"To Protect and Defend"

Positives

• The mural depicts recognizable wildlife who are all angry at humans for their pollution habits.
• Students will be able to easily connect with the feelings of the animals, which can foster a conversation about why the animals might feel this way.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should understand human pollution, especially carbon emissions, and how that upsets the balance of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Differentiation

• Students can identify and research the different species depicted and determine how their ecosystems are being impacted by human activity.
• This mural can be used as a social and emotional learning activity to identify emotions and understand emotions even from other species.
• This mural can be shown in tandem with Coral Gardener, a mural that shows positive efforts in the Caribbean islands to restore ocean ecosystems.
• Another resource related to these themes includes Sea of Plastic, a mural that highlights plastic pollution in our oceans.