It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees... We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind. — Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Greenbelt Movement

Throughout this program, children have explored the wonder of the interdependent web of all existence and their place in that web; they have seen that their individual actions have an impact. In this session, children learn the power of working together cooperatively to make a difference by hearing about the Green Sanctuary Program of the Unitarian Universalist Association. They hear the story of how the First Unitarian Church in St. Louis engaged people of all ages to make a difference in their congregation and in the community.

Goals

This session will:

• Foster an ethic of responsibility to take action to nurture and protect the web of life
• Engage participants in cooperative activities and demonstrate the power of working cooperatively with others
• Introduce the UUA's Green Sanctuary program
• Empower participants as leaders in the group
• Reinforce the seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle, "respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Learn what cooperation means, as they play a cooperative game, practice cooperative storytelling, and consider a story about how all ages in a congregation worked together to care for the earth
• Be inspired to "make a difference" by taking individual and collective action to promote the health and well-being of the interdependent web
• Hear how Unitarian Universalists cooperate to help the interdependent web through the UUA Green Sanctuary program
• Perform leadership roles.