“I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues…Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Environmental Literacy
Environmental literacy is defined as, “education about the environment, for the environment, and in the environment that promotes an understanding of, rich and active experience in, and an appreciation for the dynamic interactions of:
1.The Earth’s physical and biological systems
2. The dependency of our social and economic systems on these natural systems
3. The scientific and human dimensions of environmental issues
4. The positive and negative consequences, both intended and unintended, of the interactions between human-created and natural systems” (The Ontario curriculum grades K–8: Environmental education, scope and sequence of expectations, 2011).
The importance of incorporating environmental literacy into educational activities again returns to the fact that we are preparing our students to become citizens in the 21st century, in a world in which relies on the natural Earth and its processes for continued habitation. Similar to how the uprise in digital literacy education is increasing with its prevalence, environmental literacy is becoming a core area of interest in educational institutions, as a result of increasing climate change which is threatening the future of our healthy and prolonged survival on this planet. Due to that the main factor of climate change is human activity on the Earth, it is crucial that students are becoming familiar with the implications of everyday human behaviour on the proposed dire future of the planet, and applying their 21st century skills to create sustainable solutions.
The goal of the curriculum document on Environmental Education (2011) is to “produce environmentally active and responsible citizens, with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to understand and deal with complex issues that affect the environment now and in the future. For example, students need to develop skills in problem solving, inquiry, decision making, action planning, higher-level thinking, systems thinking, and critical literacy. They also need to be able to identify issues and perspectives, carry out research, and communicate their ideas in meaningful ways” (p. 3). Through incorporating environmental literacy within my pedagogical practice, students can use their higher-order thinking skills in order to take on environmental challenges locally to help out their community, as a contribution to combatting climate change and getting involved in their learning.
Additionally, the link attached to this post offers 11 “simple” ways to introduce the idea of environmental, or eco-literacy to younger students which includes fun, creative and collaborative projects such as a community garden, a celebration of Earth day (April 22nd), and experiencing outdoor trips to natural sites that highlight biodiversity and landscapes, or even helping areas affected by natural disaster through habitat restoration (Shaw, 2015).
Furthermore, for students in the senior grades another way to implement environmental literacy in their curricular activities would be assigning a project to develop more sustainable alternatives to current methods or trends in their school or community; or creating public service announcements to help spread the word on a critical environmental issue and why it is significant (i.e. dangers of automobile usage on the environment, alternative transportation methods, etc.).
References:
The Ontario curriculum, Grades 1-8 and kindergarten programs. (2011). Environmental education: Scope and sequence of expectations.
Shaw, A. (2015). 11 Simple ways to help kids start developing ecoliteracy. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/11-simple-ways-help-kids-start-developing-ecoliteracy-anne-shaw?trk=mp-reader-card
