This post written by Angela Heagle Kielbowska – Environmental Studies Graduate student and new LSF blogger.
Are you itching to make a difference in the environment but don’t know how? Here are some easy ways that YOU can make a positive change!
Sometimes it can be frustrating to hear about the environmental issues that are facing our world today and not know how to solve these problems. I have come up with a few quick and easy ways for classrooms to take action and help the environment. Teachers – these are easy projects that even your youngest students can do!
1. Go to the worms! Create your own vermicomposter (for younger children this is a great class project and can be used as a classroom composter). A vermicomposter uses red wiggler worms to break down organic waste into fertilizer for a garden. This process reduces the amount of waste that is inefficiently used. Kids will love to get their hands dirty while setting this project up and seeing the change in the organic waste over time. Check out LSF-LST’s website at http://www.ecoleague.ca/en/vermicomposter/overview.php to see videos of vermicomposting in action, request resources on how to conduct this project, and for curriculum links.
2. Plant your own garden! Growing your own organic (pesticide-free) vegetables is not only rewarding, it is also good for the environment because it reduces your dependency upon imported fruits and vegetables. Whether you live on an acre of land or have only a balcony, you can create your own garden. If you have a plot of land, use the soil to plant your own vegetable garden (check out Sabreena and Randall’s blog about their summer vegetable gardens for a sample). Don’t have any land? Try creating a container garden where instead of planting your vegetables in the ground, you plant them in pots of soil. This sort of gardening has become increasingly popular in urban areas where people want to grow their own food but do not have enough land. Teachers, you can do this in your classrooms by setting up a container garden by a window, or by creating a vegetable garden outside in the spring. Use the project to enhance learning in the science curriculum about the life cycle of a plant for earlier grades, and to teach secondary students about photosynthesis. Plus, you can use the compost from your vermicomposter to fertilize your plants!
3. Recycle, recycle, recycle! Although it may seem like old news, it is still a very relevant and useful concept! Teachers and parents, if you find that your children have a lot of leftover paper scraps and craft supplies from past projects, challenge them to create their next project out of only the leftover supplies. Teachers, this can be a great way to introduce a discussion on the importance of recycling to your students. Try starting with brainstorming creative ways to use a particular piece of leftover material in a new way (i.e. a torn piece of construction paper can be cut into squares for a mosaic art work or a paint covered paper plate can be used as part of a 3-D flower) or to turn something already created into something new! Kids will love the challenge and in doing so they will help the environment by not wasting resources.
These are just a few of the many things one person or a small group can do to make a difference in their impact on the environment. Come back later and check the blog for more ideas on how you can help the environment and on other nifty initiatives and events around sustainability!
Do you have ideas and tips on how you and others can help the environment in a small way? Or do you know of a great project or event that is being run to promote sustainability? I’d love to hear about them! Send them to angelaheagle@hotmail.com or add me to twitter and share them (@Angelaheaglekie) and I will post them on my blog!
Angela Heagle, B.A. (Hons.), B.Ed (P/J)