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.