Students spend a significant portion of their day at school. It becomes an integral part of their lives. Children like to feel a sense of belonging and importance in their school communities. This is easily accomplished by encouraging them to get involved in school projects.
Today, we face an unprecedented climate crisis. As the future generation of the planet, children should be involved from an early age in taking active measures to preserve our world. Children must be taught to think about how to make your school green as part of critical thinking skills teaching.
Image 1: https://pixabay.com/photos/tree-growing-gardening-planting-1247796/
1. The school garden
Children need outdoor spaces where they can relax and play. Time outside in the fresh air has multiple health benefits. It’s a proven fact that fresh air help children to learn and study effectively.
A school garden project should include research about indigenous plant species, which require far less water than foreign species. Plants are essential to human survival as they inhale the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity.
Green tips to encourage natural growth include organic compost. The school can start a compost heap using clipping and food waste from the kitchen.
Students and teachers can also start a vegetable garden. It’s an excellent way of teaching kids about botany. If schools do not use the harvest, they can donate it to local charities to feed the less fortunate.
2. Going paperless
The next time your child is nagging you to ‘write my bibliography’, you’ll need to hand them a laptop instead of a piece of notebook paper. They do research online and type assignments more often. Many get help with their papers online from EduBirdie that offer writing, proofreading, and editing services for school reports and homework.
Making paper requires large volumes of water and chemicals. Paper comes from virgin tree pulp, which means sacrificing trees to make it. As the lungs of our earth, we cannot afford to keep cutting down trees on the current scale.
Schools can send newsletters, field trip information, PTO updates, and volunteer requests to parents via email. Schools are using technology more frequently in the classroom. For example, some tests might be taken on a computer instead of being handwritten.
3. Solar power
Solar panels are something we see more often on the roofs of many buildings. Harnessing the power of the sun allows us to reduce our reliance on conventional electricity. Solar energy is clean and free. The initial investment in the necessary equipment might be expensive, but the long-term savings are huge.
School roofs, such as those at Green Valley High School, are big surface areas to which panels can easily be attached. Solar energy can power lights, water heaters, and appliances. Solar energy systems are designed to use the solar energy first, and then switch over to conventional electricity if there isn’t enough.
Solar energy is regarded as something of a gamble, especially in areas that don’t get much sun. However, the savings and reduced impact on the environment make it a worthwhile investment.
4. Recycling projects
A lot of landfills across the world are full of items that should have been recycled. As responsible citizens, we can play a role in making sure we minimize such wanton waste.
A lot of manufacturers offer financial incentives for recycling. At a school like Green Hope High School, this money is used for additional resources. Children and teenagers will often question the effect their small contribution might have. When they see that their efforts, combined with those of their school friends, can make a substantial difference, they grasp the concept.
Another way of using recycling is challenging students to do projects using only recycled items. For example, children might be asked to make an entire outfit for a runway show from recyclables. In addition to teaching them environmental responsibility, it also stimulates their creativity.
5. Reducing water usage
Children should never be encouraged to waste water. This natural resource is the essence of life, and we shouldn’t squander it. At school, the starting point is posters reminding students to save water. However, there are many other things schools can do.
For example, modern toilets are far more water-efficient than their older counterparts, saving gallons of water. We now have taps for basins and showers that cut the water off after a set time. They teach students to use the water to complete the task within a given time.
Graywater systems take used water from the building’s pipes and water the garden with it. A network of pipes ferries the water to the garden. The water is safe to use on shrubs and flowers.
The thin green lineWe no longer have the luxury of waiting for someone else to come up with the solutions we need to save the planet. We have the answers. Now we must be prepared to do the work. Environmental responsibility isn’t very glamorous. It can be quite tedious, and keeping the planet clean is sometimes a dirty job.
The point is that everyone must do their part. Teaching children about it from an early age gives them the necessary sense of consciousness they need to help to change the future of the planet. That’s why green schools are the vehicles of change the world’s population needs.
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Skinner is a veteran in field of education. She has worked as a student counselor and a teacher for many years at various high schools and colleges. She’s also a social activist who supports ‘green planet’ movement. In her free time, she writes blogs, practices yoga and meditates, and plays with her three lovely dogs.