NOTE: This is a one-day workshop for teachers of any grade that could stand-alone or be conducted on the second/third day of a two/three day workshop if combined with the other attached workshop material. This is the most practical of the workshops and introduces ten key activities which seek to involve the whole school in exploring holistic ways to discover and find solutions to the environmental problems we face today using our classrooms, campus and homes as our places of learning.
Environmental Education for the Whole School
By Chris Summerville
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Introduction
( I hope that yesterday’s activities and discussions helped us to realize that . . . )
Every action and choice we make in our daily lives has an environmental impact and though most of us are aware to some extent of the environmental problems that are increasingly threatening our planet, we are still not well informed about how these problems are actually connected to us and what alternatives we have available to try and solve them.
These two points are actually what makes environmental education so engaging and
exciting for many students since more than any other subject what they are actually
studying is their daily lives, their school and immediate surroundings and being asked to utilize what they learn to find alternatives to solve problems that they now realize are directly affecting them and their families. I have found that students love being ‘eco-detectives’ since it constantly involves a sense of discovery about familiar things that most of their friends, parents and yes, even teachers, are not yet aware of!
As environmental educators we are lucky enough to have the chance to actually enter
into our students’ lives more than ever before because our teaching tools become the
music, movies, cosmetics and toiletries, food, advertisements, sports, clothes, shops and
hobbies that already surround and are meaningful to them. In this sense, the
environmental perspective of our subjects offers us a chance to truly share, exchange and
learn together with our students and even for them to be our teachers as once we have set
them off on their ‘eco-search’ they will make discoveries within their world which will
constantly surprise us! We are merely introducing and exposing them to a ‘new’ way of looking at their surroundings and the things they use and enjoy after we have shown them the shortcomings from an environmental sense of their present lifestyles. And believe me, this alternative world that is local, organic, fair/ethical, cruelty-free, and sustainable, which still lies hidden since it is founded on environmental principles in a world where profit comes first and all else is incidental, is a truly exciting and creative one with products and activities that come with a story of people, place and culture and are usually tastier, healthier, more comfortable, durable and beautiful. As an educator I feel that this is so wonderfully appropriate since surely in a very deep and profound way environmental education is truly to help make the future better for all young people and what could be more empowering than to start them off as the leaders of such changes that we all agree are necessary right now!
Let me just show you a brief advertisement made by the Centre for Science and Environment to illustrate what I am talking about
Show 90 sec. CSE Public Service Advertisement.
(Introduce) I am showing this brief advertisement on ‘Rainwater Harvesting’ not so much for the topic but as a metaphor for the simple ‘flip’ of consciousness I believe must take place for people to start thinking environmentally.
'Eco-Consciousness Flip'
(After)Would anyone like to share their thoughts about what you saw?
(My comment): Umbrellas are used to ‘protect’ us from rain. In the process, they shield us from our surroundings and create a barrier that cuts us off from the people around. When the umbrella flips and starts collecting water, people spontaneously lower their umbrellas and expose themselves to each other and nature. Others start using other methods to collect water using what they have at hand and in the process a whole community is brought together in a joyful and creative act that utilizes rather than wastes a natural resource.
To assist with this flip in consciousness, I have created a number of classroom activities connected with the students daily lives that you can find on my website. They are completely student-based and will engage most students of Grades 5-7 in any class you find room to include them for between 45 min. to an hour. Although they were specifically created for intermediate- level second language learners of any age group up to university, most of them can be easily adapted to be enjoyed as useful teaching tools for native English speakers in the grades I mentioned. You can also find a host of creative and contemporary environmental activities for young people on the websites of environmental NGOs and government environmental ministries and agencies such as the EPA in the United States.
2. Stepping forward…
What I would like to do for the rest of the day is briefly introduce ten activities that you as subject teachers could choose from to introduce to your students and/or school. It will take about three hours to introduce and discuss the first five ideas. I would then like to ask you to choose those that you feel would be most appropriate for your school and we will spend the hour before lunch working in small groups of different subject teachers brainstorming and planning ways to initiate and develop these activities You know your school best and what is possible considering all the controlling factors of time, funds, space, teacher interest and most important, the support and cooperation of the principal, administration and to some degree the parents. Notice I have not mentioned the students here because I am almost sure that if you introduce these activities properly planned with the positive attitude and passion that I am sure most of you have in your subject classroom the students will not only join in with great enthusiasm but they will soon be leading the show along! After lunch, I will introduce the five remaining activities and we will proceed as we did this morning.
*Please note that I have further support documentation for these activities on my website in the form of PDF files, Power Point presentations and videos based on my work at Sahyadri School as well as recommended websites, NGOs, books, magazines manuals and videos. What I will do is merely introduce an outline of most of the activities and see if we can come up with some valuable additions to the material that already exists!
Let me show you what these activities will be addressing:
- Greening the Classroom.
- a. Developing an environmental infrastructure at our school. b. Using this infrastructure as a learning/teaching tool for the whole school.
- Campus Eco Audits (Water, Air, Land, Energy, Waste).
- a. Green Maps around the world b. Creating a Campus Green Map.
- Starting a Campus Organic Gardening Program. b. Using the garden as a learning/teaching tool for the whole school.
- The Food I Eat: What? How? Where? When? Why?
- Greening our Purchases: a. Eco-Advertising. b. How Green are my Cosmetics and Toiletries? c. School Eco-Stall.
- Eco- Footprints: Measuring our personal environmental impact
- Climate Change Challenge (Campus Treasure Hunt)/Personal Emissions Calculator
- My holidays: Loving Nature to Death?
So, let’s begin!
- Greening the Classroom.
All this talk about our subjects, daily lives and surroundings has reminded me where we
as teachers spend much of our time??? THE CLASSROOM!
It is all too easy and common to teach about all the environmental problems we are facing
and bring up all these lovely idealistic slogans about ‘We love the Earth’ and how we
must do something but then to ignore the very place we are sharing most of this
information. Then suddenly a 4th grader asks you ‘Sir, what happens to your pens after
you throw them away’? and a 5th grader comments about how your notebook doesn’t
look like his which is made from recycled paper or a group of eight graders gather around
to tell you that all the lights and fans were left on in the class that you just happened to
have finished teaching in…
I must add an important comment here. At such times I thank the students for helping me to be more aware and explain to them that such questions and reminders given in a non-confrontational way are an essential part of assisting others along the ‘green’ path. I constantly emphasize that we are all at various stages on this path and that it is not a competitive but a cooperative one where individuals become conscious of different actions they can take at different times with the help of their friends.
Even if we don’t bring environmental issues into our subjects so much, surely we can
green our classroom? HOW?
(Teachers brainstorm in groups and then share their ideas) Add those listed below if
they do not come up:
- Scrap paper supply for taking notes. b. Garbage separation (including biodegradable). c. Promote use offountain or refillable pens. d. Order unbleached, recycled or non-tree fibre notebooks. e. Air conditioners fans and lights off or on low with doors and windows open whenever possible f. Students keeping the interior and surroundings of their classroom clean (with teacher’s assistance). g. Install CFL bulbs. h. Maintain an Eco-Notice board. i. Plant and nurture potted plants, flowers and vegetables, if possible, in or around the classroom. j. Install a small vermi-compost bin for biodegradable waste to supply compost for plants. k. Keep a supply of environmental magazines and books in the cupboard. (OTHERS?)
- STEP 2: There are of course further steps that we can take along with the school administration if we are involved with the design or refurbishment of our classrooms. These involve the placement of windows, the type of paints, finishers, varnishes and sealers used, the flooring or carpeting choices, the selection of desks, the chalk or markers we use and very importantly, the cleaners and polishes that are applied in the cleaning process. It is becoming increasingly possible to find products on the market that are made from non-toxic, chemical and lead-free, water and vegetable rather than oil-based, biodegradable materials that are sustainably sourced. This is our chance to become ‘eco-detectives’ and in the process contribute to the betterment of our student’s and the planet’s health!
- Another important comment to add here. It is of course very important to decide exactly ‘How’ we are going to introduce this infrastructure into our class. All at once or gradually? By telling, suggesting, or asking the students? And how are we going to make sure it is maintained without it becoming a drag or forced?
(SHARE OPINIONS & IDEAS)
I would suggest that we ask the students to brainstorm just as we did on ways we could green our classrooms and to make sure that all the students understand the rationale for undertaking each of the actions. You could then have a vote (either by show of hands or paper) on whether the class agrees to follow each action as best they can and to help their peers to do so. Again, and this may go without saying, it is essential that we as teachers ‘Walk our Talk’ and involve ourselves on an equal footing with the students by participating in the activities. Let’s explore the next suggestion now:
- Take a few minutes to brainstorm how all of these could be used in various ways as teaching tools in our subject classroom. What issues are they connected with and in what subjects do these issues come up? (Share together)
I have found that we often forget about the second step and that as a result various parts of the infrastructure that was set up with such eagerness at the start of the semester gradually become forgotten about in the business of the semester and eventually cease to function at all. By constantly using them as examples or for experiments and observation in our teaching we can help to keep the students’ attention focused on them as essential ingredients of our class’s learning and living experience.
d. The next step in this process is of course how to introduce what we are doing in our classroom in a non-threatening and creative way to teachers and students in other classes? (SHARE OPINIONS & IDEAS)
Suggestions: Assembly presentation or School Notice board display ‘Our Green Classroom’, inviting teachers and/or students to our class on an ‘open-class’ day, asking teachers in other classes if some members of our class could come and give a presentation on the topic. Creating a display of alternative ‘eco-products’ that can be used in the classroom highlighting their advantages and noting the negative environmental and health impacts of those being used at present.
2. a. Developing an environmental infrastructure at our school. b. Using this infrastructure as a learning/teaching tool for the whole school.
a. The next step is of course to begin to create a ‘green’ infrastructure as much as
possible around our school. All too often students may be doing something green in
the classroom but the existing infrastructure of the school does not support it or allow it to proceed to the next stage.
Could you share with me now some of the environmental structures and processes that already exist on your campus.
(Prompt (if necessary): Look at the list we made of ideas for greening the classroom and consider their next step after they leave the classroom where this is applicable. Consider the following key words: Transportation, Energy, Water, Air, Waste, Land, Food.
Now could you brainstorm on any environmental structures that are not presently in place but that would improve the environmental performance of your school considering your location, costs, practicality and assuming the cooperation of the school principal and administration.
Offer to give the participants a short break during which they can form
groups and tour their campus grounds making a list of possible structures.
(LIST) Add the following if they are not already in place or do not come up:
a. Garbage Separation b. Composting/Vermi-Composting c. Rainwater Collection
d. Greywater separation e. Solar heaters/panels f. Drip Irrigation g. Biogas, h. Rooftop Gardens i. Organic Gardening j. Farming, Tree, Plant, Hedge and vine planting k. (Bunds, if in a hilly rural area) l. Car pooling m. School bicycles n. Drop taps o. Dual flush system on toilets/Dry composting toilets.
b. O.K. Just to give you some confidence and an idea of what can be done with the cooperation of the principal and school administration, I would like to show you the environmental infrastructure we were able to start putting into place at the Sahyadri School Campus in Maharashtra over the course of a year AND just as importantly, the means I devised to expose the entire school body, including parents, to the working and overall purpose of this infrastructure and to hopefully start teachers thinking about how the various structures could be used as teaching tools in the subject classroom.
a. PDF Presentation of Student-Led Campus Eco-Tour.
Campus Eco-Tour (Edited)
Campus Eco-Tour (Complete)
b. View the ‘Teacher’s Questionnaire’ at the end.
Teacher Questionnaire
3. ‘How Green is my School’: Campus Eco-Audits (Water, Air, Land, Energy, Waste).
I would like to share with you now a wonderful resource developed by the ‘Centre for Science and Environment’ of New Delhi, India. It is their ‘Do-it-yourself’ Manual “designed as a tool to help school communities to audit their use of natural resources. It then provides the methodology to assess themselves as environmental managers. Finally, it suggests ways to ‘plug the gaps’ to help make the school more environmentally sustainable.” In India, it is part of a contest titled ‘Green Schools Programme’ in which hundreds of both rural and urban schools have been participating over the past few years. For more information about this programme and to join the network of participating schools around India, please go their website at:
Introduce the participants to some selected sections of the manual, emphasizing its
holistic approach, how it allows students to use many of the skills they have learnt in their subject classrooms, (especially Math) and the step-by-step documentation for collecting and analyzing data set out in the manual starting with suggestions on setting up an audit team and ending with how to complete the self-assessment score card for each of the five parameters. Inform participants of the regular two-day workshops offered by CSE to assist teachers in understanding and implementing this programme (which I attended in May, 2008) but emphasize that the manual is self-explanatory and that teachers have immediate access to CSE’s educational unit once their school is registered in the programme in case any assistance is needed in conducting the audit.