Earth day: talking points, suggested sites and books

With Earth Day due in two days, your kids are no doubt bringing in from school the artwork, requests for materials to do projects on recycling, as well as discussing how to care for the earth in class.

This is an ideal time to bring up the Islamic perspective, however briefly. You can do this really easily in about 10 minutes in the car on the way to or from school, right before bed during storytime, or even during bathtime.

Here are a couple of talking points to "green" your conversation:

1. Allah has made us His Khalifa (vicegerents or representatives) on earth and one of our duties here is to take care of it.

2. Taking care of it means different things. Ask them what they think it does. Then suggest a couple of ideas like not littering, using less water, treating animals and plants with care, not wasting anything, whether that is water, electricity, food or anything else.

3. Waste is something Allah dislikes. As Muslims, we want to avoid anything that does not please Him, since it takes us far away from Allah, Who loves us and cares for us (Quran 7:31).

4. Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. Part of that beauty is the natural world He has created, so we need to preserve it.

5. Muslims are involved in different projects around the world, big and small, to preserve the planet. These range from building the world's first carbon-free city (scroll down to the second story) and installing solar-powered panels in mosques to doing what many are already doing like reusing bags, picking up litter, etc.

There are even Muslims starting companies to sell items like green cards and meat.

It's important to mention this because it shows practical ways Muslims are living this aspect of Islam.

More talking points at:

1. Islam and the environment
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503544990&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaEAskTheScholar

2. Muslim Green Team (interesting projects you may want to start with your kids and in your community)
http://muslimgreenteam.org/

Books:

1. Non-Fiction:

a. The Environmental Footprints series is very good. I took a look at the one entitled How Big Is Your Water Footprint? by Paul Mason. With nice photos and clearly written text, it's a great way to discuss reducing carbon footprints for first- to fifth- graders.

The other books in the series discuss clothing, energy, food, shopping and travel footprints. They are all by Paul Mason.

b. We also read What Can We Do About Trash and Recycling? by Lorijo Metz. Another nice one geared towards early elementary school students.

2. Fiction: Bag in the Wind by Ted Kooser. This is a beautifully written story about how a plastic bag travels from a landfill to a little girl and back to her through various people and places. It shows how many ways an item can be recycled instead of being thrown out.

More book suggestions at:

1. http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/earth-day/kids-books/
2. http://holidays.kaboose.com/earthday-learn.html

Activities

There are plenty of good ideas online, so I won't get into the arts and crafts aspect. But it may be helpful to:

1. Visit the nature center closest to you.
2. Visit the Peggy Noteabart Nature Museum (free on Thursdays).
3. Find a "green" service project in your area and participate. This could be a park cleanup, for example.
4. Make a special Dua for the planet as a family.
5. Hold a family meeting/Halaqah about one aspect of this topic.
6. Pick a green project to do as a family (e.g. start recycling newspapers, composting, etc.).