Through A Child's Eyes

Ghandi once said, "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."This quote inspired me to relate the education of environmental sustainability and what I have learned through the eyes of children.  I am a true believer that for a real change in the world to happen, we must thoroughly educate children about what the change is and have them start the change. A child's mind is like a ball of clay in which their brain will mold into whatever their surroundings tell them to be. They learn at a young age what to believe is right and what to believe is wrong. Many kid's, unfortunately, do not have good teachers and parents to educate them properly about what is true. Teaching children how to take care of the Earth from a very early age is vital for making the future a sustainable place to live. 


I am personally fascinated by children and they inspire me to be a better person when I see how their innocence is effected negatively by adults. Children have a wild and adventurous imagination that is usually in a positive sense. Imaginations tend to dwindle every year as a human grows older when they realize the world is not as great and promising as they once imagined it was. The dreams for the future that a child once had diminish as they are constantly told what they want is impossible or that they will never be good enough to accomplish their dream. When my 4 year old niece tells me that there are elephants and hippos in her back yard, I always go along with her story because what is the point of telling her that the fact that wild animals are in suburbia Kansas is impossible? By letting a child keep their imagination and teaching them optimism instead telling them what a pessimistic world we live in and this is just how the world is, there is no telling what ideas they will come up with for their future.


While reading Design Activism, I came up with the idea of having environmental sustainability a mandatory class every year for children in every grade. This would be a design activism cause of community enabling. Educating children about how to take care of the Earth and putting back what they take, starting in Kindergarten until they graduate high school, could lead to nothing but success. The concept would become part of their everyday life and would change how humans live on Earth. Manufacturing companies in the apparel industry would no longer use harmful chemicals and treat workers poorly because they would be better educated on how to properly design garments and take care of employees. Children see their future 100 times more positively than we see ours, yet adults are teaching children to see the future for what it really is now, instead of what it could be in the future. These children will not need to be activists, because what they know and what they believe about the environment will be reflected on their everyday lives and how they conduct business ethically as adults.  




This course has taught me the importance of taking care of the Earth and all the resources that it provides. My life has changed now that I am aware of the harmful effects I have caused and I hope to continue to improve my way of life and to teach others how to live a sustainable life. At the beginning of the semester, I did not realize what a positive impact this class would have on me and changing my life to become more healthy and eco friendly. I plan on continuing my research on how to be sustainable. I want to learn how companies are changing their plan to become Earth friendly and how the government is impacting this positive movement.

Upcycling for Organic Food

This past weekend, my mother came to visit me and brought me a lot of vegetable, fruit and herb plants to plant in large pots for my front and back porches. This reminded me of some of the readings I had researched about living a more sustainable life and I realized that by growing and eating what these organic plants had to offer, I was already making a positive difference for my body and the Earth. I always use burlap material to line a planter to keep in moisture and my mom says the airy cloth helps the plant grow better. This gave me my idea for using fibers that are natural, not synthetic, to be placed as either compost in a garden or help to grow stronger plants.

After reading Waste=Food for a second time, I am now reassured that my idea will be used as a biological metabolism as the fibers will continue to create nutrients that plants need over and over again as the material becomes part of the Earth. After reading the second article, C2CAD, I thought about what materials will nourish the Earth, and what materials need to be taken out of the mix so no harm will be done. Synthetic fibers, and some fibers that are dyed contain very harmful chemicals that will not benefit the plants. These certain fibers will need to be stripped from the fiber mix that once made up a garment. Laying the biodegradable natural fiber flat on the ground surrounding the plants will keep the weeds away and the fabric will eventually break down, causing the the fibers to become part of the Earth. This concept will not only provide the Earth with food, but will provide humans that grow the garden healthy and safe food.