Earth Week

At the beginning of the year I volunteered to be on the Earth Week committee. The last time I did this Brad's mom and I did a skit on "Leave No Trace" principles. It was great fun -- I don't think she planned on performing in front of the entire elementary school when she came to visit but she was a great sport and I loved her for it!! So I thought that this year would be similar. I was wrong. I was the only person who signed up to be on the committee and then I recently found out that the teacher that heads the committee could not do it this year. So that means that I am in charge of the entire program. Fortunately, I've got someone who volunteered to help so I don't have to do it alone. And, my good friend, Christine, has a bunch of ideas from when she headed up the Green Club at a Texas elementary school.

Now, I have to say that I am not an environmentalist. Yes, my degree is in Wildlife and Range Resources, but that degree focused more on conservation (managing natural resources for multiple purposes) rather than preservation (preserving natural resources or the traditional view of environmentalism). My views reflect what I was taught; our Earth has many resources and we should use them in a responsible way. Sometimes this means preservation but not always. For example, it really frustrates me that environmentalists (and some in our government) keep blocking oil drilling in Alaska on the ANWR preserve. This is a viable natural resource that would make our country more oil independent and the proposed drilling location would not disrupt the overall beauty of the preserve. I'm a practical person and I think that when it comes to natural resources you have to weigh all the issues when making a decision.

However, I also believe that our world is absolutely amazing and beautiful. I have found much inspiration when "connected" to the outdoors. By connected I mean immersed like when I'm camping or on a nature walk, or even while biking. There is nothing quite like it; it is a connection to God really.

So back to Earth Week. While pondering what I should do, I realized that I want these kids to feel inspired by the earth they live in. But in order to be inspired, one must know about the earth first. So I am going to focus on teaching about general ecosystems (forests, deserts, aquatic, savanna/plains, mountains) throughout the week and then on the last day bring it all together and talk about why we should manage our land appropriately. I'm really excited about it! Now I've got to work out all the bugs and get the whole thing planned. It will be a big job but I'm confident it will work out just fine!