This video portrays a remarkable nine year old who was motivated to take action against the litter problem in her BC community. Raia gathered friends, parents and the municipality into her Eco Guardians club that conducts weekly clean ups of local natural spaces. The film also describes a similar initiative in India where community organizations are cleaning up the heavily polluted Yamuna River. These great examples of youth citizenship will inspire students to consider how they can make the world a better place through positive environmental action.
This video supports curriculum units that explore the dynamic relationship between humans and their environment with a focus on ecosystem health and stewardship. The film also provides excellent examples of how young children can become active citizens by caring for our natural places. The clearly defined outline of how Raia implemented her program could be used to develop similar environmental projects like a litter clean-up in a local habitat.
The information about the Yamuna River also illustrates how an environmental problem can quickly transition from a local concern to a global issue. A class could research how pollution like air emissions impacts Canada from an ecological and social perspective. A literacy and citizenship exercise could have students writing to schools in other parts of the world to learn more about global pollution connections such as plastic waste in oceans.
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