Environmental Education for Children in Theater and Cinema

Children are more vulnerable to environmental pollution caused by adults in the world compared to other age groups. They have no participation in development decisions and mistakes that lead to water crises, droughts, and deforestation, which are directly related to their fate. Research shows that a healthy environment reduces anxiety in children and teaches them to manage stressful and anxious situations. Therefore, families are always encouraged to motivate their children to plant seasonal plants and vegetables and to walk with them in forests and green spaces, teaching them the secrets of being healthy in nature in the simplest terms. This is something that, for example, Iranian television has taken seriously in recent years, incorporating environmental concepts into children's programs. Laleh Taqian, a veteran theater researcher in Tehran, states that environmental education was one of the main concepts taught to children in Iran three to four decades ago: "Before the Iranian Revolution, the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, which focused on children, had stage and street theater programs that taught children how to create something new from what we now call waste or from paper and plastic items at home. This was an important educational project for children to learn to keep their living space and city clean. However, after the revolution, I did not see this method continue systematically. Overall, the environment is not very popular among our theater artists." Family outings in nature, sitting on the beach, being in protected green areas, and observing various animals and birds enjoying nature freely are common activities a family can do to educate their children. However, in Iran, this routine is often accompanied by polluting the surrounding environment, cutting tree branches, and disposing of waste and refuse in the sea, streams, and rivers. This is also an educational method that our children remember and repeat. For this reason, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is now asking television and theater artists to remind parents of simple principles on various occasions, including World Environment Day, inviting fathers and mothers to support and befriend the environment alongside their children. The head of the Environmental Protection Organization states that in addition to establishing 16 environmental schools across the country, collaborations with the Ministry of Education have been made to include environmental issues in textbooks, and training has been provided to teachers and kindergarten instructors at various levels. Teachers and instructors who are often parents themselves. Laleh Taqian, a researcher who has also studied the environment in Tehran, says this issue is still not a concern for adults: "People are so busy that they do not even pay attention to the alley where they live. Our neighbors place their garbage right next to the tree. This waste seeps into the ground and destroys the poor tree." The educational deputy of the Environmental Protection Organization has stated that special educational packages for children on topics such as trees, climate, waste, and educational CDs, along with educational animations and cultural and artistic festivals focusing on clean air, clean earth, and educational tours in Pardisan Park, are among the actions of this organization to familiarize children with environmental issues. This organization claims it intends to take this matter seriously for children and incorporate it into their textbooks. In this context, 60 environmental schools will be established in the new school year, and environmental topics will be introduced into textbooks.