Elaborate Step 4.2: Make the changes

Suggested Subject Area: Environmental Education/Literacy

Purpose
To provide students with opportunities to:

• Take a responsible part in action for change in their school, thus giving them a small experience of influencing the future
  
• Make links between their understandings and their experience in the world at school
  
• Make choices and develop the belief that they can make a difference.
  

Preparation
You will need:

• Lots of class ideas for suitable sustainability actions or projects
  

Procedure
Set goals and take action in class teams. 

Students might:

• Increase the area of the school grounds that are planted with local native vegetation and local native habitat 
  
• Protect indigenous vegetation from removal 
  
• Plan for an additional carbon forest, an increase in habitat for animals or corridor planting 
  
• Offset carbon by undertaking tree planting activities 
  
• Encourage the broader community to shift towards more sustainable gardening practices and processes 
  
• Encourage the broader community to shift towards more sustainable water harvesting practices and processes 
  
• Plant a food garden
  
• Switch things off and reduce energy consumption
  
• Promote awareness of sustainable energy use among the school community 
  
• Encourage cycling and walking for the school population as a form of transport to school
  
• Place additional bins around the school
  
• Start a recycling programme
  
• Start a composting programme
  
• Start a  worm farm
  
• Suggest rubbish free lunch days
  

Define the roles of each team students then vie for their preferred positions based on the skills they believe they possess. Once ideas have been decided on teams begin the task of organising in their roles.

Discussion

Explore the wide range of ways to inform others about what you are doing. Create posters, pamphlets or books to help others understand what to possibly change, how to be change agents and change things at the school.

Follow up

Hold a class meeting in front of parents and friends where students demonstrate their understandings of how to be a more sustainable school and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to a changing climate.

Assessment Note

Student writing or drawing samples in their posters, pamphlets or books to help others understand what to possibly change, how to be change agents and change things at the school may provide information about student learning.

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