TURN IT
AROUND!
How to
TURN IT AROUND! is a toolkit to help us radically reimagine education in response to the climate and ecological emergency. There is no one right way to use them, but here are some ideas that may get you started in turning this emergency around.
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WHAT ONLY NATURE CAN TEACH
‘Nature is the best teacher – but few are able to understand her.’ Education gives us a wealth of knowledge: science, history, languages, mathematics. But there is one important thing we cannot learn in school – the feeling of true harmony in...
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SOMETIMES ANIMALS ARE MORE GENEROUS THAN PEOPLE
Humans can be arrogant and selfish. Sometimes, they refuse to do even what’s in their own best interest. Of course, human intelligence may surpass that of any other living being – but it’s essential for every creature – human, animal, or plan...
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EDUCATE WITH LOVE
Educate us with love, teach us to love. Love influences everything that surrounds us. Eliminate the capitalist protocol that has us tired and stressed, that has other species endangered and extinct....
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RECONNECT WITH NATURE
I have a friend who comes from one of the sacred lands in West Java. From him, I have learned how people from modern communities like mine have been displaced and disconnected from nature. I believe that humans can thrive together by re-learning thin...
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WHAT WILL I SHOW MY CHILD?
You might be surprised that a 14-year-old cares about environmental issues but it scares me to see how few of my peers still do. We are the future, yet we don’t take care of the Earth we’ll be living on. I asked my friends what they think about g...
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FIND CONNECTION IN DREAMS
My relationship with indigenous ancestry is through connection in dreams. Through dreams I feel the energy of Mother Earth. When I observe nature, it brings me signs of rhythm, gives me firmness with the pecking of the woodpecker, transmits to me lon...
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WE NEED MORE THAN TRADITIONAL SUBJECTS TO FIGHT THE CLIMATE CRISIS
We should view climate education as important as any other studies such as medicine or law. In climate education, we, the young generation, are not just bound to study the science behind climate change. Instead, we should see climate education as the...
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CHANGE OURSELVES
To change the world for a better planet we must change ourselves - our own behaviors, thoughts, and ways of being. And this can only be achieved through environmental education. We need to mentor the next generation by equipping them with ecological...
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NATURE’S CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
Nature has been able to work out creative solutions to support all forms of life on earth. By observing and studying these life forms — their behavior, movement, form, adaptability, and so on — humans can develop new technologies or optimize exis...
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COMPASSION FOR NATURE AND IT’S RESTORATION
Compassion for nature and plants is a vital part of both our lives and nature’s survival. Our task is not only to preserve the environment – but to restore it. The choices we make today will shape a better future for ourselves and for generations...
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I AM AN AGENT OF CHANGE
Nature has taught me that everything that I have right now is based on the decisions I make and decisions made in history. I will make myself an agent for positive change and my commitment starts now...
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A VAST WORLD OF PHILIPPINE MYTHOLOGY
One of our popular local myths involves Maria Makiling, the resident diwata (fairy) of the namesake mountain in Laguna. She once walked among humans but was distraught by the environmental destruction they’ve caused and was never seen since. I like...
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VULNERABLE LISTENING
Having grown up at the foothills of the Himalayas replete with litchi orchards, life has been full of encounters with inhabitants of the mountains, each one carrying a different shard of my ancestors. I speak with them — to the moths that would...
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DO NOT LIE IN WAIT, REACT!
Let the earth give you life and all that you own, Let earth recharge your weary bones. But be warned that in order to fully connect, We must tread with deep and utter respect. Kneel at the stream and pond, Watch the evading prey and the predator conn...
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RESILIENCE
Resilience. Nature shows us the ability to recover after being damaged or destroyed. We always see how it strives to survive: the small plants and flowers that emerge after devastating floods, the forests that regrow after fires, the trees that lift...
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GROWING SEEDS FROM SOIL
The beauty of growing seeds from the soil. It’s so amazing how plants grow. School hasn’t taught me to plant trees, vegetables, crops and make our planet green again. ...
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Finding connection in Conversations with Rain
Cup your hands over your ears, pause. listen. Notice overlapping sounds of sea, cave, sense, time, r a i n Now pick up two pencils, one in each hand, and use them to make the Sound of Rain with repeated marks falling onto the page. What if listening...
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EARTH IS ALL WE HAVE
Earth is all we have and we must learn how to take care of her. Including climate education in today’s educational curriculum will bring the urgency of climate action, discouraging activities that lead to global heating and encouraging our collecti...
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NATURAL BALANCE
I chose the snow leopard to highlight the importance of protecting rare animals and their ecosystems. This predator plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of mountain ecosystems: its disappearance could disrupt the natural balance....
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