Vision

We are aware that our Earth is changing, and we want to fix that. To do this, students of MRPS are aiming to start a movement to reduce our carbon footprint with a project called “Greening Our School!”
Our vision started off by encouraging students to have at least 5 plants in their classroom. However as we proceeded with our project, we felt that a green vertical wall will make better sense – take up less space and be visually appealing while purifying the air we breathe. So we decided to build our own mini living wall. Using the money provided by LSF and our parents, we embarked on researching and building the walls you see here. Our hope is to have at least one of these walls in every classroom. They are sustainable and we can replant every September.

Action

We started off with a survey to see how many classes in our school already have plants in their classrooms. There were only 5 classrooms with live plants.

Students of the grade 7 class then researched “the best plants for removing CO2 and other toxins from the air”. Research shows that air quality can affect students’ well-being in the classroom. The best plants suggested for improving air quality are bamboo palm, spider plant, snake plant, and golden pothos.

Students of 7A3 undertook a massive school-wide education campaign and fundraiser to get these plants in each classroom immediately! Additionally, we wanted to track the CO2 levels in each classroom, for evidence that the plants cleansed the air. A CO2 meter was donated to our school by CO2Meter, Inc. from Ormond Beach, Florida. With this meter, we recorded daily the CO2 levels in our classrooms.

Due to the overwhelming success of having plants in our classrooms, the students of 7A3 extended their project to include mini Living Walls for every classroom. This was incorporated as part of their Science curriculum. Any other class wanting a Living Wall was invited to choose a design and collaborate with the grade 7 students to construct, plant, and maintain their Living Walls.

Reflection & Celebration

This project not only beautified our classrooms but created many opportunities for collaboration and learning within our school community. It was exciting seeing students’ confidence level build when collaborating with schoolmates or talking about air quality and growing plants. In fact, the Covid-19 has brought out the importance of this project. Students are now equipped with skills of growing plants indoors and I am looking forward to pictures of their endeavours during the Fall and Winter months.