Quick tips for classroom Earth Day ideas

It’s true what they say. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. 

But what happens when ‘one man’s trash’ happens to be a syringe discarded in the park, and the other man – in this case my kindergardener – finds this shiny treasure during his Earth Day class activity? He felt pretty cool to find such an interesting object, but the teacher reassured me that it was probably just an insulin needle for a diabetic. Interestingly, she also mentioned that in a previous pick-the-litter-at-the-park trip, another child found a pipe. But I imagine that was probably just Popeye’s. As far as class Earth Day activities go, picking up litter in the park has lost my vote. (As a family we participated in my neighborhood clean-up, but I stayed one step ahead of the kids, in full CSI mode.)

Here are some other ideas for simple and fun activities to go green for Earth Day:

• lay some mulch in the school gardens or around the trees
• plant some spring bulbs in the school gardens
• make an Earth Day mural
• start a worm composting program in the class
• come up with nature-inspired names and only use those for a week or month
• Create some creative signs for the school (No Idling, Do you really need to print that? Turn out the lights…)

For older students:

• calculate how many disposable dry-erase markers the school disposes of every year. Compare the cost of a buying disposable markers to buying refillable AusPen markers
• start a garden plot to grow flowers, herbs or some healthy vegetables for the school or local organizations
• conduct a waste audit and set some goals and ideas for reducing waste

However you decide to celebrate, have a happy Earth Day!

How to Go Green at School for Earth Day 2011 – Ideas for Earth Day Activities and Beyond

It can be difficult to know how to plan Earth Day activities that will make a difference and have an impact beyond the day. This article will help you focus your energies and propel the school forward in at least one important way. Take a look at these Earth Day activities that will help your school go green for Earth Day and every day.

April 22, 2011 is Earth Day, and the question on the minds of many educators and administrators is how to carry out Earth Day activities that will engage the school community and have a lasting impact on the school and environment. The diverse celebrations for Earth Day mark our evolving relationship with our planet, but are they effective activities? How to go green at school for Earth Day without being simplistic or turning the celebration into a one-day event is a not always an easy task. But finding a niche that your school can focus on will unify efforts and provide a fun rallying point. Here are three niche areas and ideas for their corresponding Earth Day activities.

1.  Eco-friendly products

Simple choices in school supplies and cleaning products can have a big impact on the quality of the indoor environment and the ecological footprint of the school. Choose products that are non-toxic for cleaner indoor air and to minimize the health risk associated with harsh chemicals. Look for products that are made of recycled materials, and that can be recycled themselves. Products that can help reduce the amount of waste should be preferred over products that generate a lot of waste.

Earth Day Activity: Switch from regular disposable markers to AusPen eco-friendly markers and help the students understand the impact of this simple act of green. AusPen dry-erase markers are non-toxic (eliminating harmful toxins), they are made of recycled materials (conserving resources), and they are refillable (reducing waste). Classrooms and schools that make the switch can calculate their waste-savings. An average-size school could save approximately 450 pounds of toxic waste per year from hitting the local landfill.

2.  Conservation

Focusing on actions around the school to conserve energy and resources can create a school community that is aware of its impact and proud of its accomplishments. A school that uses as much natural light as possible, that uses whiteboard slates instead of scrap paper, and that conserves energy used by electronics can enjoy significant cost and energy savings.

Earth Day Activity: Track the lights and energy habits of your classroom, or of the whole school over a period of time. Create teams of students and teachers that can monitor parts of the school, or certain activities like turning off unused lights and electronics or making sure taps are not dripping. Signs can be posted around the school to urge people to think twice before printing or photocopying, and awards can be presented to the classes with the best energy and resource-saving practices.

3.  School yard greening

A green school yard can offer a natural play space for students, as well as provide a learning environment and opportunity for them to develop their stewardship skills. Class lessons can incorporate school yard greening activities such as tending to gardens, having classes outdoors in the shade, and worm composting, which turns food scraps into high quality compost and fertilizer.

Earth Day Activity: Rather than going to the local park to pick up litter, plan for the students to start or build upon school yard greening efforts. Some simple steps would be to lay down mulch in gardens or around trees, plant garden plots that the classes can take turns taking care of, install rain water barrels, or begin a worm composting program in the class. Any fresh flowers, herbs and vegetables grown in the school plots could be used for the school or given to local food organizations.

Wherever schools across North America are on the spectrum of eco awareness, there can be little doubt that the environment is a universal concern and schools are celebrating Earth Day in a diversity of ways. The next generation will come less to see Earth Day as a day to remember the plight of the earth as it is an opportunity to celebrate their year-long activities and achievements.

Earth Day Mural with AusPen Markers

We had a great time at our local Earth Day fair, Earth-tastic, where we had a chance to exhibit with other eco-friendly products. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the AusPen Eco-Friendly Marker booth to say hello and learn more about going green with non-toxic, recycled/recyclable dry-erase markers.

We decided to have the fair participants draw an Earth Day mural with AusPen markers. I’ll admit that didn’t turn out to be the vision I had in my mind. The mural started out with some trees, birds, ladybugs and the like. Good start. But with the waves of young children coming to our mural, the large arm-sweeps of scribbles turned the mural into… abstract art, shall we say? Let’s call it “Earth in Bloom”!

Thinking of Japan

Thought I’d share, with permission, an excerpt from an email message from one of our AusPen customers residing in Japan during the massive earthquake and tsunami disaster. Like many of you, my thoughts are fixed at this time on this nation and its stalwart people.

There was the earthquake…about a 6 near us that lasted five long minutes, and then another and lots of aftershocks.  It was much like being on a trampoline that other people were hopping on.  The tsunami did not affect us due to the location on the [southern end of Tokyo] bay instead of the ocean.  We were very lucky.  If it was not for the power plant there would be no lasting effect in our area beyond helping those to the north.  As it was, the Department of Defense decided to give civilians the option to ‘voluntarily depart’ until the nuc. crisis was stabilized.  Since we have young children, I brought them stateside until we can return. 

Even more so now I am impressed by the people of Japan.  They batten down and do what needs doing and the sense of honor that keeps them moving forward without all the chaos that would (and has) happened in other places with other disasters.  I look forward to returning with my children. And you should see the waste disposal system they have going on.  I have never seen a people who consume so much stuff in terms of packaging but they recycle 90% of it.  I have 5 different piles for waste pick-up!  And you get the yellow sticker of shame if you put the wrong item in the wrong bag. 

Earth Day Class Activity

One of my favorite assignments in my university studies was to design an image to accurately convey the seriousness of Global Warming. At the time (this was a number of years ago!), the idea of a warmer climate seemed alluring. Now, even the most disinterested observer can tell that Global Warming implies some not-so-desirable effects.

Try this Earth Day class activity for all levels:

Modelling off my university class assigment, challenge your class to come up with an image that could be used as part of an Earth awareness campaign. The kids can even try to give ‘global warming’ another name, such as ‘The Earth Flu’. I lifted these images from Microsoft Office online clipart, and they give an idea of an earth that has undesirable symptoms. For example, you can talk about when you have the flu, you get burning hot and freezing cold, you get aches, pains, and complete exhaustion. This can help describe how you can have multiple and contrasting symptoms all at once.

All that’s needed for this class assignment is to talk about the various effects of global warming, and depending on the age of the students, a template of the earth for them to embellish. Let the kids present their earth image and even a new name or caption that can go along with it. Good luck!

April AusPen Giveaway Draw!

AusPen Giveaways

Where it pays to go green

 Welcome to EcoSmart’s giveaway program where your “Green” stories can get you great free eco-friendly products.  Each month we choose a theme, welcome your input, and have an AusPen draw, ranging each month from AusPen starter kits, to marker packs to accessories.

 April Theme:  Earth Day 2011

Here’s the EcoSmart Earth Day 2011 Giveaway Question: What is one practice that you can change to have a positive impact on the environment?

We think that winning AusPen refillable whiteboard markers through this contest would make a great start, having 1/100^th the environmental impact that traditional whiteboard markers have. Post a comment to let us know what habit you’re breaking (info@ecosmartworld.com) and you will be automatically entered into a draw for AusPen giveaways!

 Please note some portion of your submission may be used by EcoSmart Products in promotional material.

Earth Day Class Assignment Launches Whole-School Environmental Movement

Generation Green Team at Bethpage High School, New York

Bethpage High School, New York, has evolved its green activities from a simple recycling program in 2008 to a series of diverse student-led environmental initiatives in its current year. The change is due in large part to a grade 10 math assignment for Earth Day 2008 that galvanized the students into meaningful action. The class project was to calculate the school district’s waste – in pounds and dollars – associated with disposable dry-erase markers. The students then campaigned to replace the toxic disposable markers with a non-toxic, refillable and recyclable marker. As a result, the school has reduced its marker waste by about 450 pounds per year, and together with its subsequent green efforts, has created a greener, healthier and more socially responsible school.

 The Earth Day theme in 2008 at Bethpage High School, New York, was to ‘Make a Difference’, and since that time, the student body, teachers and administrators have adopted a series of green initiatives which have raised eco-awareness and set the school in a more eco-sensitive direction.  Jim Miller, a grade 10 math teacher, decided to take action with his students and challenged them to calculate the waste produced by discarded dry-erase markers across the district, and the cost associated with those disposable markers. The class crunched the numbers and subsequently began a campaign to switch their teachers to non-toxic, refillable, recyclable markers  –  a move which has since saved the school approximately 450 pounds of waste annually.

 “We obtained reports from the purchasing department and the students calculated that our district was throwing out close to 10,000 disposable markers at an expense of around $7000 per year,” explained Miller. “It was shocking to find out how much waste markers create.” The students then wrote to the district superintendent, who was impressed with the detailed analysis in the 25 student letters. After meeting with the class, the superintendent agreed to have the math department pilot AusPen eco-friendly markers, a non-toxic, refillable marker made from recycled materials.

 “Our school did some recycling [before the campaign for AusPen markers],” explained Mike Spence, principal of Bethpage High School, “but then the students approached me and asked if we could have a larger push in this regard, if more teachers could use refillable markers. We were just throwing out too many.” As the students began to campaign for the switch to the more sustainable AusPen markers, many teachers readily agreed. At first, several students were pessimistic about the possibility that the school would change, but they were encouraged by the positive reaction from the teachers.

“It’s really awesome to see the teachers participating in something that the students are so passionate about,” explains student-organizer Matt Lipperhauser. “Many actively recycle and use the reusable markers.” Amy Grant, another student observed, “We’ve really seen a change in the teacher’s attitudes.  Many of them started using reusable markers based on our proposal.  Most are exited to be a part of something; they’re very open to “going green.”

Taking a cue from the success of the refillable marker project, the high school students of Bethpage formed an environmental club, Generation Green Team. The team’s initiatives have centered around further reducing the school’s waste of paper and plastics. They placed recycling bins in central areas to make recycling a habit. They also began to recycle used exam study guides, batteries from calculators, and sneakers as part of the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe Program, which repurposes shoes into ground surface for playgrounds.

Regarding the whole-school environmental movement and the efforts of Generation Green, Spence says, “It’s about service, giving back and trying to inculcate this at an early age. The principal calls their refillable marker campaign and other environmental efforts a ‘big component’ of the school. The students call it a ‘no-brainer’.

“It’s about service, giving back, and trying to inculcate this at an early age.”