Going Green: Seeds of sustainability grow on STEM
The Department of Education is beginning to focus on reducing energy use, mandating use of green cleaning products, and improving recycling rates at schools. These efforts are important because the future of life as we know it is threatened by climate change, and New York as a coastal city is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
The next step is to bring children into this loop, so that we can help raise the next generation of climate stewards. Connecting children to ideas of how to sustain life on the planet, and why that is important, is called “sustainability education.” One entry point for sustainability is a newish concept called STEM education, which calls for renewed commitment to education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. President Obama has connected STEM education to “the progress and prosperity of future generations.”
Where does New York City get its water? What can kids do to help the planet? What is the difference between climate and weather? How does a green roof work? Why do we turn off the lights when we leave the room and why recycle? All these concepts relate to a concept called “sustainability education.
The DOE’s director of STEM education, Linda Curtis-Bey, and her science team have invited input from NYC organizations working on sustainability education to talk about how to integrate this important topic into city classrooms. Participating in the discussion are the New York Hall of Science, the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) at the Earth Institute at Columbia, Solar One, the Green Schools Alliance (where I volunteer), and a group from City College.
Sustainability is an interdisciplinary topic (not language arts, math, social studies, or science alone), which the Cloud Institute defines as “living responsibly and well within the means of nature.” But school curriculum is traditionally designed in single discipline units. How can sustainability compete with test skills and other mandates? How can teachers relate it to existing curriculum? Curtis-Bey recognizes the the DOE challenge and the need “to develop our message to schools about sustainability.”
A final note: does your school have space to plant new trees? The New York Restoration Project will come plant and provide free workshops for kids, teaching them why trees are important to the city. Contact the education office at New York Restoration Project, NYRP.org, for more information.
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