Teri Burgos-Gutierrez, Corporate Trainer

Teri, a wife to a dentist, and mother to 3 adolescent sons, trains professionals and writes textbooks in Speech. She can be reached at gutierrez_teri@yahoo.com

Saving Mother Earth at Work

“Teach your children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the
children of the earth.”
- Chief Seattle

We need to realize that the workplace plays a significant role and substantial part in environmental concerns by being a role model to our co-workers in ensuring environmental standards. Anyone who shows regard and acts of love for Mother Earth takes the lead and that the rest will follow. Today’s environment issues show that indeed we have to act as fast as we can to heal Mother Earth for it to be able to sustain life forms. Healing the environment must also be multidisciplinary for us to cope with the present crisis being experienced.

Environmental Concerns

I have just finished writing a reading textbook where I have incorporated the need for children to fully understand the current ecological crisis. And for them to fully internalize this learning and their newfound attitudes, they must be capable of doing actions fitted to their levels of growth and development in learning. These actions must reflect love of nature and the environment. These must be concrete enough to recognize that they are approaching a way of life that is focused on environmental care and protection with an attitude of being one with nature.

Environmental Sensitivity at Work

In the corporate world where we are in, we are responsible and duty-bound to do our share in saving Mother Earth. In the comforts of our workplaces, we cannot afford to ignore the fast deterioration of the environment that is threatening creation and nature. We need to instill the necessary environmental sensitivity and attitudes, to take the lead in nature conservation measures and advocacies for the responsibility of its usage, and to create a life focused on saving Mother Earth. Here are but a few simple but essential ways we can do to help save Mother Earth even while at work:

1. Conserve water. Attend to leaking faucets. This is a precious commodity.
2. Turn off the computer, air conditioning units, electric fan etc. when not in use.
3. Observe proper waste management by sorting garbage, identifying the type of waste, and dropping them appropriately.
4. Save paper because you save the trees and the forests as you do.
5. Avoid smoking. This adds to air pollution.
6. Use the staircase when ascending or descending only a few steps.
7. Reduce – Reuse – Recycle waste materials.

Environmental Advocates

Let us develop ourselves to be effective advocates for environmental care and protection even while at work. Let us organize groups that would care for nature. Let us be effective mouthpieces against its abuse.  Let us be strong influences by continuing to conduct earth- saving activities at work, in our homes, and in our immediate communities. Mother Earth is right within our workplaces. She needs us to save her – now more than ever!