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Project Dracaena trifasciata

Vision

The Grade 11 and 12 Environmental Science class at Central Huron Secondary School wanted to take steps to address climate change. After spending time learning about the science behind climate change and its human causes, this class was inspired to take action. Even if our action was small, it was still an action that we could feel good about. In our learning, the role of plants in addressing climate change became apparent. That led us to learn even further about the benefits of plants related to air purification of indoor air and the wellness benefits. What if we could improve the air quality in our classrooms? What if we could help address the mental wellness of our students by having plants in classrooms? What if we could inspire students to value plants and trees more than they already do?

Action

Surveying the Audience: If we were going to buy plants for classrooms, would the teachers agree to that? Creating and distributing a Google Form was a significant first step. The positive response was overwhelming from not only teachers but also custodians and administrators. We had 20 rooms in our school where a live plant was requested.

Raising Funds: To purchase 20 plants, we would need to fundraise. The Grade 11 and 12 Environmental Science class decided that they would run a $1/item Thrift Shop. Students collected, organized and sold thrift items at lunch, making $53 in proceeds. A very important component was the realization that we needed an environmentally conscious solution to the unsold clothing items. Students decided they would turn leftover clothing into whiteboard erase cloths for classrooms and donate clothing to the math class to be used in their quilt-making project. Another project to raise funds involved decorating rolls of brown paper to sell as homemade Christmas wrapping paper and dehydrating apple slices to sell as organic tree decorations. The focus was to educate students on how much plastic waste is created each year because of gift wrap.

Educate and Inform & Persuade Others: Students realized that even if the teachers were keen to have a live plant in their classroom, the students in the building also needed to be on board. The class made school announcements about the significant role of plants in producing oxygen, taking in carbon dioxide, filtering air, removing toxic pollutants and also the value of having plants related to wellness, happiness and healing. Posts on our schools’ social media became highly useful as well in getting information out to persuade others. The class figured out that the snake plant, Dracaena trifasciata, is one of the most effective plants at filtering indoor air, and removing toxic pollutants while being easy to care for with less intense watering and sunlight requirements.

Make Consumer and Lifestyle Choices: In the process, the class learned about fast fashion and how consumer choices related to clothing create large amounts of waste. The lunchtime thrift shop showed that other students in the school also appreciate the reusing of clothing either as clothing or using fabric in creative ways. When students have their own homes, we discussed the rationale for having plants in living spaces and also the role of plants in addressing climate change. The homemade wrapping paper sparked discussion about wrapping alternatives and ways to be creative. The class felt it was an important enough message that they spread the word to our school through video announcements.

Reflection & Celebration

The students in the class were pleased by the overwhelming response from classroom teachers and custodians, and admin to the offer of having a plant in their classroom. It was a big learning moment for students and staff when researching the link between plants and mental wellness, happiness and faster healing times. Even an artificial plant in the room results in those same benefits, which surprised everyone. All classroom teachers still chose a live plant for their room. At each step in the process students were excited about our project: surveying classroom teachers, researching about which plant to purchase, raising funds, purchasing plants and delivering them to classrooms, and also educating about the physical and emotional value of having plants in your view. As their teacher, I was amazed by the power of this project to keep them engaged and excited. All because of a few snake plants, Dracaena trifasciata!

3. Good Health and Well-Being
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
15. Life on Land
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