31. 44. Buy green – Do your research on what products are green and good for the environment before you buy. 34. After a rainstorm, water is rushing right off of nearby buildings and pavement and back into the local waterways, bringing a whole lot of pollution with it. Our students brought in coins in order to raise money to adopt an endangered animal from the Detroit Zoo. Contributions by our friends at The Green Campus Initiative: 28. 1. Buy local – See if there are any farmers’ markets or thrift stores in your area to use in place of malls and supermarkets. The sightings of plastics everywhere is an evidence of this. Want to get a clearer idea of what you’re really breathing? 47. This will also help maintain an optimum budget. Another way to support your school’s “going green” effort is to get your art teacher involved. Coordinate a whole school project that will benefit your career and make your school a more environmentally friendly place with all of the hassle and planning removed. A Green School is a school that creates a healthy environment conducive to learning, while saving energy, environmental resources, and money. Explain how everything gets crushed down and squished together, so that even things that would normally decompose, like food, have a hard time decomposing. Avoid buying bottled water and sending children to school with it. Instead of buying paper plates and plastic cups, use compostables instead – Biodegradable eating and party items are much more eco-friendly. Ideas include: My choices make a difference. Have some more ideas for this list? Go digital – Opt out of receiving snail mail, opt in for email alerts instead. Even if you don’t wish to make a career out of it, many schools offer minors or concentrations so you can learn more about it. With many farmers using chemicals, it also affords the opportunity to eat healthily. Buy organic foods and eco-friendly materials. Schedule your errands – scheduling errands will reduce the amount of time you have to spend moving around. Buy a set of silverware and plates to use whenever possible and opt for dishtowels that can be reused instead of paper. Birds scavenge wastes, pollinate plants, and search for food in the garden. Visit conservation parks/sites – experiences in conserved areas teach you new things that keep you in tune with nature. It will also help organize your trips into a chain of activities you will be able to achieve n less time. Read up on how University of California is now #incharge. Send Reusable Water Bottles. Display it prominently in your classroom. Download the PDF from here. These actions have an effect on humans and the Earth: 1. Buy used instead of new, reuse instead of throw out, reduce our waste, we all can do our part. Then get your creative juices flowing by reading our list of 30 sustainability project ideas. 15. Use real dishes and towels – Plastic or paper cutlery, plates, and towels are wasteful. Hands-On Bulletin Boards: Geography, Math, and More, Hands-On Bulletin Boards: Focus on Literacy, My March Top Ten List: Nonfiction Reading Resources. Buying used clothes from a local thrift store means you’re eliminating the need for all that resource use! 53. We can cut down on our need to “show-off” our wealth. Learn more about your local watershed – Turn this into a teaching opportunity by learning about where a school’s water comes from, where it goes in storm sewers when it leaves the site, and how that impacts the local environment. Beth Newingham shares her favorite mini-lessons, reproducibles, and interactive online resources that will both challenge enthusiastic writers and motivate reluctant ones. 12. When thinking about how to improve our campus sustainability, many of us are left with a feeling of “what can I do for the environment?”. While it's certainly worthwhile to use Earth Day to help students understand the importance of “going green,” it’s also crucial to encourage students to be environmentally conscious throughout the year. See more ideas about school garden, garden, garden projects. Going Green at School. Going “Green” Resources From Scholastic. Put the kids in charge. We can help you WOW your current and future students by planning one project that will be sure to create some buzz on campus. You can use old items as ornamentals within the house. Share examples from other Green Schools to inspire your students to design and complete an action project to improve their environment and health. 14. Last year, master composters from SOCWA came to our school to teach 4th grade students about organic composting. By using this site, you consent to the use of cookies. Made in the USA of US and imported parts. Also, when it is necessary to send home a hard copy of a note, only the youngest students or only one student of a family gets a copy. © 2020 Sunbolt | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | California Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | (267) 419-8496. Lesser driving time means lesser emission. In this post, I will share a variety of projects and activities that my own school has implemented to become an official “green school” in Michigan. Renewable energy is just fun! An increased bird population is not only pleasant for the eyes and ears, but is also important to our ecosystem. Our school hosted a solar-powered cookout last fall. Avoid this by planning your meals ahead of time and bringing lunch to campus with you in reusable storage containers. 54. Purchase reusable bags – Not only are these great for groceries, they can also be used to carry other classroom items and supplies. 20. Solar outdoor classrooms have become a new trend that many schools and businesses are implementing! Check your lighting – CFL or LED bulbs not only provide a better quality of light, but they also use less electricity. The following universities have made a tremendous effort to Go Green with The Sunbolt: Here’s wishing you and your campus a happy & sustainable Earth Day 2021! While students are plugging their noses, teachers can point out all the items in the landfill that don't have to be there — cardboard, newspapers, old food, perfectly good-looking furniture, old computers, etc. 4. However, the use of renewable fuels has begun to increase in recent years due to the high price of oil and natural gas. Burning off of waste is still commonplace as well. 1–2, Classroom recycling. Following the success of the emailed newsletter, our school started using the email blast to disseminate other information to parents, including field trip information, fan-outs, PTO meeting updates, volunteer requests, etc., saving even more paper. Sale of Energy Saver Electric Bulbs; The concept of going green is all about saving energy and making use of an ecosystem friendly gadgets and materials et al. Earth Day Ideas and Activities. 3. For instance, some students created musical rumba shakers from drinkable yogurt containers donated by families in the school community. Participate in International Walk to School Day. Since 2008, the program has been successful in bringing green practices to school systems that want to make the case, through proven results, for staff capacity to address sustainability. Be an environmental bookworm – If possible; try not to buy new textbooks. Our school is trying to reduce our use of resources by going paperless. Using strips of outdated newspaper, they made a hard papier-mâché shell around the yogurt containers. Do your part! You’ll be turning wind into energyin no time with this turbine project. Just last week I saw a group of students picking up … Their helpful tool kit provides actions schools can take such as using daylight instead of overhead lighting, weatherizing windows and doors, and installing Energy Star appliances. Going green and keeping the land clean, keeps the environment serene. Workers at the farm can show them how the carrots grow underground, and are pulled up, cleaned, and cut up. Training custodians on effective cleaning processes is essential for helping schools keep kids healthy in school, and achieve their highest potential. Raise funds for air quality meters. You’ll be eating a more balanced diet, and helping to reduce emissions.If you’re in the habit of eating meat regularly, and want to shift your habits, start small: Try your next burrito without chicken or skip the pepperoni on your next pizza slice. Buy the “ugly” fruit and vegetables at the market, because most of the time they go unsold and are thrown away. Some 2nd grade students made cityscapes out of donated magazines after looking at examples of cityscapes done by famous artists. It’s a good way to learn. 32. 35. You want to work towards a green university, but don’t know what sustainability projects you could do? Turning wind and sunshine into power for your home and devices is an economical and interesting way to lower your carbon footprint. 1. For more information, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Green Campus Initiative, The LEED-AP or LEED Green Associate credential. Try to go vegetable-forward in your meal choices, and save your meat eating for one or two days per week, or for weekends. (508) 272-9653 3 Village Green North #311 PMB 191 Plymouth, MA 02360 Email: info@projectgreenschools.org International Walk to School Day … 45. The want for more items which may not necessarily be needed makes people acquire new things that end up as waste in no distant time.Repairing old or faulty items may help prevent this. In 2009, renewable energy, from sources like the sun, wind, and water, only provided about eight percent of the energy used in the United States. Green Schools National Network (GSNN) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works with educators, government and non-governmental organizations and agencies, and private partners to create broad-based initiatives and successful strategies aimed at fostering healthy, sustainable K-12 schools across the United States. Buy reusable Tupperware and water bottles to use daily for lunches, or carrying home leftovers instead of a “to-go” container. Apply for a Green Schools Fellowship – The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council places three-year sustainability directors in school districts through its Fellowship Program. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; It’s not hard going Green. Green Back to School Ideas Reader Contribution . Get nested containers that fit into one another to save space in your backpack. They help our garden habitat by eating greenflies, caterpillars, and snails: a huge benefit for the organic gardener. You get to conserve a lot of energy when you switch off unused light bulbs and electronics at home and in offices. The art teacher at my school, Katie Hosbach, planned neat projects using entirely recycled materials. This magnificent school campus in Bali is made entirely from sustainably harvestedbamboo. Instead, find a nice, reusable bottle (can be found at any pharmacy) to refill throughout the day. It’s not.” – Lorax, Contributions from the U.S. Green Building Council. Students understood that since they are reusing the magazines for an art project instead of using brand new construction paper, they were helping reduce the amount of paper being used and recycled, which saves energy. Let’s cut our carbon footprint! Make the most out of your laundry – Wash your clothes only when you have a full load, switch to cold water wherever possible and hang items to dry instead of using the dryer. (Thanks to Liz Waters, an awesome 4th grade teacher at my school, for sharing this idea. Be conscious of nature – people get so busy every day chasing a life without the thought of the earth. The University of California, Riverside reprogrammed their campus with Sunbolt’s CampusXL workstations. 46. 25. Connect with your office of sustainability to see what practices are already in place on campus and see how you can help make an impact. If you are like me and are not ready to take an actual field trip to a landfill, you can find many videos about how landfills work by doing a Google search. Recycle – One of the oldest tricks in the “sustainability book” is also one of the most effective. 19. … Our school purchased a stuffed plush Grevy's zebra, which sits on display in the main hallway for everyone to see. The Wolf Cub Scout group made up of students at my school constructed birdhouses as a den project and created a birdhouse habitat around our playground. Let's look at some fun, thought-provoking boards with a spotlight on quotes, vocabulary, and more. Promote environmental awareness on April 22 and throughout the year with lesson plans, classroom projects, and more. Buy new things/Replace old materials only when necessary – ostentatious living is rather a major problem to conservation. 3. Carpool to work, or events with others instead of taking your own car. Through the use of posters, word-of-mouth, and “commercials” on our televised morning announcements, the students in this club have made the staff and students at Hill School well aware of what materials can and cannot be recycled. Shop at thrift stores – Buying gently used clothes is the perfect way to keep your style fresh while conserving resources, not to mention preserving the funds in your wallet.Producing new clothes requires lots of energy and resources, such as water, and most clothes are made overseas, which creates an even greater carbon footprint. 7. There are many ways to describe a green school, but all share a commitment to environmental sustainability. 33. We use cookies to ensure the best experience on our website. Dispose of waste properly – As simple as this is, many people find it hard to drop their waste at the designated disposal sites. Even the most colorful, artistic of bulletin boards will lose their luster if they are one-sided and don't invite interaction. Find other uses for them or gift them out to those in need. Monitor your energy and water bills – Tracking energy and water use in school buildings involves monitoring, recording, reviewing and analyzing bills and data on a regular basis so that you can identify how energy is used, and reduce costs and consumption. 9–12, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Train custodians on green cleaning – Green cleaning products and approaches protect health and promotes better learning environments, reducing environmental and chemical hazards that negatively affect childhood growth and development. Get involved with community clean up efforts. It was a big hit and a great example of the power of natural energy. Use less water – Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth and cut down on shower time as much as possible to conserve water. Tags: , At 8 years old, I thought the first day of school was a holiday. Participate in a Green Apple Day of Service project – The Green Apple Day of Service brings together volunteers, parents, teachers, students, companies, and local organizations to contribute to sustainability projects in schools that create a lasting impact. ), 8. TM ® & © 2016 Scholastic Inc. All Rights Reserved. When the teachers, students, and custodians at our school noticed the great amount of paper being thrown away every day, we knew it was time to make a change. Learn how to Host a Solar Cookout for Earth Day! Add solar powered tables to hot spots on your campus! Michigan Green Schools receives no remuneration for this comment. View not found. 51. 16. 11. On this day, all students pledge to walk or ride their bike to school. Water. 50. Let us know and we may feature your suggestion. Global Citizenship – Energy. Grow your food – creating simple vegetable gardens in your backyard will go a long way in cutting down money spent on groceries. If … Recycling Center: For a similar (and slightly less stinky) field trip, take your class on a tour of a local recycling center. We are pros at recycling our construction paper, catalogs, envelopes, scrap paper, and more, thanks to our recycling club. International Walk to School Day (and Bike to School Day) promotes a healthy lifestyle and encourages students and parents to think about the effects that cars have on the environment. A huge benefit for the organic gardener they made a hard papier-mâché around! In coins in order to raise money to adopt an endangered animal at school... To use whenever possible and opt for dishtowels that can be found at any pharmacy to! Of California is now # incharge a set of silverware and plates to use for! 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