Wednesday, July 15, 2009

About One Simple Thing


One Simple Thing is a children's book about conservation and source reduction. Author and veteran SFUSD teacher Paula Ginsburg started the One Simple Thing Project in 1990 in an effort to incorporate environmental education into her classes in a fun and inspiring way. After observing people in cafés grabbing handfuls of napkins and then leaving them unused on the table, she decided to involve her students in finding a way to help people cut back on this kind of mindless wastefulness. She and her students decided to design create and distribute mini-posters with messages urging people to take only the napkins they really will use. Twenty two years later, the One Simple Thing Project is still thriving and inspiring stewardship.


The little posters are currently in about 150 cafés in San Francisco and around the world. . The students are always excited and proud to have their artwork exhibited publicly. This publicity can boost students’ self-esteem, encourage social behavior, and improve academic performance. It’s also a lot of fun.


The book is now available on Amazon and coming soon to SF bookstores, cafes, tourist shops and hopefully libraries.


8 comments:

  1. Am glad you have this website started, having kids that come from poor families involve in this proyect gives them self assurance in a way, as well learning how to care for the enviroment, two thumps up for this

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  2. Thank you for taking the initiative in teaching people from San Francisco to do a small thing that can impact our enviroment, for some people in may not see that way but I know little by little or napking by napking will work in the long run , GREAT JOB

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  3. This book isn't just part of the green trend that we've seen over the last few years, it's a project that started over 20 years ago and has finally made its way to the surface. It's important to support this book and overall project especially at such a crucial point in time where both kids and adults have a lot to learn about their world.

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  4. One Simple Thing is a great resource for teachers to use in their classrooms as a simple way to spark environmental awareness amongst their students. Unfortunately, environmental education is often overlooked in the middle grades; however, as a teacher, I find it necessary to expose my students to literature on local and global environmental issues because they are the future stewards of this world. Therefore, students need to be educated on these issues and what they can do lessen their carbon imprint. The book creatively depicts a project a dedicated teacher started with her students to help lessen the amount of napkins being wasted at coffee shops. The message is simple, but important: Little things when added together make a large impact on the environment.

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  6. I've seen these cute little posters in a few cafes around SF and at Whole Foods in Berkeley! They really do make a difference! You and your students have really made a difference!

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  7. Thanks for noticing and for caring about the planet, Lorelei! Sorry for taking so long to comment. I'm just learning how to manage this blog someone set up for me.

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  8. one simple thing is such a great project to start with your own idea in your community

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