Before you dive into the rest of this Quest, check out these videos to learn about the important role bees play in producing our food, how to reduce food waste, and how to choose a more Earth-friendly diet:
Watch 1:
Pollination: Trading food for fertilization in 3 minutes (Cornell University)Watch 2:
The Hidden Beauty of Pollination (TED)Watch 3:
We Waste One Third of Our Food Worldwide (National Geographic)Watch 4:
What if the Whole World Went Vegan (BBC Ideas)
LEARN + INTERACT
Play National Geographic’s
Planet Food game to discover the global footprint of your food (and go on a chocolate bar journey!)
(for all ages)Dissect a flower and learn about pollination watch this simple tutorial on pollination
Pollination of Flowers and then complete the
Flower Dissection Activity Booklet;
Bees & Our Food Activity Booklet with Alvéole (see the activity guides in the educator section below)
(for all ages)Explore interactive resources on how to make food systems more Earth-friendly with the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation Food Initiative (for ages 11+)ACT + SHARE
Build and share a “crazy plant”! Collect fruit, vegetables, spices, and treats and put them together to invent a crazy plant with all of the necessary plant parts represented (a potato-apple-cereal plant! A cookie-lettuce-banana plant!) Think about what part of the plant the food comes from: celery (stem), carrot (root), apple (seed), broccoli (flowers), cinnamon (bark) etc. Take a photo of your plant and sharing it online with #EarthSchool
(for ages 5-10)Invent a plan for your family to reduce food waste. Check out
this teacher’s experience to get some inspiration and then tell us about your ideas for the “Food-Waste Warrior” campaign by posting with #EarthSchool
(for ages 11+)Play with your food! The World Wildlife Fund’s
Picnic Basket list is full of food activities, conversation starters, and recipes for children at home
(for ages 5-10)Grow your own food from
veggie scraps (for all ages)WANT MORE?
Watch: Learn more about the journey our food travels by watching these two short videos:
The Industrial Tomato and
The Local Tomato (for all ages)Read: Get your mouth watering with National Geographic’s
Food: An Encyclopedia slideshow
(for all ages) Participate: Ellen MacArthur Foundation Food Initiative (for ages 11+)Resources for Parents and Educators: Flower Dissection Activity Guide;
Bees & Our Food Guide with Alvéole;
Food and Carbon Part 2 Teaching Guide with Nature Conservancy
This Earth School Quest was created by the following incredible educators and environmental experts: Kathleen Usher PhD
Yes that can cause diseases as well as stomach related issues