A great idea. We so often say ”children are our future”, but it is easily forgotten in our daily lives of deadlines and commitments. My experience is that children when taken seriously will respond positively to the messages about sustainability and try to implement their new knowledge in their lives and actions, — often to the dismay of the adults around them. We have about 3000 guests a year in our visitors’ center at Bofa, and around 2500 of them are children, so it is not completely unchartered land to me.
As I have already mentioned, the most important thing is to treat children with the respect they deserve, to meet them at their level without being condescending. Give them a chance to wonder and to draw their own conclusions.
You mentioned the experience of seeing the adult cleaning up with the child. Although the influence of the coming generations will be stronger as they mature, the impact will be felt immediately as your example illustrates. I often hear people say things like “Now that my son has heard about recycling at Bofa, I have to sort the waste or he will protest”. When that happens, I feel like we succeeded.
It is of course fine to seek inspiration in other works, but my advice to will be to make sure, it is your own voice and your own values that penetrates every page. You have the ideas, motivation and knowledge. I am sure the results will be inspiring for coming generations.
Good luck.
