Mr Pren Woods
Reflections from the 2008 Toyota International Teacher Program to the Galápagos Islands
Woods aboard the M/V Santa Cruz.
Personally, I believe it is still too early to due justice to a reflections piece. Presently, I am working on my power point/presentations for my school and working on writing articles. I will offer additional reflections after I feel that I have completed those tasks with some success. Additionally, I am continuing to learn from the Yahoo Group discussions.
My experience in Ecuador has changed my diet. I was already on this journey of becoming a vegetarian because of some books I had read and some documentaries I had seen. After being in Ecuador and faced with the daily thought of water consumption and conservation, I was sold on not eating meat anymore. I am still eating seafood (I am even looking into the energy uses and ethical issues in the delivery of seafood to one’s local grocery store). I have not had any meat since Ecuador and during this holiday season, there are quite a few meat dishes. I have been able to share my experience and talk about the relationship between meat (beef, especially) and water usage at holiday/school/family functions. It has been really dynamic seeing people pause to consider the weight of what I am saying.
At home, my wife and I have taken stock of how eco-unfriendly we might be—we have plastic bags everywhere. We made a decision to buy a sack that we would take to the grocery store with us. As an avid water drinker, I have to make sure that I have my thermos handy so that I will not resort to plastic water bottles that I was a slave to prior to my trip to Ecuador.
When I return to school in January, I want to initiate an energy audit for our school and then drum up student interest for an environmental club. There are simple things that our school could do, for example, recycling. We have no recycling program. I want to explore mini-grant opportunities for funding bins. This issue has become so important to me that I have been thinking about ways I could use less paper for copying purposes as a teacher—a Herculean task! I am hopeful that my power point to the students and staff will stir people to action. Personally, I want to involve myself in projects specifically aimed at protecting the ocean. I was honored to be a part of such a dynamic program. I must admit that I am a newbie to environmental concerns. I had to teach one standard last year about the environment and the Galapagos announcement coincided with that moment. I had never given much thought to the environment. My thoughts on global warming were often reduced to “The people of the Industrial Revolution seemed to be okay with all their junk. I think we will be okay.” My naïveté has given way to an intellectual appetite that can only be satiated by practical experiences, scholarship, and action.