We all know that our planet is in trouble. Species are becoming extinct, the coral is dying, the oceans are full of plastic and the forests (the lungs of the planet) are being destroyed and tribal people, the best and original ‘conservationists’ with the best nature knowledge are being displaced from their lands – so what can we do about it?

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We can give up using our plastic straws and, perhaps use a reusable coffee cup instead of accepting a disposable one; but, will that make enough of a difference? John believes that the solution will rely on the next generation – their children and (hopefully, one day) their grandchildren. For the children of the world to solve the crisis, they need to understand what is going on – not just at a conceptual level but at a deep and personal level that may encourage the future CEOs and business leaders to think carefully about the decisions they will make.

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John’s art is inspiring and uplifting and has the potential to make real and lasting connections between environmental issues and students if we encourage those students to really start thinking about the problems, allow them to ask questions and to research and connect to the world. Once the next generation is connected with the issues and start to continue that journey of exploration themselves we can really start to solve the current problems as they will be empowered and motivated to do so.

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The IPCC issued their ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’ in 2018 and it gave us 12 years to limit the damage of climate change and to hopefully stop a catastrophe. That deadline is approaching fast.

 

We can do it, but we need to build real connections and reasons into each student's life to empower them to make smart and informed choices, so they want to tread gently on the planet, want to protect the environment and want to make changes in their own lives to enable this.

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Teachers hold they key to unlocking this momentum, teachers can break the cycle of children just copying their parents, they can empower children to make changes and Last Chance to Paint hopes to give those children a real and very personal connection to tribal people, environments, plants and animals so they can see why they need to change and adapt.