Innovation

“A green economy is typically understood as an economic system that is compatible with the natural environment, is environmentally friendly, ecological, and for many groups, is also socially just.”

— Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean

“Green and Blues” is a workshop designed to teach students the values of sustainability and green economics using music as an inspiration and model to learn these principles.

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful tool for social movements.  The Civil Rights Movement, Chicano Rights Movement, Workers Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage and the Anti-Slave Movement all used music to inspire, inform, and communicate their message.  The goal of “Green and Blues” is to use music in the same creative way to promote green economic solutions to achieve social justice.  This would include respect for the future needs of resources, the rights of poor countries to development and the obligation of all developed countries to restrain excessive consumption, equal treatment of women and minorities in access to resources and opportunities, and decent labor conditions as a result to good governance.  Through music, poetry, art, and text we will explore these issues and seek to inspire a renewed collective consciousness to address extreme poverty, climate change and population control, and move towards a more equitable, peaceful and prosperous planet.

“Green and Blues” will focus on the 4 R’s as a foundation to the content explored.  Those would include Refuse, Reuse, Recycle/(up-cycle), and Regulate.  Interactive exercises to learn these concepts will include writing, drawing, reading, and other creative ways to explore the 4 R’s. 

Blues music is the most authentic musical way of storytelling.  As with Harriet Tubman, MLK, Louis Armstrong, and Women and Jazz, “Green and Blues” will explore the history, social-political implications, and the possibilities of self-expression and creative improvisation of the blues.  “Green and Blues” will draw upon the relationships of how sustainability and green economics are a system to address social injustices and how blues music is a system of musical democracy.  Recordings, video, interactive songs, live performance, and composition will be used to engage the students about the blues.

The students will also explore Renewable Energy (wind, solar, geothermal and biomass), Sustainable Transport (alternative fuels, high speed rail and bus rapid transit, car sharing and hybrid,), and Waste Management (recycling, sustainable products, conservation and lower pollution).  All of these principles have wonderful musical relationships that can be creatively explored to better understand the value of green economics.

The scope and depth of the proposed content will be adjusted appropriately for each grade from K-8.  

1. Lesson Plan: What Is Music?
   

CLICK HERE to download “What Is Music?”