Gina Ballesteros

Every student from kindergarten to 5th grade learns sustainability by taking care of plants. Typically, students set their things down, sing a song about sitting down, and practice mindfulness. Students will listen, feel, touch, smell, do hā breaths, eat/taste, and weed – all tactile and sensory activities. They learn by slowing down, observing their environment, and connecting with what they are growing. At the end of every class, the students get to taste, smell, and touch what they grow. Students practice their mantra – they take 3 deep breathes and say, “peace in, peace within,” then inhale and exhale. Every year, the school does a dedication to peace. They can dedicate a peace pole (a pole that says, “May there be world peace"). They can make peace flags by drawing pictures of peace. The goal of sustainability is to create habits or lifestyles that are ongoing. For example, students learn to care about the earth or experience joy from discovering new things. Students could then be open to trying something new or become curious and explore. They may discover that they like something they previously did not.