By Aningo Genevieve
Advocacy for crucial actions and initiatives on why the environment should be treated fairly is at its peak. Even those living under a rock are aware of how human activities impact the earth. A puzzling thought amidst the widespread advocacy for the environment and related concepts such as climate justice and sustainability is whether our children are being included.
It may be accurate to state that if the little ones are not involved, whatever government institutions, companies, businesses, and individuals are doing towards recovering the planet from the ravages of climate change and achieving the 2030 goals might not withstand the test of time. As the cliché goes, “the children are the leaders of tomorrow,” becomes significant.
The children of today are tomorrow’s social activists, sustainability managers, ESG managers, researchers, and circular business owners. Thus, involving them now, while environmentalism is gaining momentum, is essential and mandatory.
What is Environmental Literacy for Children?
Environmental literacy is an individual’s understanding of how the environment they live in is affected by human activities. Besides, the goal of the circular economy, one of the concepts in today’s society that complements environmentalism, is for the present generation to source resources without jeopardising the future generation’s access to natural resources. A circular economy ensures that resources are reused and regenerated to curb or eliminate waste.
Environmental literacy involves understanding key environmental concepts, recognizing that people depend on natural systems, and acknowledging that people influence natural systems.
The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental education as a “process that allows individuals to explore environmental issues, engage in problem-solving, and take actions to improve the environment”.
Bringing Children Onboard
Environmental literacy for children aims to help them understand the interconnectedness of the environment, society, and economy while teaching them the necessary habits, skills, and values to make informed decisions for building a sustainable planet. Educating children about the environment, both land and sea awakens them to the crucial role the environment plays in human survival and well- being.
Learning about the environment nurtures children to appreciate and care for it. When children are knowledgeable about their natural environment, they become environmental stewards and develop a sense of responsibility and respect for their local and global ecosystems.
According to the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), researchers, educators, policymakers, and parents have identified that early childhood environmental literacy can positively impact children’s development.
Environmental literacy is not exclusive to natural science but includes other disciplines in life. It permeates a range of disciplines, from economics, politics, and history to art and literature.
There are many ways to teach and guide children to understand the world they live in, beyond a classroom setting. Children learn more by observation and experience and engaging in real-time experiences of what’s happening in the environment creates valuable opportunities.
Employing storybooks, reading and writing exercises, hands-on investigations, field/outdoor trips, virtual experiences, 3-dimensional learning, opportunities to practise, collaborating and communicating with local and global partnerships, mentorship programs, events, and quizzes on the environment are all avenues to make environmental literacy more than just academic learning.
The NAAEE reveals that environmental education in early childhood is a holistic concept that encompasses knowledge of the natural world, as well as emotions, dispositions, and skills. Environmental literacy can occur in academic, religious, and social settings, public institutions, non-governmental organisations, environmental events, or associations. Regardless of the setting, enlightening children about the environment is beneficial for the child, the environment, society, and the planet.
Benefits for Children
Boosts Academic and Social Skills: Consider the many vocabularies, subjects, and concepts in the environment, from climate change to deforestation, marine pollution, landfill pollution, erosion, urban heat, and flooding. These topics, taught under environmental literacy or education, boost academic skills.
Children develop their social skills when they are involved in projects such as beach clean-up days, tree planting, composting, home gardening or farming, community cleaning, and visiting communities undergoing environmental crises. These scenarios help them connect, network, and propose solutions to environmental issues, thus increasing their social worth. Cutting-edge education combines both theoretical and practical learning, and environmental literacy embodies this quality.
Encourages Knowledge Exchange
Learning encourages knowledge exchange between the young and old, parent and child, friends, and siblings. Children who are taught about the environment can share what they have learned with other kids, neighbours, parents, family relations, and strangers. This helps expand knowledge and information about the environment.
Additionally, children who undergo environmental literacy can pass this knowledge to their children if they become parents. Thus, environmental literacy can have a ripple effect, spreading directly from the children to their communities.
Promotes Eco-Friendly Behaviours and Lifestyles
Environmental literacy can influence children to adopt eco-friendly lifestyles that symbiotically benefit the earth and themselves. Eco lifestyles such as cycling for short-distance travel, taking walks, eating more plant-based food, using natural light, planting trees, reducing single-use plastic consumption, and observing environmental holidays are some of the eco behaviours children can adopt.
Through environmental literacy, they not only learn facts about the earth but also how to mould their lifestyle to care for it. Environmental literacy helps build children’s attitudes and behaviours, laying the foundation for more environmentally responsible, accountable, and engaged adults.
Inspires Career Choices in Environmental Fields
Environmental literacy can influence children to choose careers in environmental fields or initiate actions towards environmental justice. With more children exposed to the environment, occupations and professions related to environmental protection and sustainability can become more prominent and highly in demand.
In conclusion, advocating for and involving children in environmental literacy is crucial for the future of our planet. By educating and empowering the next generation, we ensure that the efforts towards environmental sustainability and justice will continue to thrive and evolve.