Future Green: Early starts in Environmental Education – Digitalvegetarian.com05 Oct
Growing up Green: Early Environmental Education
Young students exposure to Environmental Education sets good habits
A firm grasp of simple ecology and principles behind a green lifestyle is a must for any child’s environmental education. An early focus on environmental education in conjunction with life and physical sciences can enhance understanding of scientific principles from the earliest ages onward to the most advanced applications. Early environmental education also introduces and enforces habits that lead to a lifetime of good environmental stewardship.
In the earliest stages of environmental education, children should be encouraged to perform simple environmentally sound behaviors: segregating recyclable items, turning down a thermostat, and walking or biking instead of driving. Simple explanations of good behavior, such as, “This is what we do to reuse things,” will go a long way to positively reinforcing the environmental education. Also note to lead be consistent positive example with your own habits, as children will inevitably mimic actions rather than following instructions.
As children progress, introducing the idea of environmental consequences for careless behavior is a necessary part of their environmental education. However, unlike previous generations of parents using negative reinforcement such as horror stories straight out of science fiction novel, clear and honest explanations are the surest way to deeply seat the lesson. What could be a better environmental education than showing through a trip to the ocean or river how everything eventually will run to sea level? Or the how much power leaving lights on takes. Calm and honest talk will further a child’s environmental education faster than any scare story.
Middle stages of environmental education revolve around the application of science to environmental issues. All environmental education is essentially an education in physical and life sciences as they apply to ecology. Recycling can be explained in the context of chemistry or physics. Examples can be made in biology to life cycles in a biome. Every part of a standard education at this point can become an environmental education. The application is nearly endless.
As a child’s environmental education expands, you should hope they exceed your knowledge of science and the principles of conservation. The true goal of any environmental education is not only to raise children with a healthy respect for the environment, but to create a generation of leaders who will find new ways to live in an environmentally responsible manner. With time and effort towards integrating an environmental education throughout a child’s early life, that generation of leaders would be well on its way.
