Tackling Textile Waste with Creativity

About this episode

The episode discusses how art can be a powerful tool for middle school students to address textile waste and environmental issues.

The theme of Earth Day 2026 is “Our Power. Our Planet.” According to earthday.org, this theme is “not a political statement, but a commitment to stewardship, resilience, and shared accountability — a call for every individual, community, and sector to use their power in service of the planet we all depend on.” For Krissy Ponden, a teacher at The Unquowa School in Fairfield, Connecticut, that sector is middle school students — and that power is art. Last summer, with a $5,000 Fund for Teachers...

People in this episode

Host: Carrie Caton

Guest: Krissy Ponden

Topics covered

• textile waste
• art
• environmental stewardship
• education
• middle school
• creativity

Keywords

• textile waste
• art
• Earth Day
• environment
• education
• middle school
• creativity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Unquowa School, earthday.org

Places: Fairfield, Connecticut

More episodes of Fund for Teachers - The Podcast

• Removing Barriers to Learning Through Language · June 12, 2026 · 26 min
• Remembering the Holocaust through Power of Place · January 25, 2026 · 35 min
• Performing with Play · December 9, 2025 · 35 min
• Tilling the Soil - A Thanksgiving Episode · November 10, 2025 · 29 min
• Returning to Retrieve What Was Forgotten · October 3, 2025 · 34 min
• Making the Path by Walking · July 28, 2025 · 29 min