The environmental issue is a topic that is introduced in schools at an early age. My first memory of global warming beings when I was in my preschool. I remember drawing a sweating earth after a quick lesson about the temperature change and holding it around the school to share its awareness. I realized that global warming is a serious problem that needs immediate action when I had a year left to graduate from elementary school. Then I understood what the statistics meant and what consequences we would have to pay. Even if awareness happened years after learning about global warming, the exposure to the topic has led me to slowly take in the concept of global warming. Although I didn’t fully understand what it was in preschool, it has unconsciously settled in my mind and branched out. Therefore, to improve environmental awareness around the world, being exposed to a lot, especially at a young age, is essential.

What are the actions that could help children to encounter ideas of environmental issues? Children's books that intertwine environmental issues could support it. Examples of the books include “The Lorax,” “The Giving Tree,” and some of the books in the series “Magical School Bus.” Interesting stories tend to stay in mind longer than lessons teachers give during class. So it is surely a way children could learn about the warming of the earth. Children can also sympathize more, allowing them to feel the need to help the earth from the rising temperature. 

As electronics increasingly become a normal part of children’s lives at a young age, tackling environmental issues in media could be another way. They can learn facts about it and therefore result in a vague thought of what it is. These thoughts would accumulate to form an awareness of the topic.

Most importantly, schools can work to do activities on environmental issues. An environmental club and English classes examining the speeches through environmental activities are great examples. Besides activities, placing recycling bins around school and using sustainable materials in school (e.g. wooden cutlery) helps to grow awareness. 

Continuous actions can be taken only if there is motivation. In the case of sustainable actions, it is gaining awareness of things that are happening and will happen to the very earth we are living in. That is why students repetitively learn about climate change in school and why thousands of people put an effort to tell more about it to the public. Actions and changes will take place after awareness has been raised.