Environmental conservation is an issue of concern globally, with various challenges being linked to the incapacity of humans to protect their surroundings. Issues of climate change and disease outbreaks are prevalent in the contemporary world due to a lack of concern for the well-being of the environment and its significance to livelihood. This issue is, therefore, worth addressing as a way of exposing students to the benefits of the environment and the need to conserve it.
Rationale
The environment provides a habitat for all living and nonliving things, and this should offer an adequate reason for human’s commitment to protecting it. Franjic (2018) argues that environmental conservation is the most fundamental requirement for a nation that seeks development. Individuals, therefore, need an awareness of the environment and the benefits of its conservation. Soryte and Pakalniskiene (2019) add that the students’ conception of ecology and life is a key determinant of what ought to be exposed through the curriculum. Environmental conservation counts toward the future of the students as it empowers them with skills to utilize resources while also ensuring environmental sustainability for the sake of the future.
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Guiding Problem
The environment provides everything that enables life sustainability on earth. Franjic (2018) argues that every living being relies on nature for food and clothing and materials for building a shelter. The environment is further credited with purifying the air that sustains life, regulating the water cycle, and creation the soil through which agriculture gets sustained. Humans are not only involved in exploiting the environment but also fail in endeavors to preserve it. The exploitation of the environment is evidenced throughout the world, thereby creating a need to sensitize communities about the importance of environmental conservation. Shende, Janbandhu, and Patil (2015) argue that human activities are at the core of various environmental problems, such as land degradation, depletion of biodiversity, and pollution. Among the most prevalent activities of concern include deforestation, poaching, illegal fishing, the use of chemicals on farms and inorganic fertilizers, and overgrazing. This makes it necessary to expose students to the importance of environmental conservation as a way of ensuring awareness of the appropriate use of resources for the long-term sustenance of livelihoods.
Societal Importance of the Unit
Environmental conservation represents one of the ways through which individuals use and protect resources. As a unit of consideration in teaching and lesson planning, it entails several sub-topics through which knowledge about the environment can be disseminated to the learners. At the societal level, environmental conservation is a globally recognized endeavor due to the impact of human activities, particularly in misusing the resources and exposing various risks to biodiversity. Dogaru (2013) reiterates the idea of sustainable development as an important aspect of environmental conservation. This idea focuses on the need to consider the functions of the environment in addressing the current needs while also considering the future generations in terms of how they will survive in the same environment. Depletion of resources, therefore, becomes an issue of concern as it would mean that future generations would be at risk of dire consequences.
Relevance to Students’ Lives
By exposing the students to knowledge about environmental conservation, this unit will ensure that the community has a group that can follow up on the issues of the environment for the betterment of the future. The unit will yield responsible citizens who are aware of what to do with the environment and how to protect its constituents. With knowledge about environmental conservation, a student will also be in a position to sensitize others to be vigilant whenever he or she notes societal practices that go against environmental conservation and sustainability.
Elements of Collaboration
This unit will involve group work in various activities and projects with an aim to enable the internalization of concepts and ideas as articulated during the lessons. The unit will also involve community members in some issues of concern, particularly in exposing the students to the practicality of the issue.
Weekly Lesson Plans
Monday
Topic: Definition and importance of environment and environmental conservation
Duration: One hour
Recommended Book:
Environment and society: A critical introduction, 2nd Edition by Paul Robbins, John Hintz and Sarah A. Moore.
Lesson Objectives:
-To explore the meaning of the environment and environmental conservation
-To examine the importance of the environment and environmental conservation
-To explore human’s exploitation of the environment
Teaching Strategies
The teacher will start by questioning students to know their level of understanding concerning what the environment entails.
Students will be required to identify several things found within an environment, including their current surroundings.
The teacher will also require students to identify some of the ways through which humans exploit the environment.
The teacher will offer additional points based on what the students identify in connection to the topic at hand.
Assessment
The teacher will give a takeaway assignment to be tackled in groups of five to test the students’ level of understanding.
Tuesday
Topic: Human activities and environmental damage
-Recommended Book: Boundaries: A casebook in environmental ethics, 2nd Edition, written by Christine E. Gudorf and James E. Huchingson.
Lesson Objectives:
- To examine various ways through which humans contribute to environmental damage
- The role of poor agricultural practices: Use of pesticides, Application of inorganic fertilizers, overgrazing, and over-cultivation
-Damping and its effects on the environment
-Humans as a source of air pollution and climate change
Teaching Strategy:
Students will be required to identify various ways through which humans harm the environment as well as the specific harm caused by each activity identified.
The teacher will then offer additional points based on any omissions or need for further elaboration.
The teacher will also use powerpoint presentations in enhancing the student’s understanding of how humans harm the environment.
Assessment:
Each student will be required to explore their community and write a report focusing on one human activity and its adverse effects on the environment. The activity of choice should differ from one chosen by other students.
Wednesday
Topic: Human Activities and their role in environmental damage: Nature walk
Duration: Two hours
Recommended Book: Boundaries: A casebook in environmental ethics, 2nd Edition
Lesson objectives
To engage students through a nature walk in the surrounding areas to observe and identify instances of environmental damage in connection to human activities.
Visit a nearby damping site to observe, identify, and discuss its repercussions to the nearby communities.
Observation of people at work to identify the frequency of human engagement in activities that fit the environmental damage continuum.
Identify activities that contribute to air pollution and climate change based on Tuesday’s lesson.
Assessment
Students will be required to apply their creativity in coming up with ways through which community members can be exposed to environmental awareness to help reduce or eradicate some of the activities that harm the environment. Students will work in groups of five to write a report over the same.
Thursday
Topic: Ways of conserving the environment
Recommended Resources:
How can we all conserve nature? Frontiers in Young Minds written by Marcia C. Munoz, Mireia Valle, Rachel L. White, and Rodolfo Jaffe.
Learning Objectives
Explore the idea of 3R’s (Reuse, reduce, and recycle) as emphasized in common discourse about environmental conservation.
Explore the idea of nature conservation in terms of biodiversity
Highlight the aspect of connecting with nature as a means of ensuring harmonious coexistence with the environment.
Teaching Strategy
The teacher will first focus on the meaning of 3R’s to know whether students know the meaning.
Students will also be required to identify items that fit within each “R.” Some items can be reused but not recycled. Others can be reduced, reused, and recycled.
The teacher will also use charts and powerpoint presentations to enable students understand the various concepts and their application.
Assessment
Students will be tested on the level of understanding using a question and answer format through a written exam. The assessment will comprise the notions of the 3R’s, biodiversity, and connecting with nature.
Friday
Topic: Environmental conservation and sustainability
Recommended resources: Environmental sustainability, conservation and natural resources management, authored by C. T. Emejuru and S. C. Dike and published in River State University Journal of Public Law.
Duration: One hour
Learning Objectives
To explore ways through which the original nature of the environment can be sustained or improved.
Teaching Strategy
Students will be exposed to real-life scenarios in their environment and then required to identify ways of ensuring that future generations find the environment as it is. This is best exemplified by the idea of cutting a tree and planting two.
Assessment
Students will be required to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between environmental conservation and sustainability through a written report that will be tackled in groups.
Follow-up
Environmental conservation is not a one-day engagement but a continuous process. The aim is to ensure that humans live harmoniously with the environment in ways that the future generations will enjoy the benefits in a similar manner. As an environmental conservation measure, every student will be required to plant a tree or a flower at a place to be decided and allocated by the teacher. The aim of this activity is to remind the students that environmental conservation requires commitment and ought to be a life-long agenda as will be demonstrated by the need to water the plant until such a time when it can sustain itself in the environment.
References
Dogaru, L. (2013). The importance of environmental and sustainable development. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 1344-1348. Doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.041.
Emejuru, C. T., & Dike, S. C. (2015). Environmental sustainability, conservation and natural resources management. River State University Journal of Public Law. 233-246.
Franjic, S. (2018). Importance of environment protection on the global level. Scientific Journal of Research and Review, 1 (2), 1-8. Doi: 10.33552/SJRR.2018.01.000506.
Gudorf, C. E., & Huchingson, J. E. (2010). Boundaries: A casebook in environmental ethics (2nd Ed.). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Munoz, M. C., Valle, M., White, R. L., & Jaffe, R. (2019). How can we all help conserve nature? Frontiers for Young Minds. Doi: 10.3389/frym.2019.00084
Robbins, P., Hintz, J., & Moore, S. A. (2014). Environment and society: A critical introduction (2nd Ed.). US: Wiley and Sons.
Shende, V. E., Janbandhu, K. S., & Patil, K. G. (2015). Impact of human beings on the environment. International Journal of Researches in Biosciences, Agriculture and Technology, 3 (1), 23-28.
Soryte, D., & Pakalniskiene, V. (2019). Why it is important to protect the environment: Reasons given by children. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 1-14. Doi: 10.1080/10382046.2019.1582771
