Restore Our Earth Climate Education Week Toolkit

2021 Restore Our Earth Climate Education Week Toolkit

Restore Our Earth

Climate change and other environmental degradations have broken our natural systems, leading to increased frequency of disasters, new and fatal diseases as well as a breakdown of the global economy. But just as climate change and Coronavirus painfully remind us of the harm we’ve caused, Restore Our Earth reminds us of the opportunities that lay ahead.

We must Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. Every one of us needs a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.

Climate Education Week

EARTHDAY.ORG acknowledges Climate Education Week each year on the days surrounding Earth Day. This year, Climate Education Week occurs April 19-23 with Earth Day on Thursday, April 22. This toolkit provides a daily focus for Climate Education Week related to the 2021 theme of Restore Our Earth. It is designed for educators, parents or motivated students who want to explore ways to learn more about the local impacts of climate change and how we can work together to Restore Our Earth through individual and community civic action. 

Within each daily theme you will find activities, resources, calls to action, extension suggestions and interdisciplinary opportunities. Each day provides activity suggestions for three levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced), leading students from awareness to action throughout the week. The three levels do not correlate to a specific grade or age level but rather how familiar the learners are with the topic. We aim to present resources for a global audience of any age who want to help take action to Restore Our Earth. Topics include: ecosystem services, the carbon cycle, food sustainability, ecosystem restoration and civic engagement around environmental issues. 

This toolkit provides a wealth of resources for you to incorporate and utilize whenever they best fit into your curriculum at any point in the year. By using resources like this, we can work to build climate and environmental literacy in students all year long, not just during one week in April. 

Thank you for all you do to help Restore Our Earth. A healthy planet protects us and provides for us!

Restore our Earth Lessons and Activities

Learning Goal

Students will understand core ecosystem services and their importance, natural systems and their processes and the relationship between humans and the environment.

Introduction

What benefits do we get from the natural world? When we go to the beach, or take a hike, or drink water and eat food, or sit on wooden furniture, we’re using resources provided by nature. Can we possibly quantify all the services nature provides to us every single day? An ecosystem service is any positive natural element, function or process that provides benefits to humans and other species.

There are four types of ecosystem services that are essential to life on Earth — provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services and supporting services. A provisioning service is any physical product that people can extract from nature. Notable examples of provisioning services include fruit and vegetables, fish, livestock, timber, natural gas, oil and medicinal products. Regulating services are benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes. These services include regulating climate, air and water purification, erosion and flood protection, bacterial decomposition, carbon storage and pollination. Cultural services are non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems, including culture and tradition; knowledge building; spiritual enrichment and interactions with nature through music, art and architecture; and recreation and aesthetic experiences. Supporting services are ecosystem services that are essential in sustaining life on Earth, such as photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, water cycling, soil formation and retention and the production of oxygen.

To better understand our dependence on ecosystem services, consider pollination and flood protection. Pollination allows plants to reproduce, and thus also supports the survival of most animal life. Pollinators, including bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats, transport pollen between plants and help carry out this service. We depend on pollination for our food system and economy; without this service, our diets and access to nutritious foods would be altered dramatically. In addition, flood protection reduces the risk of flood hazards, which are among the most frequent natural disasters in the world. Areas such as wetlands and dunes reduce flood volume and protect against potential damage and costs, while coral reefs and mangrove forests provide buffers between land and water.

Natural cycles, like the water cycle and the carbon cycle, are important in controlling how our environment operates. Nutrient cycles recycle nutrients in various chemical forms between the nonliving environment and living organisms. The three main nutrient cycles are the water cycle, the carbon cycle and the nitrogen cycle. The water cycle is essential in collecting, purifying and distributing the Earth’s fixed supply of water through the environment. This process determines Earth’s weather and climate, supports plant growth and is an essential to life on Earth. The carbon cycle is the process of recycling carbon from the atmosphere to plants and soil and then back into the atmosphere. Carbon is the basic building block of life, and it is present in the cells of all living things. Without it, natural processes that we rely on to survive would not exist. The nitrogen cycle is the process by which nitrogen passes between the air, soil and organisms. Nitrogen makes up the majority of gas in the atmosphere and is essential for producing amino acids, which make up proteins, and the nucleic acids that make up our DNA.

Earth’s sustainability is dependent on maintaining balance in these cycles, otherwise we could experience drought, climate change, famine or other disasters that would threaten life on Earth. Explore the activities in this resource to learn more about our Earth’s natural services and discover actions you can take to protect them!


Vocabulary

  • Ecosystem: A biological community of organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific physical environment.
  • Ecosystem services: Elements, functions and processes that the natural environment provides that yield benefits to humans and other species.
  • Climate Change: A significant, gradual and long-lasting change in the average measures of regional weather patterns, such as temperature, rainfall or wind.
  • Carbon Cycle: The process by which carbon atoms travel between matter on Earth, into the atmosphere, and back.
  • Nitrogen Cycle: The process by which nitrogen passes from air to soil to organisms and back to air or soil.
  • Nutrient Cycle: A process that recycles nutrients in various chemical forms from the nonliving environment to living organisms, and then back to the nonliving environment.
  • Water Cycle: The continuous movement of Earth’s water supply from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back through evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
  • Photosynthesis: The process by which plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their own food and produce oxygen.
  • Pollination: The transfer of pollen between flowers’ reproductive parts to facilitate fertilization and seed production.

Activities

BEGINNER

INTERMEDIATE:

  • Ecosystem Services Bingo (Camp Fire Seattle): Have students go on an outdoor excursion in a natural area near your school or around their home. Explore the surrounding environment with a parent or friend to search for items in nature to match their BINGO cards.

ADVANCED:

  • Ecosystem Services – Water Purification (Science Net Links): Work with students to explore nearby watersheds to learn more about the water purification ecosystem service and how it supports human life.
  • Eco-Relationship Browser (United States Environmental Protection Agency): Have students explore the services that ecosystems provide and their impact on human health.

Cross Cutting Activity

Creative Writing: Spend 15-20 minutes outside to observe the environment. Students can write a short story, poem, song or journal entry about what they observe. Encourage them to reflect on their impact on the Earth and think creatively about what the world could look like if we protected it.

Discussion Questions

  • What ecosystem services do you use in our community?
  • Who is responsible for protecting or maintaining ecosystem services?
  • Who is most impacted when we damage ecosystem services?
  • How are ecosystem services connected to climate change?
  • Is it important for individuals to become more ‘connected’ to the environment?
  • In what ways can we reduce our ecological footprint?
  • What are the positive and negative effects of viewing an ecosystem as a commodity for humans?
  • What should we conserve when talking about conservation issues? Plants and animals? Human activities and traditions?

Action Items

Individual Action

  • Research ecosystems in need in your region and share what you learn with your friends and family.
  • Conduct a review at home of how many single-use or non-recyclable plastic items you use. Come up with reusable alternatives to replace them.

Community/Advocacy

Learning Goal

Students will be able to understand the role of carbon and how it cycles throughout ecosystems.

Introduction

We hear a lot about carbon in the news and in our everyday lives saying that we need to reduce our carbon footprint. However, carbon is one of the most important and abundant elements in the universe. Carbon can be found in all organic matter — all living things. Carbon cycles through our air, water, land and living things through several processes. The main processes of the carbon cycle are photosynthesis and cellular respiration, which is how plants, animals and people breathe. Photosynthesis is the process where plants take in carbon and release oxygen, whereas cellular respiration is when animals and people take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Carbon is also part of the process of decomposition which is the breakdown of organic matter. We couldn’t survive without carbon!

It is crucial to understand the carbon cycle because of its role in the climate crisis. When we hear about reducing our carbon footprint, it is actually referring to carbon dioxide, when two oxygen atoms combine with a carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect, which keeps the Earth at temperature warm enough for us to survive. As the sun’s rays enter the atmosphere, some are reflected back into space. However, increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (from human activities that include burning of fossil fuels) can act as a thick blanket and trap the rays close to the Earth’s surface. The trapped heat causes the planet’s temperature to increase, causing global warming and changing the climate all over the Earth. The amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has rapidly increased in recent years, exponentially since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

There are many ways that we can work together to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide that is being released and strategies to naturally sequester carbon in the carbon cycle. Carbon sequestration is when carbon is stored or trapped in either natural or human-made parts of the carbon cycle. Carbon can be stored in the ocean, trees and other vegetation. Scientists are also working on new technology to store carbon to keep it out of the atmosphere. The following activities help learners better understand the carbon cycle, how the carbon cycle impacts their daily lives and how they can impact the carbon cycle. Take a breath of fresh air and jump into Carbon day!


Vocabulary

  • Atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding the Earth.
  • Ecosystem services: Elements, functions and processes that the natural environment provides that yield benefits to humans and other species.
  • Carbon dioxide: A naturally occurring gas formed by burning organic matter and during respiration and decomposition; also absorbed from the air by plants during photosynthesis.
  • Carbon Sink: A reservoir that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; examples include a forest or ocean.
  • Carbon Sequestration: The process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it.
  • Decomposition: The process of organic material breaking down and returning nutrients to the soil.
  • Photosynthesis: The process by which plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make their own food and produce oxygen.
  • Respiration: The bodily process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide.

Activities

BEGINNER

  • What Contains Carbon? (California Academy of Sciences): This lesson provides younger students with the foundational understanding of what carbon is and where it can be found. An emphasis in this activity can be placed on the location of where carbon is found and less on how carbon cycles work, to begin teaching the fundamentals.
  • Watch a climate change movie or documentary. Grab some popcorn and have students watch Happy Feet (Warner Bros. Pictures) or an age-appropriate documentary about climate change. Students should begin to understand the causes of climate change.

INTERMEDIATE:

  • Carbon Cycle Role-Play (California Academy of Sciences): This role-play game uses simple materials including note cards and ping pong balls to take students through the carbon cycle. They will learn that there is a finite amount of carbon on Earth and be able to model its movement through the environment.
  • The Carbon Cycle Game (Jennifer Ceven): This carbon cycle game lesson plan is designed to teach students about the movement of carbon with the use of dice. Students will begin to notice patterns of movement as they continually role their dice and track the movement of carbon through placeholder systems depicting the atmosphere, plants, animals and more.

ADVANCED:

  • Ecological Footprint Calculator (Global Footprint Network): This online ecological footprint calculator allows individuals to calculate how many planets would be needed if everyone lived like them. This is a great way for older students to understand their carbon footprint and personal impact on the planet, from the way they travel to school to the amount of electricity they use in their household. Students will also gain ideas for an action plan to reduce their footprints.
  • Learning about the Carbon Cycle (Study.com): This activity requires students to move through the carbon cycle pretending that they are a carbon atom. By using cue cards, students will move from one destination to another, acting out in real time how carbon moves throughout our environment. Note that this lesson requires you to create a free account in order to access everything.

Cross Cutting Activity

Math: Have students use a carbon footprint calculator to calculate their personal carbon footprint, or that of their workplace or household. Students can take that calculator and look at the areas that they can lower their carbon footprint and take actions home that they can follow.

Discussion Questions

  • What daily activities do you participate in that emit carbon dioxide?
  • What happens when we damage or destroy carbon sinks?
  • Why is it important to learn about things that we cannot see but affect our daily lives?
  • Who is most impacted when we alter the carbon cycle?
  • What can we do in the classroom and at home to lower our carbon footprint?
  • Who is responsible for reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere?
  • Can one person’s action make a difference?
  • How can communities connect through shared advocacy of this topic?

Action Items

Individual Action

  • Assess your daily habits for ways you can cut your energy use at home and at school.
  • Start collecting food scraps to compost at home, take to a local compost collection or donate to a garden.

Community/Advocacy

  • Organize a carpool system with your neighbors and friends to reduce your overall emissions. Take public transportation when possible or walk.
  • Ask your school board, family unit or workplace to complete an energy audit to identify where you can cut down on energy consumption.

Learning Goal

Students will understand the core principles of regenerative agriculture, the history of the green revolution, the impacts of the agriculture industry, where they fit into the global food system and how their food choices can impact climate change.

Introduction

As we look toward climate change solutions and Restoring Our Earth, one of the most important things to think about is our relationship with the land we live on and the food we eat. Right now, 80% of global deforestation is due to agriculture and the food system is responsible for 37% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. By examining scientific research, Indigenous land practices and agricultural trends, we can better understand which farming processes will allow us to generate healthy, carbon-rich soil, reforestated land and enough food to feed the planet in a safe and sustainable manner.

It is important to look at the big picture of the food system to best understand our total FoodPrint and how we can make changes to become more sustainable. At the global level, the demand for food has led industries to clear more and more forests to make room for more livestock and more cropland to feed the livestock. Taking away forests lessens Earth’s ability to naturally sequester carbon out of the atmosphere while increasing livestock populations result in increasing levels of methane, a greenhouse gas, released into the atmosphere.

Zooming in on industrial farming practices, unsustainable methods have reduced soil fertility, increased soil erosion and threaten our ability to produce enough nutrient rich food for the world. Toxic pesticides used on large scale farms make their way into our water system and pose risks to the ecosystems and to human health.

The current food system also exacerbates injustices around the world. Humans currently grow enough food to feed the world’s population and yet 690 million people still go hungry. This is made worse by the fact that one third of food produced every year is wasted. Indigenous people are forced from their ancestral lands by farming corporations and in many parts of the world low-income and communities of color do not have access to affordable healthy foods.

It is clear that the food system needs to be overhauled to create a more sustainable, efficient and just system. Regenerative agriculture is the farming practices that work to reverse climate change by restoring soil health and decreasing negative impacts of agriculture. We can all work toward creating change by advocating for better policies, buying from businesses that support regenerative agriculture practices and adopting new habits in our lives like plant-based eating and composting. The following activities help students understand the basics of regenerative agriculture and how their daily food habits connect to the larger food system.


Vocabulary

  • Regenerative agriculture: Farming practices that work to reverse climate change by restoring soil health and decreasing negative impacts of agriculture.
  • Carbon Sequestration: The process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it.
  • Pesticides: A substance used to repel or destroy organisms harmful to cultivated plants or animals.
  • Food System: The processes involved in feeding a population; including the demands of growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing and more.
  • Soil Fertility: The capacity of a soil to provide crops with the essential plant nutrients they need to grow.
  • Compost: Material made by decomposing organic materials (like food waste) into nutrient-rich fertilizer for soil.
  • Carbon Sink: A reservoir that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; Examples include a forest or ocean.
  • Biodiversity: A measure of the variety of living organisms in the world or a particular ecosystem.
  • Erosion: The process by which soil or rock is broken down and removed by wind, water, ice or chemicals.

Activities

BEGINNER

  • Decomposition Observation Bags (Kids Gardening): Have students see (and smell) first hand what happens when organic matter is left to return to the soil instead of thrown away.
  • Food Farmer (PBS Kids): Have students discover where food comes from and learn to plant, grow and harvest healthy vegetables.

INTERMEDIATE:

ADVANCED:

Cross Cutting Activity

Art: Illustrate your food system or one facet of a food system. Students can draw a farm, a farmers market, a grocery store or a restaurant. For a more advanced activity, have students make an illustration or piece of art that demonstrates the interconnectedness of a food system.

Discussion Questions

  • Do you know where your favorite foods come from?
  • What factors do you or your family consider when deciding what to buy at the grocery store?
  • Think about the last meal you ate. Where did each ingredient come from?
  • How might foods that have to travel long distances to get on your plate link to climate change?
  • Do all people have equal access to sustainable and healthy food?
  • Do you think all countries contribute equally to carbon emissions from food?
  • Who is responsible for creating a more sustainable food system?
  • Does one person’s diet choices make a difference?

Action Items

Individual Action

  • Go plant-based. Incorporate more plant-based ingredients into your meals and try some of our recipes!
  • Write a letter to your favorite groceries or restaurants and ask them to source from regenerative farms.

Community/Advocacy

  • Identify someone who represents you in government and write them a letter about why it is important to support regenerative farms.
  • Start a community garden or find one to volunteer at. Help grow healthy food to provide to a local food kitchen.

Learning Goal

Students will understand how nature can be used to restore the vitality, stability and productivity of ecosystems.

Introduction

Human activities have the potential to disrupt and harm ecosystems. There are three levels of ecosystem disruption from least to most extreme: damage, degradation and destruction. Fishing serves as a good example to explain the progression from damage to destruction. Removing a few fish from an ecosystem can cause damage as animals that eat those fish will have more competition for food and may have to travel elsewhere to eat. Damage moves into degradation when the rate of fish being caught outpaces the new fish born in an area. Unsustainable levels of fishing can cause an imbalance in the food chain where species that eat fish may struggle to find food, but species that are eaten by fish may experience population growth. Finally, the ecosystem would reach destruction when the rate at which fish reproduce cannot keep up with the catch rate and the fish population diminishes to zero. The makeup of the ecosystem would be changed. Organisms that fish eat would grow out of control without a predator to keep the population in check, and species that feed on fish would either need to migrate to a new ecosystem or die out in the current one.

These concepts of damage, degradation and destruction can play out in many other scenarios throughout Earth’s diverse ecosystems. Plastic waste in oceans, water pollution from industry, habitat fragmentation from urban development, invasive species from irresponsible human behavior and rising global temperatures from climate change are all examples of ways that humans have impacted the environment. No ecosystem on Earth is currently without some level of human impact, and species everywhere are facing the consequences.

Luckily, we still have time to restore our ecosystems and protect Earth’s species, but we must act fast. Ecosystems can be restored through natural processes, implementing sustainable practices, green technologies and education. Restoration strategies range from fixes like clean-ups where we see immediate improvement to long-term projects like reforestation that can take decades. There are many techniques and practices to use to embark on restoration and traditional knowledge is a key tool to do so effectively. Indigenous people have been stewards of the natural world for many generations and have a wealth of knowledge to lead us on how to restore and protect our planet for the next generations.

Use the activities below to explore ecosystem restoration and dive into taking action to restore ecosystems in your community.


Vocabulary

  • Ecosystem: A biological community of organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific physical environment.
  • Ecosystem restoration: The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem after it has been damaged, degraded or destroyed.
  • Damage: An obvious harmful impact upon an ecosystem such as selective logging, building roads, poaching animals or invasions of non-native species.
  • Degradation: Chronic human impacts that result in the loss of biodiversity and the disruption of an ecosystem’s structure, composition and functionality. Examples include long-term overfishing or hunting pressure and persistent invasions of non-native species.
  • Destruction: The most severe level of impact, when degradation or damage removes all macroscopic life and ruins the physical environment. Land clearing, urbanization, mining and coastal erosion can destroy an ecosystem.
  • Reforestation: The process of replanting trees in areas where forest ecosystems have been degraded or destroyed.
  • Native species: A species that naturally is found in a given habitat and has co-developed with other species to keep the ecosystem in balance.
  • Habitat fragmentation: The process of one large habitat being divided into many smaller pieces by human development, often where organisms cannot easily travel between pieces.
  • Traditional Knowledge (TK): “indigenous communities’ ways of knowing that both guide and result from their community members’ close relationships with and responsibilities towards the landscapes, waterscapes, plants, and animals that are vital to the flourishing of indigenous cultures. These ways of knowing and living have been accrued over thousands of years of experience, relationships, and upheld responsibilities towards other living beings and places.” – Wildcat, D. (2009)

Activities

BEGINNER

  • Web of Life Activity (Project Learning Tree): In this activity, students will learn about how plants and animals are connected in food webs, what happens if one of those organisms is removed from an ecosystem and how humans can affect an ecosystem.
  • Livecams (explore.org): Students can watch live videos of animals within their habitats and discuss what elements make up healthy ecosystems.

INTERMEDIATE:

ADVANCED:

  • Split students into groups and host a mock debate about whether a certain area of land should be developed. Sizes of the groups can vary according to the class size, but each group should consist of an equal amount of people. The groups can include: an environmental group, a company that wants to develop the land, a group of nearby residents, a community group and the local government who decides if the land can be developed. Throughout the debate, each side should present their case, and at the end the local government group should decide which group had the better argument.
  • Restoring Habitats | The Age of Nature (PBS): In this activity, students will learn more about the ability for reforestation and reversal of coral bleaching to increase capture of CO2, assess areas in their community for restoration and research a restoration project.

Cross Cutting Activity

Social Studies: The Goldman Prize is the world’s foremost award honoring grassroots environmental activists from across the globe. Have students research one of the past winners who has worked to restore their local ecosystems and habitats. Students can present reports to the class as the environmental heroes and share all they went through to protect precious resources and wildlife. Assign students to find winners from your country or have them explore ecosystems from around the world.

Discussion Questions

  • What ecosystems are important in our community?
  • How do healthy ecosystems benefit humans and other species in our community?
  • What are some causes of damage, degradation or destruction of our ecosystems?
  • What can we do at school or at home to protect and restore our habitats?
  • Who is impacted the most when ecosystems are destroyed?
  • Who is responsible for restoring our ecosystems? Who is responsible for protecting them from destruction?
  • Why should we care about ecosystems being damaged around the world?
  • How does restoring ecosystems help combat climate change?

Action Items

Individual Action

Community/Advocacy

  • Organize a tree planting day at your school or in your community to help restore forested areas.
  • Collect signatures from your community to petition your officials to take action to protect local ecosystems.

Learning Goal

Students will be able to learn about the importance of civic engagement and community action when working to address environmental issues.

Introduction



Civic engagement is when an individual or group works to address community issues through advocacy and collective action. This involvement is crucial for building a thriving and sustainable community and addressing important issues as they arise.The first Earth Day was born out of an era that was plagued with environmental degradation and pollution that impacted human health. Organizers recognized the issue and were able to gather 20 million people in the United States to come together to attend teach-ins and marches to demand that the government take action to protect the environment. Within one year the US Environmental Protection Agency was formed and the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were passed. This is an incredible example of how civic action at a large scale can drive much-needed change.

There are many ways to engage in large-scale civic action today, be it with the environmental movement or a variety of other movements addressing important issues. Taking civic action at the local level is also a great way to build civic skills and help shape your community. Community involvement can lead to long lasting relationships and drive change. It also leads to a better understanding of issues and provides more equitable solutions.

As you embark in civic action there are some important questions to consider. What issues are most important to you? Who is in charge of decision making on these issues? What is the most effective way to reach them with your message? What skills do you bring to the table? What is your personal story and how can you use it to motivate others? Who do you want to recruit to help you? Asking yourself these questions will help you plan your approach and add people to your team.

It is also important to consider our role in the movement and how our civic actions can be intersectional. Practicing intersectional environmentalism means to acknowledge and address how other forms of oppression compound the impacts of environmental issues and climate change. It is important to consider these questions before beginning, and to be willing to continue to reflect throughout the process. Who is most affected by these issues? How is this issue connected to social justice? What barriers might some people have to participate in civic action? What privileges do some individuals have that others do not while doing civic work? How can those individuals use their privilege to help lift up and amplify marginalized voices? How can you ensure all voices are heard? Asking these questions will better prepare you to identify environmental injustices and work toward just climate solutions.

Once learners have identified an issue and how they want to address it there are many strategies everyone can try to make a difference in the community. Outreach and education are some of the simplest ways to start building climate literacy in a community. Use every opportunity to start discussions to share information about local issues and start rallying your community to work together. Actions can include collecting signatures for petitions, organizing a letter writing campaign, conducting a social media campaign and hosting teach-ins. The following activities help learners build on their skills and confidence to have their voices heard in their community. Building civic skills to complement the content knowledge can provide hope for students that all is not lost when it comes to the climate crisis. There are things we can all do and that add up quickly when we all take actions. Every little bit counts!


Vocabulary

  • Civic engagement: When an individual or group works to build the knowledge and skills to make a difference and works to address community issues through advocacy and collective action.
  • Collective action: Action taken by a group of people with the motive to achieve a common goal.
  • Intersectional environmentalism: “An inclusive form of environmentalism advocating for the protection of all people and the planet. Identifies ways in which injustices targeting frontline communities and the Earth are intertwined.” – Intersectional Environmentalist
  • Environmental racism: The disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color. – ejnet.org
  • Climate justice: A concept, and a movement, “that recognizes that climate change exacerbates environmental and public health challenges for women, minorities, indigenous and low-income communities, and fights to ensure that these communities have a seat at the table in creating and implementing climate resilient policies.” – NAACP Environmental & Climate Justice Program
  • Representative: A person or group chosen or appointed to speak or act on behalf of others in a community.
  • Advocacy: Activity or activities by an individual or group that works to influence the decisions of a political, economic or social institution.
  • Barriers: Obstacles keeping an individual or group from accessing resources or participating in activities.

Activities

BEGINNER

  • Pollinator Garden Planning Worksheet (EARTHDAY.ORG): Practice observing pollinators near you and start designing a garden to provide healthy habitat for them.
  • Food is too good to waste! (US Environmental Protection Agency): Have students learn about food waste and its impacts with this fun activity. Following the activity, they can also talk with their friends and family about ways to reduce food waste at home and in the classroom.

INTERMEDIATE:

  • Have students research an environmental issue that is important to them and present that topic to the class. Prompts for a presentation can include:
    • How is this issue related to climate change?
    • Why is this issue important to you?
    • Does this issue impact your community?
    • What can we do to improve the present situation of this issue?

  • Earth Day Quizzes (EARTHDAY.ORG): Students can take our online quizzes to test their knowledge about our Earth and teach others about what they have learned. Explore our 51 Actions for Earth Day and pick a few to take!

ADVANCED:

Cross Cutting Activity

Persuasive Writing: Have students identify an official that represents your community and write a letter urging the official to support an environmental bill of their choosing. They should present convincing talking points as to why it is good for the community and share with the official why they care about this issue. If a bill doesn’t currently exist, students can propose ideas of what actions need to be taken to protect the people and resources of your community.

Discussion Questions

  • What is a community? What communities are you a part of?
  • Who can take civic action?
  • Who would you go to if you wanted to change something at home? At school? In your town?
  • Who has the most say in decisions that impact your community?
  • Who is impacted the most by environmental degradation?
  • How do we include diverse voices in environmental decision making?
  • Who is responsible for protecting the environment?
  • Why is it important to learn how to advocate for changes in your community?

Action Items

  • After organizing a Restore Our Earth teach-in with parents, educators and community members from Day 1, follow up with your community about the actions you can take to address this topic.
  • After assessing your daily habits for ways you can cut your energy use at home and at school on Day 2, make informational posters about ways your peers and community can do the same!
  • After trying more plant-based meals on Day 3, share your favorite recipes with your peers.
  • After participating in a cleanup in your community on Day 4, invite others to join you in future cleanups and register your events on the map!
  • Use an EARTHDAY.ORG Advocacy Packet to create change in your community.

Earth Day 2021 – 2nd Annual Digital Event

51 Actions for Earth Day

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