Droplet and Wagtail’s Tailing’s Tale is a children’s book that encourages children and adults to become an active part of the solution to the problems posed by extractivism and environmental harm. Read the book below!
When a Wagtail bird lands by a river’s edge, a tiny water droplet warns them not to take a drink – the water has been contaminated with mining waste! This is how Droplet and Wagtail’s Tailing’s Tale begins. The book uses the conversation between the titular characters as a way to introduce the concept of mine waste (known as tailings in the mining industry) and the massive damage it can do to local water resources, wildlife, and human communities. It also offers activities to engage and encourage the reader in taking action and becoming part of the solution.
Droplet and Wagtail’s Tailings Tale is a social sensitization initiative tackling the environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining extractivism. The need for sensitization and knowledge dissemination regarding ming from alternative points of view that are based on historical and scientific evidence has become crucial considering the intense activity of the mining lobby to create “a favourable state of opinion” that suppresses all the negative impacts caused by extractivism. This programme is the result of the active engagement of environmental educators, primary, secondary and university teachers, environmental activists and historians. By applying the views of education for sustainability (ESD), the programme’s goal is to generate a critical and reactive attitude towards the vision of mining that both the mining lobby and the administration seek to generalize (“Galicia is a mine”). This attitude is to empower society in the defence of its land, health and future.
Centro de Saberes para Sustentabilidade
You can purchase copies of the book in paperback here.
Watch our book launch event here.