ACTIVITY: "Speaking for the Earth"

FOCUS: Respect Nature; ALSO: Listen, Play Creatively, Act Courageously

• Pass out the "Speaking for the Earth" worksheet and ask each student to choose an animal, plant, or other part of the earth family that they especially love and want to protect. Give them several examples, especially your own.
• OPTION: If you prefer to use something thicker than the worksheet, you could substitute cardboard or paper plates, but you would have to use the worksheet for the questions or write them on the board.

• Ask the students to draw a picture of their special part of the earth family on one side of the worksheet & write out their answers to the questions on the other side.
• If necessary, give them some examples of how to answer the questions, using your own part of the earth family as an example. Roam the room to encourage them and answer questions they might have.

• As a whole class or in smaller groups (with a facilitator for each group), have as volunteers come to the front, sit in a chair with their worksheet "mask" in front of their face and read their statement on the other side.
• After each statement, the rest of the class/group responds:
• "We hear you, ___________. We’re sorry for what we’ve done to you and we promise not to hurt you any more.

• If time, ask the students how they felt about being a spokesperson for some part of Mother Earth’s family and what they learned from this activity.

NOTE: This activity is adapted from Joanna Rogers Macy’s "Council of All Beings" process in her book THINKING LIKE A MOUNTAIN