earthcare balloon

| project green |

PAINT YOUR SCHOOL GREEN!
With the following activities or an activity of your own, you can help your school become more friendly to nature and the environment.

| Field Trips
These can range from just a walk around the school yard or neighbourhood to identify the wide variety of insects, plants, rocks, etc., to a trip to a museum or environmental centre. Field trips are fascinating and educational journeys, especially for younger students. A walk through the school yard or neighbourhood teaches students that nature can be found in urban centres as well as rural areas. A walk around the school yard could also turn into a scavenger hunt with students finding chosen objects around the yard. Education + fun = really good time.

| Travel
Encourage students to reduce vehicle emissions. Instead of being driven to school every day by their parents, invite students to take the bus or to car pool with another family. Better yet, students could walk, run or bike to school. This way, not only are they helping the environment; they are helping themselves be healthy by exercising. Further, encourage students to travel efficiently to other activities in which they may be involved.

| Projects
There are always projects or science fairs in which students must participate. Suggest a project on some aspect of a healthy environment that may interest them. There is a wide range of possibilities including natural elements (air, land, water, etc.), resource management, alternative energy, biodiversity, etc. Through these projects, students can learn more about a specific area themselves as well as teach others about efforts that have been made to overcome outdated practices.

| Clean-up Campaigns
Litter, a common problem polluting our towns and cities, makes yards and surroundings look less attractive and dirty. We need to change the mindset of people: littering is not an acceptable practice. This starts with children. Organize school and community clean-up campaigns where students pick up wrappers, paper, etc., around the school yard and, for older students, in the community. Have designated teachers or older students in charge of carefully handling glass. Warn students not to trespass on private property, not to rummage through garbage cans and not to pick up anything dangerous, such as needles.

| Plays, songs, posters, essays
This is a relatively easy project. Planning a play takes a little more effort depending on whether the whole school or only one class is to become involved. Find songs that promote earth awareness and play them for the students to sing-along. For posters and essays, the only materials needed are paper, writing/colouring utensils and the imagination of any inspired student with a mission. There are also contests for this purpose. On any ordinary day, though, pictures can be drawn on any topic, such as “How can I help to prevent pollution?”

| Reduce, Reuse, Recyle
If your school doesn’t have one, help to develop a recycling program. If your school does have a recycling program, help students become more directly involved in it. In school projects, encourage the use of recycled products or use reusable products, such as toilet paper rolls, glass jars, egg cartons, etc. Encourage students to continue their 3 Rs at home.

| The Little Actions, Green Day
Tell students that the little things matter the most. When students use the washroom, recommend that they use only the amount of paper towel necessary and to turn off the sink taps completely to avoid wasting water. Water waste can also be avoided at the drinking fountain. The school, or student council, can also plan a Green Day. Students can come dressed in green clothes and participate in creative games and activities. If a student does not have an article of green clothing, second-hand or borrowed clothing works just as well.

| Growing Green
Plant a garden in a plot of open soil in the school yard for students to care for. If this is not possible, plant individual vegetables or flowers in containers that students can take home with them at the end of the school year. Another option is to have a few green plants around the classroom. Plants enhance the learning environment and teach students to care and be responsible for nature. Younger children also are amazed by watching how things grow.

| Beautify the school yard
Concrete truly has a negative and depressing effect on the minds of humans. Adding life to your school yard will have positive benefits for generations. Beautifying the yard will make school a place that students want to come to, not only a place they have to come to. A variety of diverse species can showcase local habitat and natural climates. Rehabilitation of a yard is an education in itself. This can also get the whole school involved with projects and assignments given to specific classes. There are also programs that help schools finance such projects if need be. Other fundraising can be done to be put toward this effort.

| Become Involved in an Environmental Organization, Plan a Presentation
Become involved with an environmental group, such as Earthcare Connections. Through such organizations, funds can be contributed to go toward a specific purpose. Earthcare Connections offers programs such as Adopt-an-Acre for people who wish to become involved in our organization. Presentations brought into the school can teach students that it is not difficult to be green. The Earthcare Balloon can be brought into schools to teach the geographical elements of our earth. Discussions accompany the Earthcare Balloon regarding the impact of the human species on the planet. These presentations can be an educational tool that complements the units taken in class.