Kokua (ko-ku-ah), a Hawaiian word that can we defined as “help.” It is a word that is often used in Hawaii when people want to get the message across. The Kokua Foundation, a non-profit organization, was founded to educate the children of Hawaii to be environmentally aware and also to provide them with experiences that will further their appreciation for the earth. This organization is deeply concerned about making sure that the future generations are aquatinted with the natural world, and all that it has to offer.
Our future is in the hands of our children, and our children’s children. The importance our children being knowledgeable about the environment is crucial. It is their generation that will suffer the most, therefore it makes sense that they be educated on ways that could help better their well being. The Kokua Foundation has numerous programs to enhance the knowledge of these kids. As the foundation goes school to school, they teach children the three R's and also the importance of gardening.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Three simple steps to living a “greener” life. People nowadays don’t understand the concept of reducing and how vital it is for the sake of everyone here on earth. We all must cut back on things like long luxurious showers and getting plastic bags every time you go to the grocery market. By turning off the water when washing your body, you could are saving gallons of water. Not only will you have saved gallons, but you’ll be just as clean as if you were to leave the water running. So turning off the water is one way to reduce, but bringing your own shopping bag when going to the grocery market another way you can reduce your negative impact on the environment. Reusing is also something so simple, but is often looked over. Donating clothes to a thrift store or using reusable water bottles are two examples that are so effortless, and can make such an impact. Being that we live in a green city, recycling isn’t too much of an issue. If we all continue to follow the three R's, the greater the impact to a greener living will be.
In addition to the three R's, the Kokua Foundation makes a conscious effort to help elementary students reconnect with the earth by planting gardens that will they eventually harvest. This program also demonstrates the difference between an organically grown garden and a garden in which pesticides were used. We should all look to the Kokua Foundation as an
example, and do our part by living eco-friendly lives so that future generations will follow.
12 comments:
Jill, Thanks for this post about the good work of the Kokua Foundation. As many people around the globe are finding, one of the best ways to address the perceptual divide between nature and culture is to introduce children early to gardening, which gives them direct experience with how nature works and skills to work with it rather than exploit it. There are similar projects all over the United States, including the Edible Schoolyard program here in the Bay Area. Other programs are sponsored by the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley (ecoliteracy.org). Most activities are currently aimed at grade school children, but these ideas are slowly trickling up to universities--and a good thing, too!
Taking shorter showers and using reusable grocery and shopping bags will make our impact on the earth somewhat smaller but as we have discussed in class and as the video “The Story of Stuff,” narrated by Annie Leonard, alludes to, work must mainly be done on a larger scale because individual consumption does not result in the most damage inflicted upon our earth. Rather, industrial production and distribution are the key causes because they leech the most of our natural resources and cause the most pollution. Therefore, the efforts to preserve our earth need to be more focused on the macro scale if we want to make any substantial difference. And the only way that our global society’s focus can change is if those of us who are aware of the real causes educate others and share our knowledge because no one else will take on the responsibility. It is up to us and only us.
Hi Jill, Thanks for your post.
Jill and Tiffany- I think you're both right. On the one hand, if we only focus on our individual actions, we're not going to make much of an impact. However, if we neglect to examine our own behavior and actions- if we don't make those changes first- how can we expect change to happen on a grander scale? Organizations like the Kokua foundations help instill important values at an early age. If children grow up not just believing that conservation is important, but practicing it- if it's so ingrained as a way of life that they don't see it as extra effort but simply as "the way things are done"- when those children grow up they will (hopefully) bring that mindset to their various careers, and will question any wasteful and unsustainable practices and behavior that they encounter.
Jill, the Kokua Foundation sounds like a great program. The lessons that these kids are learning about reusing, recycling, and reducing will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Education is irreplaceable, and this Foundation will have a great impact on many children. Tiffany, although I agree that making changes on the small scale, personal level, will not alter the global perception of sustainability, I do believe that personal habits are an important piece to the puzzle. If every one thought that way, took twenty minute showers, failed to recycle and reuse, etc., our culture would not make any progress. Sometimes a big change starts with something small, and turns into something large. You could look at it and think that individual behavior doesn't effect the overall solution, or you could do your part and help influence others into doing theirs. Of course, much more work will still need to be done either way, but sometimes the first step is to look within yourself, and then outward.
I think things that you learn as a child become things that you live your life by. The Kokua Foundation is such a great way for our future generations to start undoing the damage that our generation and past generations have done to the environment. What you said about turning off the water when you wash your body is such a good idea! I am going to do that now...i was just trying to rush my showers. Great post Jill, and I think the Kokua foundation will do at lot, at least in Hawaii to help repair the environment!
I agree. We need to educate and teach our children from the start, so that when they grow up they will be aware of what is happening with the environment, and so that they can teach their own kids. This should be a priority for every parent because their children are the ones that will have to deal with the damage later.
I agree that the integration of nature into our future generations' lives is very important. If they don't, then who knows what will happen to our environment, I'm glad to see such programs such as "Kokua" are helping to establish a greener lifestyle in our younger generations. There should be more of these programs and parents should take the opportunity to let their children experience something like this, its knowledge that will last a lifetime. I also like how this article also gives tips on how to be greener in small simple steps. Hopefully we can all make a change.
Thank you all for your comments. I definitely think that the only way to see change is to be the change. Perpetuating knowledge of the environment means that we need to pass it on to future generations. With that in mind, we should instill our knowledge not only to our peers, but to our siblings and other family members. In doing so, hopefully there will be a chain reaction of knowledge being passed.
I'm glad to see that schools are taking an initiative to teach children about the three R's. All the schools I've attended have never showed any care about the envionment like USF has. I think learning at such a young age will make a positive impact on the environment. I just learned about composting this year! I wish I could've learned about it sooner!
I think small, localized efforts like those of the Kokua Foundation are a very integral part of reshaping our relationship with the environment. The obvious benefits include the immediate conservation of resources we get from practicing the three R's. In addition, I think an equally important aspect is the basic awareness fostered through such practices. In starting small and changing our own relationship with the environment, we begin to perpetuate this attitude of environmentalism and help it take hold. As idealistic as it sounds, if everyone began to take on such a mindset, it would gradually have to translate to changes on a larger scale. While this will certainly take time, making its way through personal, local, regional, state, and eventually national spheres of influence, it certainly manifests into the kind of change necessary to realign our paradigm.
strange i just posted a reply, but it did not go... so this is a test post i am trying sorry.
Jill,
I hadn't thought about the huge effects of teaching appreciation for the environment to children. I think the program you brought up is an excellent way of instilling really great values so that kids will grow up with a greater connection with the planet as well as a better understanding of both how and why doing your part is necessary. You often hear about how each generation leaves behind the problems they caused, and we are on the way to leaving behind quite a mess for those who are following in our footsteps; but with programs like The Kokua Foundation, we are taking a step in the right direction for both our futures and those of the generations to come.
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