Our first meeting - Introduction

At our first meeting, I started by welcoming everyone to the club and discussing what the goal of our club is. Our goal is to have fun, learn, and act together in the context of the environment.

Next came teaching the kids our secret handshake (see the prior blog post).  The kids took to this right away and now use it when they meet each other in all sorts of circumstances.  Cool!  It is easy enough that even very young kids can do it and we can do it as a group together as well.

Not sure about what I could squeeze into a 2 hour block I had lots planned and we didn't get through all of it but the following is what we did get through.

I kicked off the first "Planetary Checkup" with various news tidbits.  This was followed by the external observation to see what was going on in our backyard environment.  The kids were quiet and meditation and it was a very nice experience with everyone taking their turn to speak to what they felt.

Next we discussed what an ecosystem is.  I had some graphics printed out on paper which showed a simply prairie ecosystem involving the sun, plants, worms, grasshoppers, mice, and a hawk.  We discussed how healthy ecosystems result in harmony and balance; a continuous cycle that is dependent on diversity (I explained that as well).

I then took a right turn and discussed why I think art is important and should be involved in environmentalism.  Art opens and softens our heart so that we can feel what is going on around us, good or bad.  Only once receptive to our environment can we understand it, its condition, and its needs, and art increases our sensitivity and therefore ability to respond more appropriately.  Art also practices us to see the world from different perspectives and perceive deeper meanings which are all important for connecting to our world and caring for it.

In order to understand the importance of art to humanity I read a great story from Leo Lionni .  Leo Lionni stories are great and I use them quite often for the club, especially with the age group of kids that I have (from 6 to 11).  The kids then took the time to write a poem and some really beautiful poems were created!

Time was ticking and I had gone overboard for content so we switched to craft time.  I had created an Action Box where club members can put there ideas for actions in (like a suggestion box).  It was covered in white paper and ready for decorating so we split up the letters (Boite d'action du Club de la Terre de Ste Anne) and went to work.  Each letter came out different colours and sizes and we pasted them all together (the box was a medium sized one) and had an awesome work of art and our first collaborative creation.

A secret handshake to closed things off wrapped up our first successful meeting.  I call it a success because the kids were pumped and smiling when they left :-)