1. Search and list down the benefits of an urban garden.
2. Search and list down the problems and solutions of the environment in the world, and
particularly, in the Philippines.
3. Watch the video of a National Geographic feature on mass animal deaths that were caused
by humans.
[1] Benefits of an urban gardening
- Here are some important benefits to be obtained from urban gardening
- Improved indoor air quality.
- Lowered risk of respiratory disorders, as well as chronic headaches and eye irritation.
- Increased levels of empathy and compassion through attention and care given to plants.
- Improved human mental wellbeing as well as productivity levels.
- Access to fresh kitchen ingredients in your own home.
- Reduced risk of chemical ingestion found in foods that have been transported to grocery stores.
- Increased awareness about the need for improving our environmental impact.
- Reduced maintenance requirements as plants are relatively safe from pests and disease.
- Increased availability of low-maintenance, automated indoor gardening systems for the home or office.
[2] Problems & Solutions
CLIMATE CHANGE
- What You Can Do: Your home and transportation could be major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. A certified home energy audit can help make your home more energy efficient. If you commute via biking, walking or public transportation you are doing your part to fight global warming, but if you must own a motor vehicle, consider trading in your gas guzzler for a fuel efficient hybrid or better yet—go electric. When you fly, make sure to reduce your carbon footprint from air miles traveled with carbon offsets from a respected company such as Carbonfund.org.
POLLUTION
- What You Can Do: Many of the solutions to air pollution are similar to those for climate change, though it’s important to either make a concerted effort to drive less, or switch to a lower-emissions vehicle. Switching over to green energy is also important, as that will cut back on fossil fuel emissions. If you aren’t able to install solar or wind power on your property or if your utility gets its electricity from dirty energy sources, consider signing up for a renewable energy producer like Ethical Electric that connects consumers to 100 percent renewable energy sources to power their homes.
DEFORESTATION
- What You Can Do: You can support Rainforest Alliance and similar organizations, stop using paper towels and use washable cloths instead, use cloth shopping bags (instead of paper), and look at labels to make sure you only use FSC-certified wood and paper products. You can also boycott products made by palm oil companies that contribute to deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia.
LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
- What You Can Do: As consumers we can all help protect biodiversity by purchasing products that don’t harm the environment. Next time you are at the grocery store, check to see if food packaging contains any of the following eco-labels: USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Marine Stewardship Council or Green Seal. Other product certifications include Forest Stewardship Council Certification, Rainforest Alliance Certification and Certified Wildlife Friendly. Also, reusing, recycling and composting are easy ways to protect biodiversity.
FLOOD
These are the Solutions:
FLOOD
These are the Solutions:
- Construction of Dams - Dams store excess water and regulate it.
- Planting Shelter belts - It helps in Reducing the flow of water and hence prevents concentration of water at a spot.
- Strip cropping - It helps in controlling floods.
- Afforestation - It is major factor for protection of floods.
Post- Reading Activity
1. Look at our households and in our school: What are the things that we are wasting? Include
water, energy and material resources. Give concrete examples.
- Time. We waste time on nonsense things like school noise and time at home. Those time that we spending on nonsense things is the moment that we can use to think how to help our environment, like planting crops. Not only vegetables and fruits but also trees that help to reduce flooding in our environment.
2. Why does the author call it Gulayan Klasrum? Why is it called a Klasrum?
- The " Gulayan Klasrum" was called "Classroom" because the author learned something about vegetable gardening. Like what it know about our hearts and experience, he learned how to love the nature and to value and learn the human role in nature that we develop as time goes by.
3. In your research in the Pre-Reading activity, what are the worst consequences of human
neglect of the environment.
- The worst punishment caused by our negligence in nature is flooding. Because of the dumping of garbage everywhere and cutting down trees there was a flood. Because of this, many people have been harmed and killed not only people but also the animals.
4. In your research in the Pre-Reading activity, are there solutions to environmental
problems? Be specific.
- There's only one solution in our environment. We are the solution here. We are responsible for our every move and neglect. All we need to do is love our nature and keep it clean to avoid environmental problems.
5. In your research in the Pre-Reading activity, what is an urban garden? What are the
benefits of an urban garden?
- The benefits of Urban Garden are much easier and you will have less difficulty in planting especially when you are at home and you're not doing anything. It is easier to get fertilizers from the plant and no longer need to be used chemical and plants can also avoid from pests. We will love the plant more and give more care of it.
6. Why did Rosales compare education in the four corners of the classroom and the education
he gets in his Gulayan Klasrum?
- Rosales compares classrom to his plants because there are important things that are sometimes not taught to us and we discover it by ourselves. Just as he learned how to plant vegetables, he learned there how to develop himself and love and care the nature. This is also taught to us by our teachers in school but we cannot learn it if we don't do it. Because sometimes there are things we must discover and learn that no one else needs to say.
7. According to Rosales, whats the essence of being a hero?
- According to Rosales, you don't have to be a leader to say you are a Hero. Because a Hero is self-disciplined and nature-loving wherever you go, you will treassure it as well in the years to come.
8. What is the theme of the text?
Sustainability (food security)
Love of environment
- For me the theme of the text is both because in gulayan classroom it's all about loving our environment and it sustained us.
9. Juxtapose these two.
-
