When Earth Day rolls around, I don’t just think about reusable bags and paper straws.
I think about my daughter.
She’s ten. Brilliant. Observant. Deeply thoughtful. And lately, she’s been asking me some questions that are hard to answer:
👧🏽 “Why do the cars that are better for the environment cost more than the ones that are bad for the environment?”
👧🏽 “Will there be any clean water left for my generation when we grow up?”
👧🏽 “Why is there so much pollution if we know it’s bad for the Earth?”
Whew. Heavy, right? I try to meet her with honesty. I try to model hope. But I also sit with the weight of her worries — and the fact that these are the questions our children are holding right now.
And then, I think about the people who’ve held the Earth with care for generations: Indigenous communities across the Americas — the true guardians of the land. Despite centuries of colonization, their traditions, languages, and ways of being remain rooted in deep respect for nature.
And yet, their rights continue to be eroded every single day.
Whether it’s mining in the Peruvian Andes, deforestation in the Amazon, or water contamination in Guatemala — the environmental issues Indigenous communities face are urgent. And many of our students have no idea this is happening — or that Indigenous communities are the ones most impacted.
🌿 Bring the People Into the Conversation
Here’s the thing: our students do care about the planet. They’re worried. They’re curious. They want to do something.
So how can we guide them toward action that is also rooted in empathy and justice?
Here are a few ways you can honor Indigenous stewardship of the land while helping students expand their global and environmental awareness:
1. Teach About Activists: Francia Márquez & Berta Cáceres
Highlight real-life activists who can show students that environmental defenders come from all walks of life–and that standing up for the Earth can also mean standing up for justice! People like Francia Márquez & Berta Cáceres! One thing I particularly enjoy about Francia Márquez is that she illuminates the role of afrodescendientes as caretakers of the lands along with Indigenous Peoples: something that I don’t think a lot of people think about! 💭
Francia Márquez is everything. She’s the first Afro-Colombian woman to serve as Vice President, and her background as an environmental activist from a small rural community is inspiring. She stood up to illegal mining in her region, despite facing racism, threats, and violence. Her story shows students what resistance, leadership, and love for the land can look like — all at once.
Consider teaching about Berta Cáceres, a Honduran Indigenous rights leader. A member of the Lenca people, she dedicated her life to environmental activism. She led campaigns, protested illegal logging, and opposed US military bases on Lenca land. She also organized legal action when dams threatened her people’s way of life.
Introduce your students to their stories, their words, and their voices. They are contemporary examples of environmental justice.
2. Ask: Whose Land Are We On?
Before colonization, Indigenous nations thrived across Latin America — with their own languages, customs, and connections to the land. Today, many of those same communities are still fighting for recognition, autonomy, and the right to protect their territories.
Use this map tool to help students explore whose land we’re talking about when we mention a country or region in Latin America. This simple act of acknowledgment opens the door to rich discussions about land, history, and belonging.
3. Use Visuals: Environmental Justice Today
There are many infographics across the internet that address the topic of environmental justice. I’ll link a few below, but you can do a quick search online and find one that more closely aligns to the level of your students. Consider creating comprehension questions or even grammar-related questions to accompany the infographics, thus extending your textbook topics into real-life subjects. Let students see what’s happening — and then really get them thinking and talking: What do they notice? What surprises them? What do they feel?
📚 Teach with Music & Media: Build Empathy Through Storytelling
One of the most powerful ways to connect students to the Earth — and the people protecting it — is through stories. Songs, documentaries, and film clips bring emotion to the forefront, making space for empathy, curiosity, and reflection. This is probably one of my favorite avenues for communicating and building empathy.
Here are a few meaningful options to include:
🎬 También la lluvia (Even the Rain)
This film is so powerful. It’s about a Spanish film crew trying to make a movie about colonization in Bolivia — only to find themselves caught up in real-life resistance during the Cochabamba Water War. It’s a layered and emotional look at power, exploitation, and Indigenous resilience.
🎶 “Latinoamérica” by Calle 13
This song is a love letter to Latin America — its land, its people, its pain, and its pride. It’s poetic, fierce, and rich with symbolism. It speaks to identity, colonialism, and a spiritual connection to the Earth. A must-play for building that emotional bridge between land and belonging. The video itself is a gorgeous treasure.
🎶 “Somos Sur” by Ana Tijoux ft. Shadia Mansour
This isn’t just a bop — it’s a global protest anthem that speaks to resistance and rootedness. It’s a great way to connect environmental justice with social justice movements, patriarchy, and colonialism around the world.
🎶 “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii” by Bad Bunny
At the core of this song is a deep dive into colonization, loss of identity & land, and gentrification. Although it doesn’t explicitly discuss environmentalism and indigenous populations, it’s foreboding message and warning about Hawaii makes me wonder if a case could be made for it. There are also a lot of metaphors and symbolism using nature, as well as explicitly saying that “they want to take away my rivers, they want to take away my beaches.” This may be a relevant, contemporary example that students can really connect with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvfDaZ4ZT80with.
🎧 Reflection Prompts to Deepen Student Thinking:
- What message is the artist or director trying to communicate?
- How does the land show up as sacred or important?
- How would you feel if this was your land, your community, your water?
These questions move the conversation from “What’s happening?” to “What can I learn from this?” — and that’s where the magic happens.
🌎 Let’s Raise Conscious, Caring Global Citizens
Earth Day doesn’t have to be surface-level — and it doesn’t have to be limited to just one day.
We can take the time to listen more closely. To connect the dots between our environment and the people who live in relationship with it. To make culture come alive in our classrooms in a way that’s relevant, real, and empowering. And to learn from it.
Let’s teach them to ask questions, to seek justice, and to listen to the voices too often pushed aside.
✨ If you want ready-to-use materials to support these conversations, be sure to download these ready-made resources here:
