The Lexicon of Sustainability

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When you ask elementary school kids about sustainability, you may start out with a lot of puzzled looks. Some kids will tell you its about farming or helping the environment. Others mention healthy food that's grown without pesticides.

But for a lot of kids "sustainability" is just a word.

Recently, IACP Kids and the talented kids at the School Without Walls in Washington DC teamed up with City Greens and DC Blossoms to explore the true meaning of sustainability.

The afternoon project was based on the philosophy of The Lexicon of Sustainability, which asserts that words without true meaning are simply letters floating in space. But when you take the time to explore the meanings of words and the people behind them, those words begin to take on new life and dimension.

The project was simple: kids were asked to think about what they'd eaten for lunch, then draw it on a big sheet of paper. Next, they drew all the components of lunch—from the bread in a sandwich to the meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and condiments. Each component had its web that traced back to origins—from grocery store to the land itself.

We also used the inspiring teaching materials from The Lexicon of Sustainability.

Their mission: " By illuminating the vocabulary of sustainable agriculture, and with it the conversation about America’s rapidly evolving food culture, the Lexicon of Sustainability™ educates, engages and activates people to pay closer attention to how they eat, what they buy, and where their responsibility begins for creating a healthier, safer food system in America."

As the kids thought and drew and imagined, the reality of our foodshed began to take shape. The story of each ingredient catalyzed ideas and discussion about how to make lunch healthier for everyone—the kids, the community, the merchants, the farmers, the animals and the land that nourishes us.

For information on you can recreate the same kind of eco-friendly food adventure, please visit The Lexicon of Sustainability at:  http://lexiconofsustainability.com/