Sustainability: A Growing Life Skill
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” – Robert Swan
Over the past 6 weeks our class has had 5 incredible experiences interacting with local projects that are making a positive impact on the environment. These experiences/field trips were designed to inspire their own "personal sustainability plan" (PSP) and eventually a "community sustainability project." We've just gotten started on our PSPs - I'm personally working on not charging devices overnight and biking to school, while many of my students have planted small gardens in their kitchen or are teaching their families to turn off the lights when they leave the room (just to name a few).
1. In December, we visited The Hive, a zero waste food store, to make beeswax wraps and purchase items for baking in own kitchen. We brought our own glass jars to stock up on flour, sugar, chocolate nibs, and more. We had a go at using a scale, pouring very carefully as not to waste any product, and having our receipt emailed to us. The beeswax wraps were pretty labor intensive, but made great holiday gifts to family, friends, and teachers that had supported us in semester 1.
2. Then we volunteered at The Lost Food Project, a food bank that focuses on "feeding the hungry, not the landfill" by rescuing food that will be thrown away and instead given to organizations what are feeding people in need. We sorted through produce to compost any items that had gone bad and then wrapped up the good items to be shipped out. We loved doing this and plan to return in semester 2.
3. Tak Nak Straw came to our classroom, and after learning about the impact single use plastics are having on the earth, we had some fun making paper straws and origami newspaper trash bin liners (that's a mouthful) that may or may not have become hats. We're putting the origami bin liners in our classroom garbage and have talked with the cleaning staff about not replacing the plastic, but just taking the liner. We're planning to make smoothies soon to utlilze our paper straws!
4. Next up, we took a tour of our brand new campus at ISKL. The Grounds and Fields Manager, Izyan, revealed many secrets we didn't know about our own campus: how the rain water was collected to water the fields, the way our used sink water is treated and then used again in flushing system of our toilets, and the massive composter that can compost 60 liters of food in 2 days. We also got an exclusive look at the system that measures our energy consumption while learning about our eco-friendly air conditioning.
5. We finished off our local "green" experiences with a trip to the nearest wet (farmer's) market. Students practiced handing over a canvas bag and saying "no plastic please." They supported local farmers and workers while buying fruits and vegetables in order to make their own classroom salad bar later in the week.
I'm so proud to see growth in my students. They may not be environmentalists in every sense of the word, but the discussions that have ensued and spoken comments as they enter the room show that they're proud of themselves too. "Ms. Weber, I haven't eaten red meat in almost a week." "My family planted tomatoes this weekend and some other vegetable, but I don't know what it is." "My family started using canvas bags at the grocery store now." They have been empowered to make an impact and to share this knowledge with their friends and families. Our end game is mindfulness and awareness, so I'd say we can call it a success so far. Now we just have to wait for the mystery vegetable to grow.