Perhaps “reduce, reuse, recycle” is already a mantra on your school campus. If yours is among the greenest schools, it also weaves sustainability topics into the curriculum and involves students in a school-wide quest to reduce their impact on the environment. But there is always more to do.
On Earth Day, or any day, you can raise green awareness among students, parents, and teachers with fun projects that also build community.
Trash-free lunch
Propose trash-free lunch at your school. Juice boxes, straws, chip bags, and other individual serving packages make packing lunch a breeze. Who would want to give that up? Unfortunately, when families pack children’s lunches this way, they contribute mounds of unnecessary trash to the landfill. Create a contest to see which class collects the least trash at lunch. It can be hard to break the habit of buying products in individual serving packages, but using re-usable plastic containers and a thermos at lunch will instantly decrease your school’s trash.
Movie night
Nothing gets a message across like a good movie. Celebrate the earth and raise environmental awareness with a family movie night at your school, or host an evening screening at your home. Films like “Fern Gully,” “WALL-E,” and “Whale Rider” are poignant and impactful choices for kids. For a parents-only screening that is certain to spark discussion, choose thought-provoking documentaries such as “Food, Inc.,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” or the mesmerizing “Koyaanisqatsi.”
For more recommendations, check out MotherNatureNetwork.com for its list of the best environmental movies of all time.
Plant a garden
If your school doesn’t have a garden yet, volunteer to dig up a corner of dirt and plant one. The plot doesn’t have to be vast, just big enough for kids to take care of. A school garden is the perfect place for them to learn where healthy food comes from.
Check out EdibleSchoolYard.org for resources, tips, and plenty of inspiration about “edible education.”
Swap it out
Kids outgrow their bikes, skates, shoes, and clothes faster than you can say, “landfill.” Don’t toss anything out. Chances are, there is a kid at your school who could use the cleats your daughter outgrew last season. Host a swap meet in the gym or parking lot and ask parents to bring in old clothes or sports equipment their kids aren’t using any more. Anyone who brings in a donation can “swap” his old stuff for an item he needs.
A swap meet helps teach kids that there is still value in used goods and provides a tangible example of the benefits of recycling.
Take a trip
Organize a school or class outing to a wetland, beach, forest, or wildlife sanctuary. Your group can conduct a cleanup and provide care for these environments.
For example, at a wetland, you can pluck plants that are not indigenous, while at the beach you can collect trash. Or, you can simply use the trip to drink in natural beauty. Exposing kids to the wonders of nature is a sure way to encourage them to respect and protect it.
Host a fair
Earth Day is the perfect opportunity for an all-school festival to celebrate the environment, but you can host an environmental fair anytime.
The event can be simple and still be fun and educational. Set up booths where parents host activities for the kids. Feature a craft using recyclable materials to create jewelry or sculpture. Display a solar cooker and teach kids how to make one of their own. Create a game where children guess how many pounds of grain, or how many gallons of water, it takes to create one pound of beef. Host a “crop swap” booth, where people can bring produce that is overabundant in their own garden and trade it for items they need.
The social change group DoSomething.org is hosting the “Green Your School Challenge” again this year to mark Earth Day on April 22 and encourage young people to take the lead on going green. Last year more than 141,000 students from 5,400 schools all over the country worked on projects to save energy, recycle and promote green living, agriculture and education. The challenge is open to anyone 25 and younger, so if kids at your school want to sign up, go to dosomething.org for more information.
Make it official
Form a “green committee” or a green team to help organize events and projects and educate your school community on new green topics. Create a mission statement and a list of objectives that will guide the committee’s work from year to year.
For more ideas about how to green your school, visit websites such as www.greeneducationfoundation.org and www.greenschools.net.
Mary Helen Berg lives in Los Angeles where her elementary school has an enthusiastic, fun-loving green committee.
