Sustainability Education Handbook

"Our relation to the natural world takes place in a place, and it must be grounded in information and experience." --Gary Snyder

Customize Your Curriculum: A Sample Activity

An example using ‘The Block’ & ‘Identifying Landmarks’ from Walk Around the Block, 1997

( Walk Around the Block is part of a curriculum series written by the Center for Understanding Our Built Environment (CUBE), please see Website and Curriculum Listings for further information.)

Background Information:
This sample activity is missing two concepts of sustainability: impact on the environment and building community. (In the Evaluation Criteria Chart these are points 5) Interdependence and 9) Building Community.)

Directions:

We have 'customized' the following two activities so they now include further envinronemntal, econimic and social sustainability concepts.

Consult the Evaluation Criteria Chart for various components of sustainability concepts. The Chart will help you quickly and easily assess which concepts you can most effortlessly interject into your lesson plan.

The ‘Customization’:
Other Important Questions to Include: (The Block)

* Who occupies this neighborhood? (humans, plants, animals)
* In order to thrive, what do each of them need?
* Does the neighborhood provide this?
* Are any of these elements in conflict? If so, why?
* What are the environmental impacts from the how the humans live on this block?
* Within your map & legends create symbols that represent habitats for plants & animals.

Other Important Considerations: (Identifying Landmarks)

* A landmark can also be a nest, tree, stream, mountain, hill, path, rabbit hole, flower bed, field, lawn, forest.
* Which of these landmarks build a sense of community?
* Which of these landmarks reflect the community’s goals, dreams, vision or viewpoints?
* Which of these landmarks reflect a sense of history or change?
* Landmarks can represent different things to different people, make sure your landmarks reflect what is especially important for YOU!