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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THE ART OF HEALING
Nature teaches us the art of healing and finding solace in all troubles and provides the template for peaceful relationships with others. Its laws of interconnection, harmony, balance, interdependence, and above all unity advise us to be humane a...
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LEARN INTERDEPENDENCE
Nature as an ecosystem of life on this earth has a very important role for all living things on it. If there is damage to nature, it will directly affect all living things....
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CONNECTION WITH THE LAND
I see in this generation a great openness to change and a great capacity to find a connection with the land and all others....
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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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DO WHAT YOU CAN
One day a wildfire engulfed a forest, the animals ran and stood by the river watching in fear and helplessness. A small hummingbird flew to the river and scooped up a beak full of water and poured it onto the fire. The animals discouraged him, an...
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DON’T BE SELFISH. SCALE DOWN
Overfishing endangers food webs and ocean ecosystems by disrupting the balance of all sea life. How to fix it? Change our fishing method by catching fish with large populations. Today's version of large-scale agriculture drives deforestation that wor...
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MONEY WON’T SAVE US
No matter how much money polluting industries have made, when wildfires consume the last forest, when the last city is flooded, when we are unable to produce any food and are severely dehydrated because of the extremely high heat and no water to drin...
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WE ARE ALL CONNECTED IN A SINGLE JOURNEY
I learned that the songs of birds, the wood that we use for making fire, the water that we drink, and the food that we eat are some of the things that can’t be replicated in this world. With this awareness, I have realized the importance of taking...
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Incandescence
Like this little one’s incandescent wing Life already shines brightly Though we do not heed it Though we do not allow it To permeate its existence in this world full of writ and developmental strife It would be enough For us to live incandescently...
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WE NEED SYSTEMIC CHANGE, INDIVIDUAL ACTION IS NOT ENOUGH
All our life, we have been taught about small acts to save the planet. We had always been told to plant more trees. Pick up our trash. Decline straws to save the turtles. Reduce, reuse, recycle. But at this level of crisis, simple acts won’t cut it...
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MINIMALISM
Minimalism, living with only the things we really need, is the best way to protect both ourselves and our planet. Imagine a world where people owned only what is essential for survival. How much change it would bring to our environment. All this lies...
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HOLD CEREMONIES, EXPRESS GRATITUDE
My ancestors in Indonesia always taught us that we must care for and protect the universe. Nature and humans live side by side in mutual support of each other. My ancestors have taught us to hold ceremonies to express gratitude for what the universe...
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DEVELOP ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
The future is in our hands. Climate change isn't new, and treating it like taboo amongst the youth gives no sense of global citizenship. As a human on earth, we are obligated to give back to the land that's raised us. How can we prioritize solving cl...
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WE DEPEND ON YOUR DECISIONS
Remember that the existence of the future generations depends on the decisions of today. Do not choose your political livelihood over the millions of lives that are affected by environmental degradation every day....
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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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A portal to the wisdom nature holds
“When we Ask Nature, first we quiet our human cleverness. Then we ask, and then we listen. The answer is the echo that bounces off of the land herself. With the solution in hand, we always end the circle by saying thank you.” – Janine Benyus T...
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NATURE COMMUNICATES WITH US
The real threat to human existence is humans. Humans have a tendency to take more from nature than they offer and to take nature for granted. It is mankind’s deficiency in empathy and the inability to listen to and feel the world around us that sha...
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CARE FOR THE LAND
In Hawai’i, we learn the importance of mālama ‘āina - care for the land. This value is at the core of Hawai’i’s ancestral past where if we care for the land, the land will care for us. We do not own the land but are rather the stewards of i...
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PLANTS LIVE AND LET US LIVE
Plants live and let us live. We must live so that we can benefit each other....
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