About the environment in Schools

Education is key for the future generations to enable them to progress forward in life. They learn mathematics, science, history ECT. at school, but there are very little education on the intricate workings of nature.

I know that the curriculum touch on some aspects of the natural workings within nature, but too little to have a lasting impression on the youth of today.

The interactions between the environment and the living organisms in nature are so much more than mere words on paper that the children learn. When there is a chance then field trips should be arranged to do more investigation by the children about these interactions and the effects when these interactions are interrupted.

The mere fact that there is a lack of environmental education at our schools results in the destruction of the environment and the animals that live in it. The interaction of humans with nature is that of destruction and a limited future for us all.

Examples of lack of education and research into the effects on nature: On an Island there were a plague of rats that were brought there by sailors unwittingly. The rats started to feast on the breeding sea bird population’s eggs and thus reducing the sea bird population drastically. The government of the Island decided to bring in outside help to deal with the rat plague. Without doing proper research, feral cats were brought onto the island to deal with the rat problem.

Because of the abundance of food in the form of rats, the feral cats bred to increase their numbers to deal with the abundance of food. A few hundred cats over time became a few hundred thousand cats. The rat population was decimated and the rat problem kind off solved. But now there was a new problem. Because the rats became scarce and the amount of cats was more than the food supply, the cats started looking for other food sources. As we all know, cats catch birds and the cycle of reduction in the sea bird colony increased.

A single problem was resolved but another problem was created by the lack of knowledge and research. Now millions of feral cats are being killed in attempts to resolve the second problem.

When education is done properly, this problem of the rats could have been resolved in a different way, possibly. Lives are being lost on a daily basis due to our interference in nature and the balance that exist. When are we going to put the education system in such a state that we learn before doing? It is only through education and awareness that the environment and all its inhabitants will be able to survive into the next couple of centuries. Teach our children to respect nature and all that live in it. Teach them that every action, like the introduction of the cats, have consequences, not only on one part of nature, but on the bigger picture.