For this activity you will need:

· Handout E: Alejandro & His Earth
· Handout F: Alejandro's Environmental Issues
· Key for Activity 5: Prompts for Environmental Issues-For Trainer Only

Step 1: Tell the participants that we will be looking at a number of environmental issues, considering how important these issues are to the overall ecosystem, how important they are to this Head Start program, and what to do about any of them. Discuss some of the goals of the Head Start program. Give each participant a copy of Handout E: Alejandro and His Earth.

Step 2: Give the participants a few minutes to read over the story.

Step 3: Distribute to the participants Handout F: Alejandro's Environmental Issues. Ask the participants to, over the next few days, think about the story. Ask them to note in the first column environmental issues that were raised. The Key for Activity 5:Prompts for Environmental Issues lists topics raised in the story. Review a few of these to prompt the participants' consideration.

Step 4: Ask the participants to consider the next four columns on the chart in Handout F.
Ask them to think about the various issues raised in the story. Ask them to make a mark under the three middle columns: H if the issue is of High importance, M if it is of Medium importance, and L if it is of Low importance.
 

Issue	Importance to Me	Importance to Our Head Start Program	Importance to the Ecosystem	What I Would Like to Do

Step 5: When they have filled out the first four columns, ask them to consider the final column. Is there an issue where they have marked "H" in all three areas? If there is one, ask the participants to think about what they would like to do in the next month to incorporate that issue into their work.

Step 6: Meet with the participants again and decide how to put the plan into action.

Points to Consider

• Today we face numerous environmental issues. It can be over whelming to try to address them all. Awareness is the important first step.
• After awareness, the questions become: What issues are we willing to work on? How critical are they to me? Different people place priorities on different issues. People will be most likely to incorpo rate environmental action into their lives-at home or at work-if they perceive the issue is important personally and within the larger community.
• Be clear about the process people go through in developing their understanding of environmental issues. Some people might rate every issue low because their priorities lie elsewhere. Perhaps by exploring further, some aspect of an issue you will uncover which is important to such people. Perhaps the coach can help in another priority area, thereby "making room" for caring more about the ecosystem.

• garbage/solid waste
• recycling
• sunscreenldepletion of ozone layer/risk of sunburn
• Water quality/lead poisoning
• indoor air pollution/passive smoking
• outdoor air pollution
• overpopulation
• support of public transportation, walking, or bicycling instead of driving
• tree planting for neighborhood beauty
• avoid rodents and insect pests by storing food appropriately
• prevent food contamination by bacteria/microorganisms
• beautiful park/happy spirit
• lead poisoning on solid objects/paint not using disposable supplies pesticides on produce
• toxic waste
• water conservation

For this activity you will need:

· Art supplies: paints, markers, glue, poster board
· Magazines for clipping pictures

Step 1: Discuss two concepts with the participants:

• the ecosystem as similar to the human body system;
• the positive things that we do now for our health-or the health of the ecosystem-mean better health now and in the future.

• What can we do to keep our bodies healthy?
• Could this be similar to something we do (or need to do) to keep the ecosystem healthy?

Step 3: The task is to develop a poster that illustrates the parallel be tween human health and environmental health. Give the participant(s) art supplies, including magazines with photo graphs, colored leaves, stickers, and markers or crayons. Ask them to think of one thing that shows how human health protec tion is similar to protection of the earth's health. Make a poster to illustrate this idea. Encourage creativity!

Step 4: Display the poster(s) prominently and use them to generate discussion and additional ideas.

• Building a healthy environment has many similarities to building a healthy body. it requires sustained effort over a long time.
• Earth is a living organism just as we are.
• Daily we make individual choices that lead to personal or environmental health.

2. Recognizing that people develop environmental consciousness at different times and different paces, allow staff time and space to experience their environment. Give staff some time off to experience for themselves nature as supportive and renewing. This will give them the grounding to convey messages of environmental protection and value to the families.

3. Explore various cultural perspectives on nature, animals, and human beings' relationships to the ecosystem. What do different ethnic or cultural heritages say about the environment? If appropriate, consider developing some activities for children that allow them to experience different cultural perspectives on nature and science. The publication, Cultural Awareness for Children, suggests educational activities. See Resources for more information.

4. Check out food supply organizations such as food co-ops and farmer's markets. Food is a daily need and food production has great impacts on the ecosystem. These organizations can help staff and families learn about food production and nutrition while providing healthful food at lower prices.

5. Expand on the information about gardening and farming from Activity 4: Getting Into the Garden. As an activity at a staff meeting, for example, ask each staff member to bring in a favorite food. With help from the participant(s) in Activity 4, trace the path of that food from its beginning to the table. Discuss how to adapt this activity for parents or children.

Handout A: Children's Activity Cards
 

1. Your are the teachers for a group of infants six weeks to one-year-old.	2.You are the teachers for a groups of toddlers aged two and three, who are developing normally.
3. You are the teachers for a group of young preschoolers. They are extremely active. Two of the children have motor disabilities.	4. You are the teacher for a group of preschoolers who are preparing to go to kindegarten.
5.	6.

Handout E: Alejandro & His Earth

Three-year-old Alejandro wiggles in his bed. It's still a bit dark outside. He awakens and hears a garbage truck. His big sister Tatiana hops out of bed and says, "Come on, Alejandro, time to get up!" Alejandro's mom comes in and helps him dress, making sure to put sunscreen on him and on Tatiana before they get completely dressed.

Alejandro asks for a drink of water. His mom runs the tap and looks concerned because the water is the color of rust. She mentions to Alejandro's father that they might need to talk to the landlord about getting the water tested.

At breakfast, Alejandro's dad has the TV on to check the weather report. The weatherman is talking about an air quality alert, warning people to avoid vigorous activity today. Alejandro's mom looks worried. Alejandro has asthma. She says to his dad, "It's great that Alejandro's breathing has been better since you quit smoking, but I still worry about these bad-air days."

Tatiana is taking some pictures to school for a project on ancestors. She has a
picture of her grandpa and his 14 brothers and sisters. Tatiana asks her father why their family doesn't have so many children. He laughs and, hugging Tatiana and Alejandro, says, "Two children is plenty for your mom and me to love!"

After breakfast, Alejandro and his mom walk Tatiana to school before getting on the bus to his Head Start center. They admire the new little trees that were planted all around the school in a neighborhood project. They had lots of fun that day and although the trees are little, they make the block look nice. His mom settles him in at his center, kisses him and hurries off to work.

Alejandro helps get the crackers out at snack time. The school had been having problems with mice and ants in the building, but got a local company to buy big plastic containers with brightly colored lids and matching little cups and plates for the children. These new containers will prevent mice and insects from getting in the food. Alejandro's uncle works for the county health department, and is meeting with the teachers and children to talk about bugs and mice. He told them, "Some bugs are our friends ("Like ladybugs!" yelled Alejandro), so we don't want to hurt them. But, we certainly don't want them in our food." Uncle Paul also talked to the center cook about how she stored milk and cheese, and how the dishes are washed and rinsed with sanitizing solution. Every one is very careful to keep the milk refrigerated until snack time and to put it and the macaroni and cheese right back in the refrigerator after the snack.

Later that morning, the children go on a field trip to the nearby park. It is only a small park, but it is full of bushes and flowers and has a nice grassy space for running. The day is not yet unbearably hot and the big trees at the edge of the park provide shade. Alejandro breathes in the smell of the flowers and rolls in the grass. The teachers have planned this time to go to the park to take advantage of the lull in traffic when there is less air pollution. The children are very disappointed because the big airplane on which they used to climb has yellow streamers all around it. The teacher asks a gardener why the plane is roped off. The gardener tells her that the health department found lead in the paint on the plane and it will have to be removed.

After lunch, Alejandro helps to clean up, washing the new dishes and cups. The center doesn't use disposable plates and cups anymore so it doesn't need as many garbage cans outside now. There are several recycling containers and the children enjoy sorting the papers and helping the teachers put out the cans and bottles.

Alejandro's grandpa picks him up from the center, and they go to the new little market that just opened down the street. Grandpa likes this new market because it has fruits and vegetables just like he got when he was growing up on the farm. "Just water and good earth," says Grandpa. "We don't need all of those fertilizers and bug-killers." Grandpa has two string bags bunched up in his pocket and he and Alejandro each fill one.

As Alejandro and his grandpa approach their block, they notice several people in a vacant lot. Their neighbor Tomorrie is there with a City Council member. Tomorrie has been working very hard to get the City Council to remove some barrels full of poison that have been stored there by a company with headquarters in the suburbs. Tomorrie and some other neighbors also tell the City Council member that they oppose the plan to run a new freeway on-ramp off a street nearby. "There are too many cars on our streets already," she says.

When they get home, they find that Alejandro's mom and uncle have just finished installing the new toilet. The Water Department had a special program to give families toilets that use less water with every flush. Alejandro is excited to go potty and watch the big "whoosh" as the water circles down.

Tatiana picks their bedtime story that night. It is called Just A Dream and is about a little boy who doesn't take care of Earth at all. He has a bad dream about what the world will become if we don't take care of it. He learns to recycle, plant trees and prevent water pollution. Alejandro drops off to sleep happy that he helped take care of his Earth today.

Handout F: Alejandro's Environmental Issues
 

Issue	Importance to Me	Importance to Out Head Start Program	Importance to the Ecosystem	What I Would Like to Do

Environmental Risks and Hazards

Outcomes

After completing this module participants will:

• have a better understanding of environmental hazards and how they threaten the health of individual children and adults;
• be able to search out, evaluate and use information to assess the magnitude of risk from different hazards; and
• take steps to prevent environmental illness and injury in Head Start facilities.

Preventing exposure to environmental hazards is a critical piece of the total picture of health protection, health services and health education in Head Start.

Many hazards exist in homes, schools and communities. These hazards affect the health of children and adults. Exposure to hazards comes from four main routes, and protection strategies can be planned for each route:

· air (indoor and outdoor)
· water
· food
· building materials and household products

Because of their behavior and their physical development, children are uniquely exposed to and affected by environmental pollutants.

A number of environmental concerns must be addressed to provide safe and healthy facilities for Head Start program staff and families.

Background Information

A. Toxic Substances, Environmental Consequences and Human Health

For most of the thousands of years of human history, the environment was a powerful, all-enveloping force. People had to adapt their behavior to climate, storms, pestilence, and other forces beyond their control. Many people lost their lives through injury or illness related to natural forces. But, in the past few hundred years, human beings have "tamed" nature in various ways. We have altered natural systems to give ourselves a comfortable, more predictable life. These alterations range from the development of the automobile and related vehicles to vaccines and antibiotics, pesticides and fertilizers for crops, and systems for air conditioning and heating our homes.

Until the 1950s and 1960s, these improvements were seen by most people as completely beneficial. People saw that science could improve their lives by offering convenience and comfort, protection from illness, and a wider variety of food at lower prices. But, during the second half of the 20th century, two things happened: First, the pace of development and release of unnatural substances into the environment increased dramatically; second, people began to notice and name toxicants that are harmful to human health and the health of other members of the ecosystem.

How have things changed? How fast? A few examples follow:

• At least 70,000 man-made chemical compounds have been invented and dispersed into the environment; 300 new substances are created each year.
• In 1993, an estimated 4.23 billion pounds of pesticides were used in the United states.
• The amount of lead "available" in our environment-meaning present in forms which can damage humans-is hundreds of times greater than that "available" in the 1950s.
• In 1960, 6.3 billion pounds of plastics were produced. By 1991, production had increased tenfold to 62.8 billion pounds. Of this total, 276 million pounds were used to make disposable diaper liners and 1.5 billion pounds were made into plastic trash bags.