English for the Environment: some suggestions for teachers

In November there's Arbor Day. Planting a tree while reading poems and phrases by ecologists and great thinkers teaches new vocabulary and prepares the participants for a moment of awareness. When the tree is safely in the ground, welcome it to your community doing yoga or meditating in circle around it. 

It only takes ten minutes to make your students feel in touch with themselves and their environment. Expose them to the healing power of nature, even if it's just the back garden of your school, and if it's raining, too.

Young people need models. Give them one of commitment and forgiveness. 

Learning is an active process of discovery. Help your students find their sources of inspiration.

Plants are fundamental for humans, they must be cherished and protected. It's not only because plants provide the oxygen we breathe, which would be enough in itself. One of the least known effects they have on us is illustrated by Clemens G. Arvay in 'The Biophilia Effect: A Scientific and Spiritual Exploration of the Healing Bond Between Humans and Nature'. In his book he affirms that our immune system is boosted by plants, because it intercepts the sophisticated chemical messages that plants use to communicate. Harvey suggests that the name for the study of this interaction, which also involves our psychic dimension, should be ECO-PNEI (Eco Psycho Neuro Immunology) because it is the result of the interconnection between psyche, immune system and nature. 

The 300 scalini, on Bologna's hills, is a cultural association that promotes and blends art and agriculture, in a magic mix that will surprise you with its authenticity and sustainability. 

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In the first picture: my daughter and I, with some of the earliest members of the 300 Scalini.

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FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) and Rigenerazione No Speculazione, are fighting to defend Bologna's urban wood 'Prati di Caprara'.

In the second picture: my daughter and I, at the march to save Prati di Caprara from the spread of concrete.

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In the third picture: FFF Bologna 15 March 2019