Vision

The students in grade 7 & 8 at our school wanted to start being more involved in climate change and to utilize our beautiful campus to better the environment. They started planning in October with ideas of what they could do to make our school more environmentally friendly and inviting. Students attended several workshops and presentations, to make a plan of what would work best for our school and student population. This student lead project has been a great experience for the students. They divided themselves into three groups: composting, reusable bags/beeswax wraps and animal shelters/gardening. Each group had an idea and went with it.

Action

The composting group started by educating their peers about the importance of composting. They made videos for our morning announcements showing students where and how to compost. They then contacted our local hardware store to get a donation as they wanted to purchase some composting bins for the 12 middle level homerooms. Our local hardware store graciously donated the bins and students took action by creating videos and posters regarding our bins. They decorated them with stickers of items that can go into the composting bins. They empty them daily into our bigger composting bins outside.
The reusable bags/beeswax wraps group started by educating their peers about the importance of having waste free lunches.They made videos for our morning announcements giving examples of what a waste free lunch would consist of. They made posters and announcements regarding the sale of their items. They have sold a few bags thus far. They also invited a member of our community into our class to teach them how to make the bags. It has been a great partnership and students are more aware of tryignt o ahve a waste free lunch!
The animal shelter group started by educating their peers about the importance of having animal shelters at our school.They made videos for our morning announcements stating that they were going to build some animal shelters in order to give shelter to our birds, butterflies and bees. They also contacted our local hardware store to get a donation of lumber to create the shelters. They got enough wood to create 10 bird house that have been placed around our school campus.
As a class, they have created a vegetable garden and are in the process of creating a pollinator garden. They wanted to create a vegetable garden to give food back to our school. They planted items that could easily be distributed to our students in the spring/fall for our snack cart. They planted peas, cucumber, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and herbs such as chives, dill, basil and garlic. They weeded the garden and the plants are coming along nicely.
We recently walked to our local nursery and purchased items for our pollinator garden. Students got to experience a nursery and to ask questions as to what plants would be best for our pollinator garden. We carried the plants and soil back to our school and are looking forward to getting started on this project.

Reflection & Celebration

Students feel a sense of pride knowing that they have started a new composting initiative and have made our campus more inviting. They can see their finished projects around our campus and are proud of their work.
By educating their peers, all students are more aware of the impact they are having on the environment.