The average public school has around 300-400 students. If you add in teachers, administration, janitorial staff, and any volunteers that help out in the schools, you can have over 500 people or more contributing to the waste generated in that one building every day. That can add up so quickly, and Earth Day is a great time to try and reverse some of that carbon footprint!
Here are a few ideas of initiatives YOU can run at YOUR school to try and help the environment!
IN THE CLASSROOM
Talk to your class a few days before Earth Day about the little things you can do together to reduce your environmental impact in the classroom. Some examples might include packing a litter-less lunch or making crafts out of recycled paper.
Here’s a recycled paper craft from Pinterest that would make a great art project that can then be hung up at home or in your classroom. You can draw the silhouette of an animal or plant onto cardboard and use scissors and glue to cut and paste strips of paper into the silhouette. It makes a very cool effect, especially if you have lots of different colours of paper.
IN THE SCHOOL
School-wide initiatives can make a big difference for the environment and for your community. This Earth Day, why not have a clothing drive at your school? There are over 3500 homeless shelters and social service centres in the U.S. alone that are usually collecting canned goods and clothing for people in need in their community.
Earth Day might be the perfect excuse to collect some of the items your local shelters need and give back to the community while keeping unused items out of the trash!
IN THE PLAYGROUND
It’s always good to get outdoors and breathe in some fresh air. But there are lots of activities you can do while enjoying the fresh air that also helps the planet. Many hands make light work, so why not use those many hands to pick up trash around your school and within your school’s community.
Each class can be a team that is assigned to a designated area, and they go clean up as much litter as they can during their recess or break time. Another option if your school has room in the budget is to plant a few trees on the property! These will make your school and your community a little greener!
Take action this Earth Day and school that carbon footprint!
SOURCES
http://www.rda.aps.edu/RDA/Documents/Publications/05_06/ES_School_Size.pdf
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/378232068682455781/
http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/
