Lauren Coffey | April 7, 2020
With Earth Day on April 22, 2020 it’s time to remember practices that help protect our planet. Sustainability is the practice of lowering waste and consumption to avoid depletion of natural resources. Sustainability can be an important tool to utilize in the classroom, as it teaches students mindfulness, environmental awareness, and helps promote problem solving and creative uses to swap or reuse everyday items.
With schools across the country closed due to COVID-19, unfortunately, many of these practices will have to be reserved for future use. Still, since sometimes these practices can be hard to implement in the classroom, our current season of social distancing can serve as a great test-drive in gearing your actions towards making sustainable swaps.
Many of the practices can be suggested to students over virtual classes to bring the topic of sustainability up while they are in their own homes. Encourage students to look for ways they could reduce consumption around the house or facilitate distance-learning activities that allow them to look critically at what waste they are producing on a daily basis.
Some easy at-home sustainable swaps and activities include…
- Paper towels → Washable cloths
- Easy DIY tutorials can be found for these “un-paper towels” on a variety of methods to construct these clothes either with or without a sewing machine
- Pre-packaged food → Buying fresh foods or goods packaged in paper
- Teach about the importance of recycling and composting in the home
- Encourage socially distanced outdoor play
Once back in the classroom teach by…
- Leading through example: This can be done in a variety of ways from bring your own reusable lunch ware to make a point of limiting your own waste by not consuming single-use plastics. Remember that you are the example you are setting for your students.
- Making sustainable swaps for the classroom: So many small and easy changes can have a large impact. Listed below are some inexpensive and easy ideas to get you started in your classroom.
- Getting students involved in making an impact: Help your students understand that they are the future, and have a stake in our planet’s well being as well. Making the concept of sustainability personal teaches students that their impact matters through the choices they make.
Some suggested sustainable swaps for your class
- Printed packets → Single class copies and digital resources
- Florescent lighting → Keeping the windows open for light when weather allows
- Paper displays → Reusable fabric boards
- Paper folder for organizing student work → Plastic folders that can be used in years to come
- Plastic dishes and cutlery at class parties → Students bring own set from home
Easy ways to limit classroom waste
- Classroom erasers can save paper
- Having a set of classroom erasers gives students a way to restart their work they have made mistakes on instead of instinctively reaching for a new sheet of paper.
- Upcycle classroom waste
- Have a designated bin for discarded classroom objects that can be turned into unique crafts. This can bring creativity and sustainable minded thinking into class by helping students find new purposes for what would otherwise be thrown away.
- Limit party use
- Forgo the use of unnecessary party favors or other decoration that may go discarded after a class event is over. Instead, opt for versatile items that can be reused for future events. This also helps to make class parties much more affordable for teachers and parents.
Other ideas for promoting sustainability in the class
- Class gardens
- Encourage carpooling or taking the bus to school
- Compost and recycle bins
- Buy furniture and fixtures for the classroom secondhand
- Check out local scrap exchanges for craft items
- Take your class outside for learning in nature with less energy usage
Setting goals for both digital and future classroom learning
- To help students meet sustainability goals ensure that they are attainable and equitable.
- Be wary of setting standards that students of varying economic backgrounds may be unable to meet. Not all students will be able to make the switch to reusable lunch wares or carpooling, so remember unidentified challenges students may be facing when setting your goals.
- Keep your classroom environment welcoming by not shaming students who cannot meet goals. Remember that students likely do not have control over the products their parents purchase or what goods will be used in the home, so guard against tactics that scare students into feeling left out of scrutinized for being unable to follow through with their personal sustainability swaps.
- Make attainable goals that will help students feel accomplished, not defeated. It is unrealistic to ban all plastics from the classroom, but encouraging students to bring recyclable products or use less paper can have a real impact without the pressure.
In Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (The OVERBook), the Population Institute published a powerful book of images that demonstrate global environmental tragedies and community impacts as a result of human action. Working with images from Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER) the 2018-19 World View Global Fellows created over 20 curriculum units that use images from the OVERbook to address teaching about issues connected to the themes of climate change, consumption, human rights, nature’s rights, pollution and water. More information, and to access the curriculum units, follow this link.
To count down to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Earth Day Network is launching 22 days of Earth Day with daily challenges that individuals can take every day to fight climate change in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Each day will highlight an individual action people can take, no matter where they are. To join the challenges and to learn more about Earth Day 2020 please visit the Earth Day Network.