Sustainability Education Forum

Earth Care International

Sustainability Education Forum

Earth Care International's first Sustainability Education Forum -Recognizing and Connecting Our Resources - attracted over 100 community members on a beautiful Santa Fe evening at the Clear Light Bookstore. Community participants included teachers, principals, parents, students, community organizations and businesses, Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez, members of the Sustainable Santa Fe Commission, and Mayor Coss.





The evening began with an invigorating discussion facilitated by Earth Care International's Executive Director, Christina Selby, on the role of education and its relationship to sustainable community development. Many community members suggested that the role of education is not merely to prepare the youth of today for the jobs of tomorrow, but should engage and empower youth in the process of building a more vibrant and sustainable community.


Community members were then asked to shortly speak about projects ideas that could either be implemented in schools or in the larger community. Paula Iveland, an English teacher at Capital High and participant in Earth Care's Teacher Institute for Sustainability Education, spoke briefly about a current project called Capital Green Project (CGP). CGP is an interdisciplinary project that has swept across Capital's campus. Laetitia "Mimi" Narvaez, a teacher at Salazar Elementary and participant in Earth Care's Teacher Institute for Sustainability Education, spoke about Salazar Green, a project designed to create a environmentally friendly track and field, outdoor classroom spaces, and small classroom garden plots. Karen Sneiders, Principal at Alvord Elementary School, spoke about Alvord becoming Santa Fe's first magnet school with the theme of sustainability.


Sevaral groups were then formed using the project ideas as the central theme. These small groups, facilitated by Earth Care Staff, were asked to delve deeper into the motivation for the project - connecting the creating of outdoor spaces and garden plots to the deeper motivations of shifting the youth's relationship to the environment and cultural revitalization through the practice and study of traditional agriculture. Other groups delved into the motivations of creating efficient and effective recycling and waste management processes.

To learn more about each small groups work - click here!