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Help me build this environmental conservation/justice course for my child


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My almost 12 year old is very justice minded. She is aware of some of the ways that humans are hurting the planet - animal extinctions, etc. She wants to know more about it but doesn't want to be discouraged or scared. I want her to feel empowered and curious. I'm looking for non-fiction, documentaries, related fiction - anything. All I have so far is the young readers Omnivore's Dilemma. She's really excited about this and I don't want to waste this wonderful energy. Thank you all. 

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A couple of recources that come to mind are the Southern Environmental Law Center (I imagine there are similar organizations in other regions), which has up-to-date news, and books like the PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide.

 

ETA: You might also want to check Shelagh Gallagher's stuff at RFWP: problem-based learning often involves environmental questions.

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Inspirational stories of young people around the world fighting for their rights and the rights of other children? I'm thinking of the book My Name is Malala but that may be too scary/shocking depending on your child. But there are many similiar inspirational stories of kids like this, there must be some regarding animals and their habitats. Learn more about their causes, their organzations and the things they've been able to accomplish?

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I think it depends on reading level and interest... I remember turning 12 as a 7th grader in the early 80s in NC... that year I went on a Thoreau jag in english class. I read "Walden", "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers", and "The Maine Woods"... My recommendations are based on that experience... perhaps that makes them more high schoolish... <shrug>

 

I would look at classic environmental literature and pair books by subject. I wouldn't explicitly address current events at all... though I would discuss them extensively...

 

For instance... For Western water issues, I would recommend John McPhee's "Encounters with the Archdruid" and Marc Reisner's "Cadillac Desert". For forest conservation, maybe Aldo Leopold's "Sand County Almanac" or "The River of the Mother of God" paired with William Dietrich's "Final Forest"... for either of these you could add in some John Muir... I like the Rachel Carson suggestions... I think these older books offer perspective and hope and allow you to consider the current issues in a hopeful, philosophic non-dogmatic way... after that you can read contemporary works with a sense of historical perspective.

 

 

 

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There are a few activities on the Internet such as the following. Start by watching the 1998 film A Civil Action, based upon the non-fiction 1996 water contamination case in Woburn, MA. Even if you don't do the rest of it, the film would be a good option...

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_f_o/lesson_plan_case_study_a_civil_action_508.pdf

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Boy Scouts have some merit badges along that line - sustainability, environmental science, etc. They have a lot of good projects and ideas in there that might be a good framework. They also usually have a bibliography that might give you good resources for that age.

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The originals are pretty dense, but maybe consider presenting  some of the major arguments related to common pool resources (e.g., Hardin's  the tragedy of the commons, common heritage of mankind argument, etc.)

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