What A Box Of Crayon Can Teach You About Environment & Sustainable Development

There has been enough conversation about sustainable living. We have developed a lot over time to suit our ever-evolving needs. A lot of resources are used on the road to progress. However, resources are limited. With our needs increasing by the day, the rate at which we are using the resources in also increasing resulting in its depletion.

If we are to continue on this path, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to say that we might exhaust all of our resources. How will our future generations survive then? At this juncture, we must rethink our actions and adopt sustainable living.

A school teacher used a perfect example to convey the same to her students:

One day, a school teacher called students of her school for a little activity. These students were then divided into two groups. One group consisted of students from the age of 12 years and above. The other groups had children studying in the primary section.

First, the group of older children was called in by the teacher. She asked them to draw whatever they felt like. Drawing sheets and a collection of bright, attractive colours was provided to them. The group dived straight into the task at hand. But before they started, the teacher placed a small, albeit an important condition before them. They were told that they may use as many colours as they wanted, but they must keep in mind the fact that whatever colour they use, cannot be used by the next group. Hence, they must practice utmost restraint.

In the beginning, the children were careful, using colours judiciously, but as time passed, caution was thrown into the air. They went to draw beautiful sketches using as many as colours as they could. In the end, each child of the group came up with beautiful, colourful drawings.

Next came the turn of the next group. The younger students were even more enthusiastic. They unleashed their artistic sides. The end result, however, was not very pleasing. The pictures had just brown, black and grey. They seemed lifeless and dull. It was because all the brighter colours were used up by the other group.

Post this activity, the teacher addressed the students. She said, “The colours are the resources we have on earth. It is enough for us to sustain, but however, we humans tend to get greedy and overuse them, not understanding that our younger generation would have nothing if we were to be so reckless.”

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