Teacher's eco-curriculum brings island experiences to Huff Teacher's eco-curriculum brings island experiences to Huff (November 15, 2002)

By Faiza Hasan

Laura Mabbott has swum among coral reefs and talked to native islanders about their ecosystem -- all for the sake of making her fifth graders more environmentally conscious.

It started about seven years ago when the Huff Elementary School teacher was looking around for ways to get her students more involved in Earth Day. She came across an environmentalist group called Seacology, which was doing research and looking for ways to save ecosystems of different islands around the world.

"They seemed to be the best bet for your buck, as all of their money goes toward environmental projects," said Mabbott. "I thought it was great."

So for five years her class contributed $5 to the organization each Earth Day. Pretty soon Mabbott started getting students more involved by letting them do fundraisers like bake sales, selling T-shirts and getting personal donations. "We worked with Santa Clara County's abused children, raised money for children in Afghanistan, wrote to firemen and policemen, put on a community play and raised funds for Seacology while learning about the world's islands," she said.

"Last year, we called ourselves a giraffe because we stuck our necks out," she continued. "When we started raising money, our goal was to collect $500, but we doubled that."

When the final check was sent to Seacology, the organization was so impressed by the student's work that they sent a representative to meet the class and to make a presentation on different worldwide projects, like their island conservation programs.

The collaboration with Seacology took another turn when Mabbott and the organization came up with the Island Exploration program, in which Seacology's motto of "Saving the World One Island At A Time," was incorporated into the classroom curriculum by Mabbott.

"They told me, 'lets write a grant to have you write up a curriculum that might include island exploration with state education standards,'" said Mabbott. So Mabbott has used oceanography, literature, composition, geography and technology to study culture and ecosystems with her class. The project is funded by the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

"The basic island exploration project involves kids working on various environmental projects and assignments that we will post on the web," explained Mabbott. "We picked an island where Seacology was doing a project, then we looked at its location, and how there is an interdependence and connection between the sea, land and people as a part of the ecosystem. We look at connection and interdependence between ourselves and the island."

During the summer holidays, Mabbott herself got more involved with the organization when she spent a month in Fiji to become part of the project. "In this island project (Seacology members) carry out an exchange with the people on the island. In return for building a community center they turn a part of the land into a Marine sanctuary. It's a win-win situation, and all their projects are like this."

"I met people in villages," she said. "They are very different people with different issues. They face problems between survival and using the natural resources in a certain way." Mabbott said the organization is trying to help the island's native population to use their indigenous plants and products like coconut oil, instead of depending on imported goods.

Mabbott also spent time underwater diving. "I saw where the marine sanctuary protects the rich and diverse ecosystem around the coral reefs," she remembered. She was struck by the difference between the marine sanctuary and the surrounding ocean, where fishing nets had all but destroyed the corals.

Mabbott, who also took lots of pictures, is now using her experience on the island to make the environmental issues more real to her class. "You bring back passion and a certain urgency that is contagious," she said.

She is currently working on different oceanography projects with her class, and is hopeful to put up the projects and newsletter on their Web site, so that parents and other teachers can share her class' enthusiasm for the environment.
E-mail Faiza Hasan at fhasan@mv-voice.com