus on recycling or greenhouse gases, and one student even created an ad for a "solar store!"  We love spending time with these students and (hopefully) having a positive impact on how they view sustainability and bettering the environment.  After healthy lifestyles, recycling, rainforest prevention, and climate change, we'll return next week with a scrapbook of their ads!

Hasta luego,

Caryn, Chiara, and Katelyn 

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

The Beginning!

Great news--we've spoken with the director of El Buen Pastor in Winston-Salem and our workshops will begin March 1st.  How exciting!  Now to prepare...