Recycling and Upcycling for Mother Nature

Dear Envirocare Coordinators, Go Green Champions and Eco Explorers,

This month, we present a promising and exciting approach for our charming saplings, rich in virtue, and in the spirit of service to Nature, which we can adopt to make our shared planet and the environment a better place. Children live what they learn from their elders. They are being inspired and shaped to develop awareness of the Earth at an early age. 

We are all conscious that our planet can no longer sustain plastic pollution and that humans generate too much trash. Recycling, zero-waste practices, reducing single-use plastics and many other green initiatives are slowly becoming today’s sustainable trend. Yet, for many children around the globe, ‘living green’ has already become a lifestyle. Learning opportunities and creative ideas blossom in tender minds, developing newer forms of dedication and offerings to Mother Nature in the different stages of growth. 

The impetuous act of discarding trash is a global problem that has existed for centuries. The Sri Sathya Sai Organization of Slovenia, Zone 6 has initiated a recycling and upcycling project to refocus environmental education to change man’s attitude towards the utilization of earth’s  resources. A virtual creative workshop was organized in April/May 2021 to showcase the beauty of recycled materials. Both adults and children are showing intrinsic motivation to rethink the consumerism nature at home and are extending the eco-spiritual awareness to the community that
‘Nature is the manifestation of God’. 

“Humans cannot do without core environmental capitals which are the drivers of life. Life cannot exist without God. This existence is not further possible without air, water, land and the wild. These environmental entities can be the manifestation of God. We suffer when we degrade these entities. Protecting them is protecting the divinity of God whose manifestation is embedded in these vast and wondrous resources.”

- From Environmental Awareness to Environmental Responsibility:
Towards a Stewardship Curriculum:
Journal of Educational Issues ISSN 2377-2263  2016, Vol. 2, No. 2.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) fact sheets, our landfills are filled with waste that can potentially be recycled.

Bottles, cans, milk containers, tissue paper rolls and many other items are tossed into bins after consumption daily. So, why do we not save the energy that was required to manufacture those products? At the same time, we could also reduce our water and carbon footprint.

Most human activities generate numerous types of waste. Accumulation of waste on land emits harmful greenhouse gases resulting in devastating effects to the environment - pollution, waste, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, species extinction etc. 
“We are the last generation that can prevent irreparable damage to our planet, 11 years are all that remain to avert catastrophe.”

- General Assembly
President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador), United Nations.

Discover Some Homemade Recycled Products for Children and Adults

‘Recycling, reusing or repurposing’ resources diverts unwanted materials from landfills and incinerators. This principle is a small, kind and responsible step we can take everyday through small changes in our way of living. It is easy and climate-friendly, and its value is much greater than landfilling waste.

Integral ecological values such as not wasting food, time, money, and energy help to mould children's character and hence reinforce commitment to the environment. 

“Reduce your wants; minimise your desires. All these material knick-knacks are short-lived.”

- Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 2/Ch. 23, 26 October 1961

Valuable Insights Worthy of the Lord 

The Go Green team of SSSIO Slovenia shares with you a practical guide on how to start recycling in incredibly easy steps.

ExperieN^cesotes 3

ExperieN^cesotes 4

WATCH a Recycling Guide for Kids - 

Repurposing materials to make a toy horse

WATCH a Recycling Guide for garden lovers - making decorative plant supports from tree branches

Check out Educare for children on the ValuesTransform Hub

Discover a world of limitless learning for children at the ValuesTransform virtual playground and watch your child build new go-green skills and values.

With Sai Love and Light,

Environmental Sustainability Committee

Sri Sathya Sai International Organization