I came across an op-ed piece by Filipino career diplomat Hendrik Garcia. With the title “The case for climate change education”, it was published on September 15, 2021 in one of the Philippines’ major newspapers Philippine Daily Inquirer.

A part of this well-written and informative piece is featured below:

“Many countries, including the Philippines, have enacted climate change education policies and projects. The Department of Education provides “Climate Action Training” online, and teenage students can submit proposals for seed funding. Such initiatives go a long way toward teaching Filipino youth foresight and resilience as they confront extreme weather events and natural disasters aggravated by climate change.“

“There are other good practice models throughout the world. But Unesco has also observed major gaps in curricula across countries, and heavy bias for cognitive over socio-emotional and behavioral learning. Clearly, more studies are required, as well as enhanced international dialogue and cooperation, to make climate education more purposeful and targeted, especially through teacher training.“

Indeed! Educating the citizens, more particularly the children will have a big impact on caring for the environment. As what Garcia stated, “Children see more clearly than us. They aren’t weighed down by politics, ideologies, or limited budgets. They are creative, flexible, and honest. They need to be empowered to develop good habits, like recycling to reduce carbon footprints…”

The world is weighed down by garbage and pollution. With the bulk of garbage churned out by every household every week and by public and private establishments regularly, it is not surprising that many countries are constantly challenged in implementing efficient waste management program and sustainable environmental conservation policies.

Personally, as someone who has lived in different settings–in a province with pristine surroundings as a child, in different areas in Metro Manila (with varying levels of cleanliness and/or filth) as a university student and a young professional, and in the City of Lights, and as someone who has been to a forest, a clean seashore and a seashore strewn with trash, a scenic hill and a mountain of garbage (during my time as a volunteer in college), a well-swept avenue and a street with rubbish on both sides, a clear stream and a black, smelly creek, I could see and feel how important it is to live in a clean environment to people’s health and well-being.

Elaborating on the connection between a clean Earth and one’s well-being, however, needs a lengthy discourse, which I am not so much inclined to do right now. Instead, I would like to share these two posters, which I was inspired to create quickly after reading the op-ed piece.

Let us all do our part to care for the Earth–our home, our planet. We can limit the use of disposable products, segregate garbage, join a local clean-up drive, support environmental groups/organizations, plant trees, practice organic agriculture, and do other initiatives that will care for, conserve and nourish the Earth.

Author’s Note:

If you are a teacher and you would like to use the posters or even just the background, just drop me a line and I will email the original png/jpeg file to you. Thank you. 🙂