World Environment Day

5 June 2017

World Environment Day Lesson Plan:

Nature in Daily Life

SummaryYoung people thrive in nature. Nature is a setting for fun and adventure, promotes health and wellbeing, acts as a laboratory for endless scientific exploration, and connects young and old generations to cultural roots. When young people forge personal connections to nature, the benefits to individual and societal health are lasting and they lay a foundation for lifelong support of nature conservation.

The relationship between people and nature has always been complex, but today it presents urgent challenges and crucial choices. Meeting the immediate needs of growing human populations is threatening the equilibrium and viability of local and global ecosystems. Science indicates there is a closing window of opportunity to safeguard Earth’s capacity to support future generations.

Nature is essential and relevant to individuals and communities, as well as to countries and regions. No matter where people live, they depend on nature to survive and thrive. At the same time, nature increasingly relies on people to care for and sustain it.

The material contained in the following lesson plan has been adapted from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Youth Voices Curriculum Sourcebook, (developed in partnership with the East-West Center), the Canadian Parks Council’s Nature Playbook, and the #NatureForAll Playbook, which are all a part of the IUCN-led #NatureForAll movement

Background: You may wish to begin your lesson on World Environment Day with a story:

Once upon a time, in a land close by, there lived a little girl and a little boy. They were the best of friends, and they played

outside together every day. They built castles in the trees, they found fortresses in rock caves, and animals gathered with

them in these havens of safety. The creek nearby was an ocean. Sometimes, they had to sail for days to find dry land.

The little girl and the little boy dreamed so big and so wide that the rivers changed their course. The clouds heard these dreams too and gathered in shapes over their heads. The children felt

alive with the sun on their faces and the wind in their hair. Though their bodies aged, their hearts never grew old. They

believed deep inside that no matter how far they travelled, or how lost they felt, they could always return to their place in

Nature where the grass would grow, and the birds would sing.This is a story about our earth, water, sky, plants, animals, and

people. It is a story about connection and love. It is a story about the one thing that unites us all, and the one thing that we

can never lose.We are Nature. We are the water; our bodies are ninety percent water. We are the sky; our bodies need oxygen to breathe. We

are the earth; other animals and plants sustain our bodies, giving us strength. We are Nature, no matter where we come from, and no matter what else we are. To connect with Nature is to

connect with ourselves 1.

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1 http://www.parks-parcs.ca/english/nature-playbook.php

Objective/learning goal

Through the following two lessons, students will explore how their daily activities are connected to nature in order to understand the relationship between peoples and their place. Specific learning objectives include:

1. Students are able to identify how the main activities in their day are tied to, or dependent upon, nature

2. Students understand how gender issues are connected to how we see and manage nature

Lesson 1: Water and LifeTime: 2-4 hours

Materials: • Sheets of paper or boards• Writing implements• Information sheet on water (provided)

Differentiation strategies: Information can be illustrated instead of written as a list.Where students have access to natural settings, activities should be carried out outside where nature can be seen, touched and experienced.

Procedures: A picnic without water doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it turns out that the setting, food, and even you depend on water. In groups, students will think of fun activities they like to do outside and list the things needed for the activity. Then, students will decide what elements depend on water. The teacher will take the water-dependent elements away and discuss how the activity has changed.

1. Explain the purpose of the exercise such as the following: we are going to imagine what life would be like if there was no water. This will help us understand why water is so important not just for drinking and washing, but for almost everything we do.

2. Explain how the exercise will work such as the following: we are going to divide up into groups, each group will imagine that it is going on a picnic.

3. Distribute paper or writing boards: instruct the students to write or draw all the things they will do and see on their picnic.

4. Collect the papers and display them for the whole class. Ask each student to come up and circle one element in the list or picture that is dependent on water. Continue with each student taking a turn until all of the water-dependent elements are circled.

5. Erase or cross out all of the circled elements.6. Conclude the activity: ask students to discuss how their

picnic has changed now that all the water-dependent elements are gone.

Bonus Activity: Inside Out

What do you like to do indoors? Think of something... take your time. Got it? Now go try it outside. It may involve a little planning. If this sounds wild to you, that’s a pretty good reason to give it a try! Looking for ideas? Listen to your favourite music, drink your morning beverage, play a board game, have a snack. Bonus points if you share this time outside with a friend.

Lesson 2: Gender and NatureTime: 1-2 hours

Materials: • Sheets of paper or boards• Writing implements• Pictures of people in different natural settings (provided)

Differentiation strategies: Information can be illustrated instead of written as a list.Instead of looking at pictures, students can go outside and observe the people and nature around their school. Groups can be divided by gender if there is concern over gendered discussions between sexes.

Procedures: We all interact with nature but there are differences in the roles we play. Some of these differences are based on gender. Working in groups, students will look at the pictures provided and describe how people interact with nature. For instance, who selects food, prepares for disasters, or conserves resources? Students should record ages and gender of the people responsible for each interaction. With the teachers’ help, students will analyze their data.

1. Explain the purpose of the exercise such as the following: ee are going to look at whether the roles for girls and boys or women and men in interacting with nature are different. Based on what we learn we will explore whether there would be benefits to sharing roles.

2. Explain how the exercise will work such as the following: we are going to divide up into groups, each group will look at a picture and describe how the people in the picture are interacting with nature. Look at what the people are doing, what they’re wearing, what tools they’re using. Do you notice differences?

3. Distribute paper or writing boards: instruct the students to write or draw at least six examples of how people in the picture are interacting with nature and note the ages and gender of the people responsible for the interaction.

4. Divide the main board or screen into 4 sections: women, men, girls and boys.

5. As the students to list or draw the interactions they found into the correct box.

6. Conclude the activity: ask students to discuss the different roles of women, men, girls and boys and imagine how the picture might be different if everyone shared roles.

Bonus Activity: The Standpoint Swap

Make a list of five things that matter to you in your study or play. Invite someone from a different generation or of a different

gender to prepare a similar list, and get together for a cup of tea or a walk. Discuss your lists. If you feel vulnerable, this play may well hold power for you to harness. Bonus points if you arrange

to meet a second time, or ask the person to bring a friend.

What to do nextTo help spread the word about World Environment Day, we

encourage you to put our website to full use. Here you will be able to:

Download the curriculum materials:

We will be adding school packs to the site, do download them and let us know how you useful you find them.

Brand toolkit: Download a brand toolkit with all the logos for you

to use for the day.

Register your events at www.worldenvironmentday.global

Share what you’re doing using the hashtags:

#WorldEnvironmentDay #WithNature

Email us at worldenvironmentday@unep.org

Explore more resources atiucnyouthvoices.org

Information Sheet on Water1

1. Water is made up of two elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Its chemical formula is H2O.

2. The existence of water is essential for life on Earth.

3. Water has three different states: liquid, solid and gas.

4. Pure water has no smell and no taste, it also has a pH level around 7.

5. Water pollution can lead to dangerous bacteria, disease and viruses such as E coli and Cryptosporidium.

6. Drinking water is needed for humans to avoid dehydration, the amount you need each day depends on the temperature, how much activity you are involved in and other factors.

7. An important use for water is in agricultural irrigation, this is when water is artificially added to soil in order to assist the growth of crops.

8. There are huge amounts of water hidden in the food that we eat. To produce some of our favorite foods it takes:• An apple = 70 litres • Slice of bread = 40 litres • Cup of tea = 35 litres• Cup of coffee = 140 litres • A potato = 25 litres• An egg = 135 litres • Glass of milk = 200 litres• One kilogram of beef = 16000 litres

9. Electricity can be created from hydropower, a process that uses water to drive water turbines connected to generators.

10. Water plays a role in cooking. Steaming and boiling food are well known cooking methods.

11. Water is essential to the clothes we wear, it takes about 2000 litres of water to make one cotton t-shirt and about 8000 litres to make one pair of leather shoes.

12. Water is used for fun. Water sports are a very popular recreational activity and include things like swimming, surfing and waterskiing.

1 Adapted from: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/water.html and https://www.coolaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Water-fact-sheet.pdf