Vision

Our vision in completing in running this program is we hope that everyone will continue to sort their garbage properly and think about the benefits of proper sorting and how this helps the environment. It is through the net zero projects and the initiatives with recycling that we were able to build on other ways that we can help and do our part.

It is important for our community because to the students, it is the community that they live in. They have seen the impacts of the change through this project and are always looking for ways to continue making a change in their own schools, the community and striving for ways to be good citizens within the area that they live.

Action

As part of our Action Project, we set out to collect the recyclables in our school, making sure that we are sorting all of our garbage in the correct manner. This was to avoid materials going into waste and compost that could rather be recycled. The initiative started in our own classroom when the curriculum changed for grade 6 allowing for the opportunity to learn about net zero and sustainability. The actions that we took as part of our project was we started with presentations to each of the classes. This involved going around to each of the classes and educating them on the proper ways of sorting and how this was beneficial for the environment. We then set up a schedule for my class to go around and collect recyclables from the classrooms each day. This was a mix of refundable and nonrefundable recyclables that would limit to the amount that was going into the waste and compost.

As a class, we first practiced in our own classroom. This allowed them to get used to what was involved in the recycling and through that we were able to have discussions and think about the small actions that we were taking and how this could make a difference. We talked about how the small actions allowed for awareness of the issue which could be passed on to others in the school. Since then, we expanded on this, thinking about other ways we can help the environment and therefore, be good citizens to society. This came from the curriculum outcomes which outlined what went into making a community successful and how this contributed to making the world a better place. We had discussions and talked about other world issues, not only climate change. While we are measuring the amount of recyclables there are compared to the waste/compost, we are also focused on measuring the amount of food that is wasted each day. It is through the initial presentations and continued education, that students are encouraged to take their food home to raise awareness of the amount of time, cost, and energy that occurs with food production.

It is important for our community because to the students, it is the community that they live in. They have seen the impacts of the change through this project and are always looking for ways to continue making a change in their own schools, the community and striving for ways to be good citizens within the area that they live.

Reflection & Celebration

While we started as a class with this project, it was great to see how enthusiastic my class was about the initiative and taking charge on making change. I think what inspired the students the most about sustainability was the real world connection and hands on experience they were able to take with this project. They are able to learn skills through this that they can take into their own life outside of school. It also provides the opportunity for my Grade 6 students, who are the oldest in the school to take on a leadership role and lead by example for the grades below them. We have built on this, particularly around Earth Day where we talked about the difference that we are making and what other things we can do. It inspired us to go to different places around the community, picking up garbage and talking about the small actions we can take with different things, all relating back to sustainability. We make a conscious effort in class to use as little energy as possible and look for opportunities to learn outside as much as possible.