Recycling

The study of plants and gardening is a fun, dirty, hands-on way for students to learn conservation, biology, ecology, and responsibility. With the right soil, water, and sunlight, seeds will sprout into plants every time. Students can watch these sprouts grow into plants that are important for human survival. Even unsuccessful class gardening attempts will teach important lessons about what every plant needs to survive and the responsibility required to cultivate plants. During a study of gardening, students are often asked to keep detailed field journals of their activities. These careful observations will allow students to discover how plants effectively recycle and re-use their resources, an important ecology lesson.

As I finish making copies for the week for four first grade classrooms, I look down at the pile of worksheets and I am astounded by the sheer amount of paper these students will use and eventually throw away during a typical school week. Add school newsletters, announcements, and fundraising pamphlets and the paperwork coming home each day in students’ backpacks can become overwhelming. For families with multiple children in the same school, the problem is only compounded. As “going green” gains popularity, it only makes sense to tackle the topic of reducing waste with our students. Hopefully, allowing students to witness a problem and design solutions will help them become more aware and responsible citizens.

According to the EPA, the average American produces about four and a half pounds of trash each day, which amounts to a whopping 1,600 pounds per person annually. That figure does not include industrial waste or commercial trash – operations that produce much, much more trash than consumers.