Green homework

Air pollution, carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste recycling -- may top political agendas and be the source of countless column inches daily yet the message doesn’t appear to be getting through to Asia’s all-important next generation of global citizens who, according to new findings, are not as concerned with the need for environmental protection as perhaps they ought to be.

the consumer power of children is growing in importance, as they represent a primary market that purchases its own products and services; an influential market that directs parental expenditures; and a future market. Aims to investigate and understand children’s knowledge and awareness of environmental issues, and their selection and use of information about environmentally friendly products through primary school education. Firstly, an understanding of environmental education as a primary source of information was gained through a questionnaire survey mailed to schoolteachers in the South-West of England. Secondly, questionnaires were distributed to equal numbers of boys and girls aged 7-11 years at three case schools in the South-West of England. The sample was asked open-ended questions about their knowledge of several fundamental environment concerns: the ozone layer; river pollution; recycling; and how they think the environment can be protected. The exploratory study confirms that levels of environmental understanding amongst children are high and provides a full break- down of the results.

Over the years, Green Olympiad has proved to be an excellent tool to create awareness amongst children on various environmental issues

References

• Kids Come Clean About Not Feeling Green
• The impact of environmental education on children's knowledge and awareness of envronmental concerns
• Green Olympiad