Today we’re exploring the word “biodiversity.” What does biodiversity mean to you?
Today we’re exploring the word “biodiversity.” What does biodiversity mean to you?
Learn more about Dr. Vandana Shiva: https://vandanashivamovie.com/vandana-shiva/about-vandana-shiva/
Learn more about Navdanya: https://www.navdanya.org/site/
Mahatma Gandhi quote: https://www.navdanya.org/site/living-soil/what-is-soil
Do you have a word you’d like us to consider for a future episode? Email us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com. And check out other podcasts made for kids just like you by visiting akidsco.com.
SIO, Ep 19
“Biodiversity”
[INTRO]
Hi! I’m Cat Petru, and you’re listening to Sound It Out: A Kids Podcast About Words.
[TODAY’S WORD]
Today’s word is “biodiversity.” Let’s sound it out. Bio-diversity.
What do you think biodiversity means? What images or feelings arise when you hear the word biodiversity?
[DISCUSSION]
Well, many of you have probably heard both the word bio and the word diversity before. Maybe you or someone you know is taking a biology class? We learned that logy is Greek for study of. Bio is also Greek and means life.
Diversity means variety. We often hear this word in social contexts, acknowledging human diversity, like race, gender, religion, and more.
[EXPERIENCE & MEANING]
Biodiversity is natural. In fact, we can’t have life without it. Can you imagine what the world would be like if the only living species was a banana slug? Or a beluga whale? How could they survive? It would be impossible!
I can’t hear the word biodiversity and not think of a woman I’ve mentioned before, Dr. Vandana Shiva. Dr. Shiva got her PhD in physics, studying quantum theory (Physics is the study of matter and energy. Quantum theory studies matter and energy at their most fundamental level.) Dr. Shiva went on to found the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, and then an organization called Navdanya, which means 9 seeds in the language Sanskrit. Navdanya is a farm in India and a movement led by women and farmers to support biodiversity.
As a scientist, activist, teacher, and writer, Dr. Shiva understands that we cannot be healthy without biodiversity. She teaches that we can support the growth and flourishing of millions of species by saving seeds, planting different kinds of fruits, vegetables, and flowers in one plot of soil, and celebrating the amazing variations of life that surround us.
Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi said, “To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves,” reminding us that we are part of a brilliant, giant network of biodiversity.
[CLOSING]
What does biodiversity mean to you? And what other words do you notice today? Write us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com to share your ideas. And join us tomorrow, for another word!
I’ve been your host, Cat Petru. This show is produced by me, with inspiration from my teachers and friends, and support from Matthew Winner. Shout out to Liberation Spring for introducing me to Dr. Shiva’s work. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show is brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
You can check out other podcasts made for kids just like you by visiting akidsco.com.