Earth Savers from the Classroom
As global warming and climate change become the everyday buzzwords in speeches, campaigns and advocacies, there are, of course, the growing number of men and women (young adults, included) actively doing their part to help save the earth.
Teachers are put in a special position to help younger people make a difference. They have the chance to empower and encourage them to come up with projects that would fire up others’ excitement and curiosity.
Here are some stories of people and organizations in schools here and abroad - all earth heroes and earth savers in their little ways:
- St. Paul University Dumaguete start teaching elementary students about recycling, as well as having a working paper recycling center inside the school. Students are asked to follow the segregated trash bins all over the campus, and they also have one of the most supportive faculty and staff when it comes to activities initiated by students to raise awareness on global warming.
- Silliman University has a USAID-funded Institute of Environment and Marine Sciences (formerly the Silliman Marine Laboratory) whose scientists and professors once helped establish Sumilon Island as the first marine sanctuary in the Philippines, as well as Apo Island as an island with community-managed coastal resources. Moreover, they have a breeding area for the Philippine Spotted Deer, an endemic species found only in some islands in the Visayas, in the A.Y. Reyes Botanical and Zoological Garden.
- Last March 29, a Saturday, was supposed to be Earth Hour for some schools in the US. But since students won’t be in class for the event, they came up with creative ways to participate. Some launched “Earth Week”, and others spent a Friday afternoon hour in “darkness” (to show energy conservation).
- One of the most popular ways to help the environment is by organizing and joining an environmental club. In Danvers High School, the 20-member environment club recycles paper in an ongoing student-run project (they pick up paper from recycling bins in classrooms and offices and prepare it for the local recycling station). They also raise awareness to storm water protection by painting town drainages with a blue square in front of it to help Public Works officials to easily spot them.
- Students in Tim Maze’s class in Wyoming reported to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality that the Little Tongue River’s substrate (subsoil at the bottom of the river) had a different color than was usual. Apparently, a landowner upstream had been dumping coal ashes into the stream. How did the students know? Mr. Maze and his classes had been conducting research on the river for ten years, so with the past data and continuous exposure, they immediately realized something was wrong.
- Green Schools, a program that engages students in energy-saving activities in schools using hands-on, real world projects, has already reduced energy use of 5-15 percent in participating schools.
- San Bernardino County School District’s Dorothy Gibson High School teachers have lesson plans for home energy audits, and regularly check with the students their classroom’s electric usage and water conservation.
- Fortuna High School lobbied the administration to include efficient heaters in the construction plans for their science building. Moreover, students completed a detailed lighting audit, de-lamped some classrooms, and gave presentations about their energy findings to the teachers and the administration.
These are only some of the initiatives led by teachers and students, and it can be done in your classroom and school as well.
To make saving the earth part of every lesson plan, incorporate environment concerns, issues into nearly every academic subject: english, math, science, history and even physical education.
Moreover, use simple explanations and real-life examples when explaining environmental concepts.
Suggest positive actions to counter the problem so students won’t feel frustrated at not being able to do anything.
Leave the four walls of the classroom, and visit a park, science center, landfill, recycling plant, or zoo so students can learn about environmental issues firsthand.
Finally, empower them to take action instead of scaring them to take action. Everybody is needed to be earth savers.
Sources:
Fearer, Myrna. “Students conserve to save the Earth.” Retrieved April 2, 2008 from
http://www.wickedlocal.com/danvers/homepage/x1224706807
“Green Schools.” Retrieved April 2, 2008 from
http://www.ase.org/section/program/greenschl/
“Green Schools Success Book.” Retrieved April 2, 2008 from
http://www.ase.org/uploaded_files/greenschools/success_book_04-05.pdf
Javed, Noor. “Students come up with creative ways to save energy.” Retrieved April 2, 2008 from
http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/EarthHour/article/326388
“Making every lesson count.” Retrieved April 2, 2008 from
http://www.seameo-innotech.org/innotech/news/archive/2001qtr3/save.htm
Reu, Lindsey. “Jobs that save the earth.” Retrieved April 2, 2008 from
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0418/p18s02-hfks.html
(Published 14 April 2008, Smart Schools Program)
