Children’s protective actions in degraded neighborhoods can reveal overlooked community knowledge.

Evidence

One ten year-old boy, George, was particularly passionate about pointing out the piles of old tires and other debris in abandoned factory lots surrounding the school. He was upset and perplexed about these lots, asking questions about why those tires and piles of construction material got dumped in his neighborhood. Listening to stories told by the other children about the time the factory behind the school burned while the children were in school, the teachers and other adults began to talk with the students about ways to clean up those lots and recycle the tires. George spoke up again, quick to point out places where tires had been placed in the openings of storm drains. “Yes! We need to do something, and soon! But, don’t take those tires away! I put those there so my sister wouldn’t fall in with her bike!” Many of the grates and manhole covers have been stolen, and sold as scrap metal. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1865

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: eco-justice mapping curricula should treat ‘illegal dumping’ as evidence of children’s existing place-based care and hidden infrastructure neglect, not just vandalism.
• STORYSTEM: A child’s tire-plugged drain to protect his sister reads as an overlooked act of everyday environmental stewardship and could seed neighborhood-level place fiction.
• XREF: connects to: Learned distrust traps ghetto children even when mobility opportunities appear — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 542

Broader Connections

• Learned distrust traps ghetto children even when mobility opportunities appear #corroborates (0.78) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 542