Teach Kids to Care for the Earth on, April 7, 2022 it is World Health Day

April 7, 2022 is World Health Day. This is a chance to raise awareness of health issues that are faced globally, sponsored by the World Health Organization.

World Health Day celebrates the founding of the World Health Organization on April 7, 1948.

The theme for this year's World Health Day, according to the World Health Organization (WHO),

In the midst of a pandemic, a polluted planet, increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart disease, on World Health Day 2022, WHO will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.   

WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is also a health crisis.

Focusing on creating a healthier society makes life happier and more sustainable for everyone on the planet. Our planet's health is inextricably linked with our own health and survival. Having clean air and safe drinking water is important for the health of all living beings, not just humans, but plants and animals that inhabit our world as well.

We are all part of an interconnected world ecosystem. Everyone plays a role in the health of the planet, and focusing on the climate crisis makes this an important focus for society as a whole.

Creating a Healthy, Sustainable Society

When I started college, I read the Manifesto for Sustainable Society as part of a scholarship essay that I had to write.

According to Green Politics,

The first edition was created and adopted by the then Ecology Party of the United Kingdom, at its first conference, in Coventry, in 1973, and much of the content was inspired by that of Blueprint for Survival, published by The Ecologist.

The manifesto has been expanded and extensively amended by subsequent conferences of the party, which was renamed the Green Party in the 1980s and which divided, in the 1990s, into the Green Party of England and Wales, the Scottish Green Party and the Green Party in Northern Ireland.

The Manifesto talks about actions that need to be taken in order to preserve the health of the planet, and to create a society of people who value the environment and take actions to protect the earth.

The Earth is our home, our mother, and we need to care for it in order to ensure our own survival. As climate change looms, there is much work to be done in terms of reducing greenhouse emissions, and our reliance on fossil fuels. There are a host of other issues facing us such as water pollution and deforestation.

As an older Millennial, we grew up in the 80's learning about this in school, but little has been done to avert the climate crisis, which some people don't even believe exists.

Teaching Our Children About World Health Day

There is much that we can teach our own children about the preservation of the environment on this world health day.

We can teach them about the importance of using public transit instead of driving, using reusable containers instead of single-use plastic, recycling, and so much more. We grew up hearing, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" and we can teach them the same.

Our actions speak more loudly than our words.

It is important that we take actions to show our children that we value the earth where we live, and that we are taking efforts to help in any way that is possible. Children are more likely to listen to our words when they are in line with our actions.

We can read our kids books about endangered species, or show them how the polar ice caps are melting. We can teach them about ecosystems. All this can be done using books, or we can take them out into nature to look at the plants and animals that they can find in their own back yards.

If you are looking for more fun ways to teach kids about ecology, you can check out these tips from JP International School.

Children will be the future caretakers of our planet, so teaching them about sustainability while they are young is an important way to help our planet for the future.

What do you think? Have you taught your kids already about the importance of helping the Earth? What has worked for you? I would love to hear from you in the comments!