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Teaching Urban Ecology to Children

by Mary Shacklett

Sound urban ecology habits can be practiced on an individual or household basis, and it is never too early to start.

Here are some easy household "learning" projects that parents and children can participate in. They are taken from Global Cities, an Eco-City guidebook for children written by Philip Parker and first published in the United States in 1995 by Thomson Learning (New York, NY).

• Go on an "energy eater" hunt at home. Look for refrigerators, hot water heaters, furnaces, and other appliances and devices that are propelled by electric motors. How many are there, and are they all necessary? Also look for hidden energy eaters such as metal, glass, carpets, paint, and other products that require energy to make them.
• Make a solar hot dog cooker with reflective aluminum foil to cook a hot dog using natural light from the sun. A cooker can be built by taking a cardboard box and cutting the top of the box into a parabola shape over which aluminum foil can be fitted. Two ends of the box should be left above the parabola to allow you to insert a hole on each end, into which a makeshift "spit" can be inserted to hold and turn the hot dog.
• Make your own recycled paper. This can be done by making two identical wood frames from eight pieces of 12-inch-long wood. Assemble the pieces using waterproof glue and nails. Then stretch fine mesh over one frame and attach it with thumb tacks to make a sieve. Put the empty frame on top of the sieve. Pulp can then be made by tearing 30 sheets of used computer paper into small squares and soaking them overnight in water. Take a handful of the wet paper and crush it with a potato masher, and then put the pulp in large bowl of water. Dip the sieve and frame in the mix, evening out the layer of pulp. Then place the sieve paper side down into a kitchen towel. Gently lift the sieve, leaving the paper behind on the towel, and put another towel on top of the paper. Put a board on top of this and press out the water.
• Make your own art from junk.
• Make a food container garden. Put one-two inches of gravel in the bottom of the container and add soil or compost. Try planting small foods like cherry tomatoes or strawberries. Be sure to provide adequate water and sunlight. -} Mary Shacklett is a staff writer for the Green Pages.

  
  

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