E-STEM EDUCATION: THE 2ND WEEK

This week, we invited Ms. Munthali, who had been working for the Green Girl Project(a project that contributes to giving education to children in poor areas) , to give us a lecture on the information of environmental education. In the study, I deeply felt the importance of environmental education and the difficulty of achieving its widespread coverage. As a citizen of the Earth, I believe each of us should actively seek opportunities to participate in environmental education. Meanwhile, as a student, I also think we should cherish every chance to receive environmental education and put it into practice.

Apparently, the program of spreading environmental education has got some outstanding achievements, but we are facing different challenges at the same time. To solve this problem, I think that we should focus on the way of recieving the classes.

Take Anhui, where I live, as an example. Environmental education should focus on localized guidance and carry out characteristic activities using local natural resources, such as hiking research in Huangshan and water quality monitoring experiments in Chaohu Lake. In addition, the environment is often inseparable from culture, so excellent environmental education should also include humanistic care. For instance, in the natural education process in Hongcun, we analyze how the “four waters returning to the hall” drainage system realizes rainwater collection and flood control; by comparing the problem of cement hardening in modern villages, we guide students to design “ecological village schemes combining tradition and modernity”.

Another example is that in the educational courses in Jingxian County, the hometown of rice paper, students are shown the traditional craft of “making paper from sandalwood bark”, emphasizing the balance between “moderate logging and artificial afforestation”. Activities like “watering the rice paper forest” are organized to help students understand the symbiotic relationship between “cultural inheritance and ecological protection”.

Protecting the environment is by no means easy, but I firmly believe that as long as everyone does their part well and persists in promoting environmental education within their capabilities, the current natural environment will surely improve.