Issue link: https://takingitglobal.uberflip.com/i/1433180
Lesson Three: James Harper 123 APPLY: COMMUNITY MAPPING PROJECT **We encourage you to invite Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers to your classroom to help plan the walk, and give teachings on the land in that area. Students will investigate their own community for ways that Mother Earth is protected, sustained, and cared for, by participating in a community walk. Students will walk around their community and create individual community maps outlining infrastructure, water resources, parks, commu- nity resources and more. Students will explore what resources in their community protect Mother Earth, and what issues there may be that might harm the environment. Using this information, students will brainstorm ways their community can become more sustainable in the future. Handout and review the "Community Mapping Project" handout with students. Go over the assignment expectations as well as the reflection questions on the back. Go on a walk with your students! Students may need to walk more than once while creating their maps. In respect to land based education, getting the students outside as much as possible with this assignment is strongly encouraged! Teacher Tip: Before doing a community walk, you should be clear about your expectations so students don't stray away from the purpose of the walk. It's a fun experience but it is also very easy for students to get distracted. To do this, you might want to give students examples of behaviours that are acceptable, and behaviours that are unacceptable. See #3 for specific examples. Community Walk Preparation Steps: 1. Set a clear purpose for the walk. The purpose of this community walk is to find how well our community is protecting Mother Earth. You will be looking for resources/infrastructure that help protect the environment as well as issues that you see in the community that could hurt the Earth. 2. Pose a learning question for the students to consider. How is our community protecting Mother Earth? How is our community hurting Mother Earth? 3. Create clear expectations for the walk. On this walk we will be walking on the sidewalk. We will not be stepping on people's private property. We may invite Elders, Knowledge Keepers, other school sta etc. We will be walking for x amount of minutes. 4. Create a route beforehand Either on your own or with your students. Land-Based Education: Why is it important? Being and learning outside provides so many benefits. There is a lot that anyone can learn from the land that are not just wilderness survival skills. We can use the Earth to connect back to ourselves and to promote self-growth. From the Anishinaabe perspective, the people have a pro- found spiritual and physical connection to the land. Many Anishinaabe people consider the land and Mother Earth to be a part of their identity. We see this through the teachings that the land provides us and the ones you can apply to ourselves and our lives. Anishinaabe people believe the land is the main and most sacred tool for education. Many parts of the environment and Earth can provide us with important teachings. As well, being outside and having access to nature can help reduce stress, provide appreciation for nature, and so much more! Upon return from the community walk, lead a class discussion. Ask Students: 1.What did you notice about our community? 2.What was your reaction to seeing it? Surprised? Angry? Encouraged? 3.What issue(s) do you think there are? 4.What community resources are in place to help with this issue? 5.Are those resources enough? What more can we, or the community, do?