Virada Sustentável [Sustainable Turning Point] is coming and be.Living is once again participating in this very important movement that draws our attention to the current challenges with a focus on thinking, creating solutions and acting in the direction of a sustainable way of existence on Earth.
This year, integrating the official Virada program, we will address the “Climate Change” topic through actions involving the children, their families and the community.
“We chose to work with the Climate Change topic because this is one of the biggest challenges we have been facing as human beings since the beginning of our history. It is an urgent agenda not only for our school or for our country, but for the whole world. be.Living is one of the 230 Brazilian schools that are signatories of the Schools for Climate movement, a collective of schools committed to bringing the climate agenda to education” – explains Livia Ribeiro, engineer and environmental educator, as well as advisor to be.Living for issues related to sustainability.
The first action of be.Living in the Virada will be the relaunch of our cookbook “Segunda sem carne” [Meatless Mondays]. We will send the first version of the book to the families, proposing that they test, within a period of one week, a recipe from the book and send us photos of the process and the result. We will also ask those who have new recipes to send them to us so that we can add them to a new, even tastier version of the book. The idea is to inspire transformation based on creativity, health and pleasure. “Reducing meat consumption is very relevant for facing the climate crisis, especially in the context experienced in Brazil. Farming and changes in land use are the main factors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in our country¹”, says Livia.
A second action will be the donation of liquid fertilizer from the school’s composter. The children will collect the biofertilizer at school and take it to their families as an incentive for them to use it in their homes and on their plants. Livia explains that liquid fertilizer is also related to the climate issue. “Through composting, we reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill. Waste landfills also generate greenhouse gases and composting reduces this impact. With this activity, we also want to encourage the planting process, for people to use this fertilizer to plant a vegetable garden at home or plant trees, because tree planting, regenerative agriculture, agroecological agriculture and ecosystem recovery are also important solutions to the climate crisis.”
The third action will be to make the school a collection point for special waste: electronics, household sponges, writing instruments, CDs, X-rays, aluminum seals, plastic lids, used notebooks and booklets, and textbooks or books for donation. The idea is to engage families to perform a conscientious cleaning at home and bring this type of material to the school so that it can be sent to suitable recycling locations.
On the 18th, we will invite families to participate in the “Zero Garbage Family” online workshop. At this meeting, we will discuss how small changes can pave the way to a healthier and less complicated lifestyle. We will present a small guide to reduce waste at home and to simplify life: how to fill the refrigerator without accumulating packaging, using compost to put an end to organic waste, cleaning and personal hygiene in a natural way, among other solutions that reconnect us with ourselves, with others and that help to reduce our waste production and environmental impacts.
We are living in very delicate times on the planet and in our own existence. It is important to be aware of this reality and seek to identify the causes of so many imbalances so that we can change old habits and act in favor of our greatest and most precious asset, which is life on Earth.
¹Source: https://seeg.eco.br/
