World’s Environmental Hotspots Appear Closer to Home Following Visit by Author Alanna Mitchell

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The Canadian high Arctic, the Jordanian oases of Azraq, and the island nation of Madagascar off the coast of Africa: you may not be able to think of environments more extreme in their diversity than these. Yet, according to Canadian environmental journalist Alanna Mitchell, they share a stunning similarity—they are all closer to Greenville, South Carolina, than you know.

That was part of the thought-provoking—and ultimately inspiring—message visiting author Mitchell brought to the Upper School on November 1 during a daylong appearance that included a presentation, visits to classrooms, participation in a panel discussion with local environmentalists, and lunch with invited biology students. Her visit was made possible by the Upper School Bookstore and the many parents who volunteer their time there.

In preparation for her visit, all students in the Upper School had been required to read all, or at least certain chapters, of her 2004 book, Dancing at the Dead Sea: Tracking the World’s Environmental Hotspots. The book explores the notion, posited by paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, that degradation of our environment has brought the earth to the brink of a “sixth extinction” on the scale of the dinosaurs’ disappearance 65 million years ago—all because of how we have neglected and abused our environment. From a journalist’s perspective Mitchell sets out to explore six threatened environments around the globe where this process is already at work.

When viewed in this context, it becomes clear that even in Greenville we have a stake in what happens in such remote places as the volcanic crests of Iceland and the rainforests of Suriname. That’s the message senior Blakely Jarrett took from her visit. It made him realize, he said, that “we are a part of the environment and our actions have an impact not only on the land around us, but on the survival of our species."

Two evenings before Mitchell’s visit, the Upper School held a “movie night” to screen the PBS documentary Global Warming: The Signs and the Science; it was clear from the heavy attendance that students had been engaged and inspired by the book’s message.

On November 1 Mitchell gave a 70-minute slide presentation to the entire student body. This was followed by a 45-minute panel discussion with representatives of three local environmental organizations: Jason Van Driesche from Upstate Forever, Rob Hanley from Friends of the Reedy River, and Kristen Austin from the Nature Conservancy. During the discussion, panelists emphasized that students can have an impact on saving the environment by thinking globally and acting locally.

“Ultimately, her message was one of hope and inspiration,” noted Upper School librarian Anne Howson, who, along with Science Department Chair Paulette Unger, helped to arrange Mitchell’s visit. “She said that she has great faith in people’s ability to think creatively to solve these problems and that was her reason for writing the book.”

Author Alanna Mitchell points on a classroom map to the Canadian arctic,
one of the world’s “environmental hotspots,” during her visit to Melanie
Carmichael’s Government/ Economics class.

After the panel Mitchell discussed these issues further with classes in Ethics, Government/Economics, Environmental Science, Advanced Biology, English AP, and Theory of Knowledge. In Donna Miller’s Journalism class, students had the opportunity to ask Mitchell about her unique field of environmental journalism.

Mitchell also had a chance to view the “Captain Planet” bulletin board prepared as part of a competition in Barbara Carter’s English AP class and to view the Art Gallery exhibit of endangered animal sculptures made from recycled materials by Susanne Abrams’ art students in response to their readings of Dancing at the Dead Sea.

This dodo bird made by freshman Tristan Rulli of plastic soda bottles has the
appealing aspect and bright colors of a toddler’s pull toy.

Sophomore Lena Streckert’s beached, endangered killer whale made
symbolically of trash bags. Behind it, freshman Caroline Hudson’s microraptor.
The newly discovered bird-like dinosaur, wittily constructed of newsprint,
recently made global news.

Noted graphic art teacher Dan Harris, “I sincerely believe Alanna Mitchell’s presentation and the follow-up panel discussion was one of the most significant events that I have witnessed in the seven years I have been at CCES.”

Mrs. Unger felt Mitchell’s visit had a real impact on students. “It was a great teacher moment to return to my classroom after the presentation and hear the students still questioning and debating the points made by Alanna Mitchell and the local panelists. I know I am more observant, and I have seen that in my students as well. For instance, last year there was hardly any paper or plastic put into my recycling box in the classroom. Now it is overflowing each week.”
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History teacher Kristi Ferguson took Mitchell’s message to heart as well: “I was most impressed with her passion. She is not the typical activist; she clearly wants to educate people and make them aware of what is occurring. My non-scientific self could follow her points and understand them. I also thought the local panel made her ideas even more relevant. I may never get to Jordan or the rainforest, but I can help the local rivers and wildlife. Everything is connected.”

During the panel discussion Mrs. Howson posed the following question for the students’ benefit: “Why do you think the Nobel Peace Prize Committee give the award this year to Al Gore for his work on global warming? What does environmentalism have to do with peace?” Everything, responded Mitchell, in a world where nations will compete for dwindling and redistributed natural resources and where warming trends could trigger widespread disease, thus destabilizing whole regions of the globe.

It’s up to us, she said, to make sure that does not happen.