Maria Eisenbise
Elementary Education
K-State College of Education
How did you arrive at being environmentally aware and interested in sustainability?
I first became environmentally aware in elementary school when my family recycled. I remember taking our trash to the recycling trailer one Saturday morning every month. In school we took a field trip to the local landfill and I remember being amazed and disgusted at all the trash. One of the activities we did during our recycling unit was to create something useful, such as a toy or tool, using trash. This has stuck with me and my interest in sustainability has continued to grow. In high school, every classroom had a box for paper to be recycled and I helped gather the paper at the end of the week to be taken to recycling. I also volunteered at the recycling trailer and picked up trash along the highway. In college, I continue to try to do my part as an environmentally aware citizen. My roommates and I recycle, I use the cloth bags when I grocery shop, and I try to do what I can to keep our environment clean. I recently went to Haiti on a mission trip and witnessed the result of a country that is not environmentally aware. This inspired me even more to keep my community clean and to spread the word. I believe that God has allowed us to inhabit His beautiful creation and we have a duty to take care of it.
What is your personal sustainability research about?
As a pre-service elementary teacher, my "research" is focused on teaching our future generations to be environmentally aware. I hope to instill in my students the importance of sustainability and teach them what they can do to be a part of it. In teaching my students the skills of caring for one another, I plan to teach them the skills to care for our environment as well. I hope to teach them the importance of sustainability and inspire them to take part.
What are some of the most innovative ideas you have seen relating to sustainability on campus or locally?
The most innovative idea that I have seen on campus is the new leadership building that is supposed to be environmentally green. Along with that would be the recycling bins around campus– along the sidewalks, in the student union, and in the classrooms.
Given the various experiences that students have, how would you design a class that would resonate with them to advance the concept and practice of sustainability?
I think the best way to teach elementary kids the concept and practice of sustainability is to implement it in the classroom. Surround the kids with the concept and incorporate it into lessons, activities and procedures. Kids need to become familiar with the concept, they need to be aware of the consequences, and they need the opportunity to apply it personally. Creating a unit on environmental awareness and sustainability would provide the opportunity to teach kids the concept, but it is also important to emphasize it throughout the classroom and school. Kids need to be involved and need to be taught that they have a responsibility to their environment.
Check out one of Maria's lesson plans:
→ Keeping Our Neighborhood Healthy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle [pdf]
[3rd grade Environmental Science]
Students will demonstrate personal health and environmental practices, an
awareness of changes in the environment, and personal actions to solve pollution
problems in and around their neighborhood.