Understanding Sustainability Through Creativity: Telling Stories About Trees and Ourselves

Sustainability is a critical topic in education to help students understand how individual and collective behaviour can impact the environment. A first step towards taking caring action for our planet, and attending to environmental challenges, is to have a meaningful relationship with nature. When individuals spend time outdoors, develop an appreciation and respect for the natural world, they will feel more inclined to take measures of care. Authentic action to protect, restore, and nurture the environment comes from learning about the problems and developing skills to solve them. However, the most powerful initiatives are driven by those who are able to make personal connections to the cause.   

Another element of sustainability that is gaining attention in mental health and educational settings is “sustainable well-being.” The premise is that how we conduct ourselves in a sustainable way towards our environment can also impact how we feel in our own lives. In other words, the steps we take to care for our world can also be applied to how we care for ourselves. This is because the health and well-being of individuals is directly connected to the environment. What we put out into the world tends to come back to us in significant ways whether it be positive or negative. Planting a garden and picking up litter versus filling our landfills with plastics and letting our car idle while not driving impacts every individual on earth. Sustainability is intentional and loving to earth and self.

The creative exercise detailed below is about understanding sustainability by making connections to trees and ourselves. By taking a symbolic perspective of trees, students can think more broadly about the environment while learning about themselves. 

Creative Exercise Outline

Greeting Trees

Take students on a nature walk where they can connect with trees. Ask them to identify the different types of trees indigenous to the region where they reside. Have students pay attention to the fine details. You can ask them a number of questions such as: Do the trees have leaves or needles? Are they tall or short? Do they have narrow or wide trunks? What kind of bark covers the trunk? Do they grow fruit or berries? Do their branches reach for the sky or swoop and bend? Are the branches long or short?

Tree Drawings

Invite students to draw a tree from their walk or of one they have seen before that they appreciate. Have them clearly draw roots, a trunk, bark, and branches to represent the likeness of the tree they have chosen. Let the students know that in many cultures trees represent life as in the Tree of Life. The symbol of trees speaks to the interconnectedness of people, nature, and the universe. Trees also represent our individual growth, strengths, uniqueness, and beauty.

The Roots

Trees root themselves into the earth so they can grow strong and tall. The roots extend out as far as the tree is tall and grow for as long as the tree is alive. Symbolically, tree roots represent stability and standing strong for what is necessary to create a sustainable world. Ask the students why sustainability is important. What actions can they take in their own lives to care for the land? Let them know that every action they take is like growing roots in their journey towards being environmentally responsible.

Have students compare themselves to a tree. What are their personal “roots” (e.g., name, family history, ethno-cultural background, world view, nationality, etc.) that make them who they are. Ask them why sustaining their well-being is important. What actions can they take to care for themselves? One aspect of sustainable well-being is self-knowledge. When you know who you are and what you need to thrive, you can grow strong roots that will last a lifetime.

Invite the students to label the roots of the tree based on their answers. One side will speak to the environment and the other side will be about themselves.

The Trunk

If you look at a cross section of a tree trunk you will see a number of rings. These rings tell a story about the tree's life, including its yearly growth patterns and the environmental conditions it has lived through (e.g., fire, climate changes, insect infestation, disease). Invite students to consider all the ways trees are impacted by the choices people make and how the environment is cared for. What needs to happen for trees to grow and thrive for many years? 

Have students compare themselves to a tree. What are their personal “rings” (e.g., age, growth stages, and living conditions such as family life, school, extra-curricular activities, hobbies). Ask students what they need to grow and thrive? What conditions are necessary for sustainable well-being (e.g., love, food, shelter, healthy relationships)? Have them consider their physical, mental, emotional, and (if appropriate) spiritual needs.

Invite the students to label the trunk of the tree based on their answers. One side will speak to the environment and the other side will be about themselves.

The Bark

Every tree is covered from top to bottom with bark. Tree bark can be rough and thick, have scales or ridges, be smooth and unbroken, or even peel in long curly strips. Regardless, bark serves a very important purpose which is to protect the tree from the elements (e.g.,temperature changes, predators) and help it to conserve water. It is not uncommon for people to damage trees by carving their initials into their trunks, hanging bird feeders by nails or hooks, or pulling off the loose bark. Nature has an intelligent system for protecting itself for sustainability. Invite students to think about the ways we harm our environment by the choices we make. What are other examples in the natural world of how living beings protect themselves for survival? How can we be aware of these protective systems so we do not disrupt them?   

Have students compare themselves to a tree. How do they “protect” or care for themselves? If they had bark, what would they want it to look like and feel like? What “elements” would it protect them from? Why is this important to sustaining their well-being? They can consider how they care for their body, conserve their energy, manage their emotions, develop healthy relationships, grow as a learner, and so forth.

Invite the students to label the bark of the tree based on their answers. One side will speak to the environment and the other side will be about themselves.

The Branches

Branches have a number of functions to support the well-being of a tree, such as distributing water from the soil to its leaves and providing the structural support for the production of leaves, fruit, and flowers. While every tree is different, branches tend to grow directly outward from the trunk. Some branches reach up towards the sun while others prefer to stretch to the branches of trees nearby where they share space. In some cases, branches of different trees intertwine and grow together. With that said, branches are a symbol of nourishment and community. Invite students to consider how sustainability is connected to nourishment (e.g., crops, animals, oceans). Also, how is sustainability a community effort? What actions can we take as a collective to support our environment?

Have students compare themselves to a tree. How do their “branches” nourish their lives and build community with others? What do students need to feel nourished (e.g., love, food, exercise, reading, relationships, conversation) and how do they offer nourishment to others? Why is community important in their lives and how do they nourish their relationships? Branches can also signify reaching towards our goals, dreams, and desires. What might the students’ “branches” be reaching towards? How do they nourish and care for the things that matter most to them?

Invite the students to label the branches of the tree based on their answers. One side will speak to the environment and the other side will be about themselves.

Tree Talks 

This exercise can conclude with students sharing stories of their tree and themselves with a friend, small group of students, or the whole class. What did they learn about sustainability through this creative exercise? What is one positive action they can take today towards caring for their environment and their own well-being?

This starting exercise can be taken one step further by having students create a "book" with written stories and illustrations about trees and themselves.

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Traci L. Scheepstra, Ph.D., is the CEO/Founder of Embodied Learnings.Read here to learn more about her work in education.