Enviroschool Zero Waste Learning inquiry ( NZC Levels 1-4)
Suggested activity. NB: Those in each section are not in a sequential order.ZW=Enviroschools Zero Waste theme area.
NB: All video clips should be watched before showing to students to determine suitability.
Zero Waste
Key concepts: /
- Waste is a human invention.
- Looking after Papatūᾱnuku-how our current waste management creates problems.
- Designing for zero waste.
Action Learning Cycle StageIDENTIFY
Key Questions:
What do you know and feel about waste?
Where can waste be found in and near the school?
What can you learn about waste?-see key concepts.
How much waste do you create?
What types of waste are in your school?
What would you change if you could?
Is this how you want it to be? / ….
- Why should we reduce waste going to landfill :
- Bury It-ZW Pg 378. Students bury waste collected from around the school to lead students to discover meaning of term biodegradable/ organic inorganic. Record sheet on Pg 379.Should be done early on as this is a continuing activity over time. Students could be encouraged to make predictions about what will happen and time scales. Followed up withDig It Up- ES Pg 387. For reflective questions. Follow up with Timeline activity from Create Your own Eden, part 2make visual representation of how long things take to rot. (Can be adapted for all ages.)(
- Leaf Litter Hunt-ZW Pg 386. Outside activity to examine decomposition and organic concepts.
- Natural Cycles –ZW Pg 388. Investigation leading on from decomposition cycle to plant, insect, animal lifecycles interpreted through art and drama.
- Listen –ZW-Pg 389/391. Poem to introduce concept of waste destroying the land/Papatuanuku. Lot of extension activities exploring landfill and industrial waste dumping around New Zealand and the world.
- Blooms Taxonomy: Why reduce waste? Pg32Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart
- Visit a local landfill to consider where waste from the school and home goes.Fact sheet and activities discussing landfill, Pg 15/16.Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart
- Hot Spot Questionnaire ZW-Pg 382. Students design questions to ask people in school community to gain a picture of people’s perceptions about waste around the school. Useful in ascertaining who are the key people who can help when planning to take action.
- Litter Survey-ZW Pg 383/4, includes template. Vital activity to determine where litter is around school, where it may come from and current waste management in order to plan action.
- Waste Brainstorm-ZW Pg 381. Includes sorting and classifying types of waste found around school. Useful in assessing which types of waste pupils are familiar with.
- Carry It with you-ES ZW 385. Experiential activity where pupils carry the rubbish they generate with them for a whole day and consider how it could be disposed of. Also, My Waste, Pg5-7Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart
- Supermarket Sleuth-ZW Pg 392. Examining packaging for examples of recycling etc- can be good homework activity.
- Also see for examples of best and worst packaging.
- For older students (yr 5+) Consumerism,explores how consumer choices impacts waste production. Pg8,Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart
- For older students (yr 8) Watch short 20 minute film about consumerism
- Waste Audit-ZW Pg 395(See your Enviroschools facilitator for help.)Templates and instructions for collecting data about the school waste stream which can then be entered into the Enviroschools Measuring change tool; useful to monitor changes in waste output and provides graphical representation of data. (Helpful if school caretaker or property manager could have imput too.)
- Find out what is happening now to the waste at school:
- Use De Bono’s six thinking hat’s to consider the waste audit results, Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart-Pg 32,
- Tony Ryan Thinkers Keys Reduce, Reuse, Recycle-For quick starter, homework or extension activities exploring the 3R’s. Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart -Pg 29/31
EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES
How else could it be?
What have others done?
What are all the actions we could take?
What are our priorities for change?
How will we decide? /
- The 3R’s in your School and community-ZW Pg 393. Use local contacts to see local examples of 3 R’s
- Visit schools /Community gardens/use Enviroschool scrapbooks to see examples of composting and worm farming. Invite local experts to visit the school to share their knowledge.Create your own Eden website has complementary fun activities such as word Finds, Spot the difference and worm Maze puzzles.EG: “I have, You have” game to learn about recycling organic material:
- De Bono’s six thinking Hats to consider different viewpoints on waste,Wise Up on Waste, Be Resource Smart-Pg 33,
- Explore successful ways of recycling and ways to save money by watching video clips: (Chpts 2-12)
- What options are available to recycle in our locality? What does it cost?Visit a local recycle centre. How does a recycle centre work?
- What happens after our recycling is collected?
- What happens to recycled glass?
- How is paper reused?
- How can we resuse…give pupils 5 minutes to think of as many different uses as they can for an object they may otherwise throw away, Eg; empty crisp packets. Look at this link of empty plastic bottles filled with inorganic rubbish for inspiration: Also:
TAKE ACTION
What changes do we want?
What actions will bring about those changes?
What do we need to do to take action?
Which designs will work best?
Who else do we need to involve?
Who will do what and when? /
- See the green “Take Action” part of the kit, pg209, for an action guide and a selection of action tools such as planning and evaluating guides for sustainable design, indicators and action planners.
- Generate a big question and sub question to research and explore.Example of big question: How can our school reduce its waste going landfill by 15%? Example of a Sub Question: How can we recycle our food scraps?
- How do we compost our waste? Easy to read poster-
- How do we turn our food scraps into fertilizer/use a EM bokashi system:Easy to read poster-
- How do we build a worm farm?Easy to read poster-
How to clips for making composting , worm farm made for kids by kids:
- How can we reuse our rubbish? How to make bags from newspapers:
- How can we encourage others to reduce, reuse and recycle? It’s in the Bag ES-Pg 380includes writing a guide for others to follow the 3 R’s.
- Make animations to promote waste minimisation.Watch this short animation, made from recycled materials, encouraging recycling:
- What is it possible for us to change?
Fact sheet for zero free lunches:
Free guide to down load for teachers and schools wanting to become waste free:
- How can companies reduce packaging? Become involved in the awards process with unpack it:
- What is e waste and e-cycling? Unit for Levels 1 and 2 focussing on what electronics are and methods of recycling them, includes posters and useful information for students and teachers:
- How can we get rid of our e waste safely?Curriculum unit for levels 3 and 4 focussing on life cycle and manufacturing processes of electronics in order to make the correct choices for recycling.
- Take action. , Session 4. Page 19 (Shows curriculum links and key competencies.) Suggested activities for taking action and an action plannerand
- Create a school/community-wide culture of waste minimisation.
REFLECT ON CHANGE
What have we done and what have we achieved?
How did the project go?
What changes and benefits have come about because of our actions?
How will we celebrate our achievements?
Where to from here? /
- Use a PMI to answer key questions. What have we achieved? Have we changed our behaviour?
- Use activities and methods in the Reflect on Change part of the Enviroschools kit as tools to evaluate and help answer these questions and decide on the next steps.(pg 251)
- What are the features of waste management you want to keep using at your school? Are there any more change you want to make? What will you next steps be? How can we keep it going?
- Which changes were most successful? How do you know this?
- Chart to monitor composting systems:
- Have we reduced costs for waste removal? Repeat waste audit and update Measuring change web tool to graph and monitor changes.
- Have we educated our community about waste minimisation?
- How can we communicate our results: media, newsletters, assembly, blogs.
- How can we celebrate?
Lindsey Fish 2013