For be.Living, it has always been important to encourage the children’s contact and connection with nature, providing moments of reflection and learning on how we can inhabit the world in a more harmonious and sustainable way.
We believe that each child carries the gift and strength to become an independent and conscious person, capable of contributing with unique creativity and wisdom to the construction of a better world. With the pandemic, this vision has become even more present in our school and events such as Virada Sustentável (Sustainable Turning Point) have become even more significant.
Virada Sustentável is a mobilization movement for sustainability that has been organizing the largest festival on the issue in Brazil since 2011. It involves the articulation and direct participation of different sectors of our society, such as institutions, public authorities, companies, artists, scholars and schools, gathered in actions and discussions that point to a more sustainable and healthy way of life for all and for the planet itself.
Our advisor on issues related to sustainability, Livia Ribeiro, who is an engineer and environmental educator and director of Reconectta, explains that the pandemic itself is the result of an environmental imbalance, reinforced by a social imbalance. “It is now more important than ever to talk about these issues and imbalances. The pandemic directly impacted our individual relationships, the relationships we have with each other and our relationship with the world, with nature and our waste. All of this was seriously affected. As such, an event like this, which was already very relevant in previous years, becomes even more relevant in the current scenario.”
Due to social isolation, the Virada Sustentável proposal had to be completely adapted this year. Instead of the traditional on-site event, the schedule was almost entirely online and lasted for an entire month. “There were a few artistic interventions on the streets, but the proposals focused on schools were all online. We adapted these proposals to the context of be.Living and we also considered the set of actions that the school itself already promotes in its day-to-day activities with the children. Everything was redesigned. We held meetings on Zoom to talk directly with children about the relationship we have with nature, we addressed the issue with families as well through the “Connections – Dialogues about Education” meeting, and we also proposed four sustainability challenges, all of which were adapted by the teachers for the children’s different age groups.”
Lívia says that the challenges were inspired by the SDGs, which are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals created by the United Nations. Together, they make up an agenda of goals that promote sustainability on the planet and that all countries should implement by 2030. She points out that care was taken to launch significant but also feasible sustainability challenges that could be rather easily conducted in the private sphere, such as making a gratitude jar, going one day without eating meat, taking and sharing a photo of the space in the home that most connects with nature and incorporating a new practice into the home routine so as to avoid generating or to reduce, reuse or recycle waste.
“The idea was to take advantage of this moment to move out of our comfort zone a bit, to see that it is possible to change habits and incorporate new practices in our lives, in a way that can be fun, light and pleasant. We hope that all this work – conducted in relatively simple formats but that touches on such important issues, generates an activation energy so that we can continue to be mobilized for the greater good and for all” – says Lívia.
We hope that the seeds planted with Virada Sustentável and with all the actions promoted by the school for the purpose of awakening a new awareness regarding the planet, nature and all the beings that live here can grow, become stronger, flourish and bear fruit that will be harvested tomorrow by the adults who are with us today, small but full of power, in the growth and learning process.
