Together we can…for Climate Change

By

Anay M. (grade 6)

Photo & Basic Info

Team or art project name: Poem “Together we can… for Climate Change” written and recited by Anay M.
Name of the School: Arbor Ridge K-8 Magnet Middle School
First name(s) and last initials of students on the team (no last names on the public page): Anay M.
Grade level of each team member: Grade 6
A photo of the completed art project or team (use this as the Featured Image on your page): Please see Artifact 1 below for full image of my poem.

About Me :

Hello Everyone!

My name is Anay M. and I attend 6th grade at Arbor Ridge Magnet Middle School. I love STEM (specially math). I also love my planet (my mom’s name means “The Earth”!) , words, music and martial arts. I am in the gifted program since elementary school and have been volunteering in green initiatives since 4th grade to make our local communities clean and keep our lives just a little bit better. Being a black belt in martial arts, I have learnt that nothing can be achieved without perseverance. We need a plan and the work to execute the plan to see any results in anything we do. When I am not doing anything, I love to play chess and to read!

My Energy Inspired Project:

For this Energy Inspired Art Project, I wrote a poem on Climate Change. I gave it the title “Together we can…for Climate Change.” This poem was inspired by a recent observation I made where a small educational company called Earthbound Journal (from the West coast of our country) that created quarterly publications for children like me to express our thoughts and share our ideas and efforts of the work we do in our local communities, went out of business due to lack of funding . It bothered me that little steps like Earthbound Journal could not sustain themselves. This poem is a plea to the grown-ups (former generation) to join hands to inspire others and engage everyone including children to make small changes with amplified effects and make our world a better place, a safe space!

I hope you find my poem edutaining, that’s right-educational and entertaining! 🙂

thank you,

Anay M.

I didn’t just start typing my poem one fine day. I went through a step-wise process.

Step1: I had an observation that I doodled on my iPad (Artifact 2a and 2b),

Step2: I then researched information. Education and learning around important planet issues are important. For example, did you know that in 2021 only 6% of plastic was recycled (Greenpeace report)? If you consider a takeout dinner on a Friday evening. The plastic bag, pizza box, utensils, paper napkins, drink cup/can might feel like consumables for a recycling factory, however, not all those items are recyclable, and it is important for all to know it, and practice it to make the ongoing efforts more effective. You might wonder how is plastic related to climate change? Well, plastics don’t decay easily and stay around for eons! They simple break down into microplastics and pollute the environment and even human bodies leading to some diseases as well. Extraction of materials to make or refine plastics lead to large amounts of green house gases being sent to the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. This is where ideas like sorting, re-purposing and reusing become important.

Step3: Next, I wrote a version of it to talk about the both the issues and simple things everyone can do in their homes but in a rhyming scheme (Artifact 3).

The Finished Art Piece: Together we can ….for Climate Change

The finished art piece : my poem (Please see artifact 1 or play Artifact 4-video, where I have recited the poem)
The intended message of the art piece: As described above, the purpose of writing the poem was ‘edutainment’ , to educate through entertainment and continue to raise awareness towards climate change which I strongly believe will be number 1 problem for my generation.
Why this medium was selected: I chose to write a poem instead of an essay (prose) because its more entertaining. I feel it might reach more number of people. May be when they are throwing their plastics in the trash, they will stop and think about the aftermath of their actions. If thousand such people act differently, or talk about it to others, then the eventually we will see the ripple effect. I also like music. I play clarinet. I can make a song out of the poem ! I recorded myself reciting it so you all can enjoy and hear the emotion in my thoughts.
Each team member’s contribution to the project: I am the only member of this team. I did the research, brain-storming, and writing.
Additional details: I have described my journey on this project above. I want to take a moment to share in this space, a big shout out to all my teachers at Timber Lakes Elementary and Arbor Ridge who have provided opportunities to students to think about these issues. I also want to thank Energy Whiz for providing this platform to students to share our thoughts in multiple ways. Finally, I want to thank my family for their continuous support to me.