Tuesday is Compost Day
•
Build backyard compost bins or indoor vermicomposters (worm composters) for food,
yard, and leaf waste produced at your school. Plant an organic garden of native plant
species and nourish it with finished compost – it will look nicer than grass, use less water,
and will not require the use of pesticides.
•
Have shop class make some bird houses to attract wildlife to the site.
•
Go on a tour of a compost facility in your area.
Wednesday is Zero Garbage Day
•
Celebrate Zero Garbage Day: challenge classes to see which group can keep garbage
generation to a minimum. Encourage wasteless lunches. Remove garbage cans from
all classrooms and common areas and give each student a plastic bag to wear around
his/her waist to collect the garbage that he/she produces. At the end of the day, award
a prize to the student with the smallest bag, or get students to study the contents of the
bags of garbage and make recommendations on how to reduce their waste.
Thursday is Conservation Day
•
Hold a tree-planting event – make it personal by planting trees equal to the amount of
paper used by your school each year for the number of books in the library, or the number
of final exams printed. (Use a rough calculation of 17 trees for each ton of paper.)
•
Hold an alternative transportation challenge – within your school or against another
school to see how many people (including staff and students) can walk, ride their bikes,
or take the bus. Allow car-poolers and cyclists to have an extra-long lunch hour or offer
prizes to the winning class.
•
Green the School – put pollution-eating plants to work in as many rooms as possible.
Friday is Reuse or Exchange Day
•
Organize a giant garage sale or a sporting goods exchange as a fundraiser.
•
Organize a clothing drive with collected items to be donated to social service
organizations.
•
Collect one-sided paper from photocopiers and make it into scratch pads for math or art
classes.
Saturday is Clean-up Day
•
Have classes/students adopt a section of the school property and pledge to keep it
litter-free throughout the year.
•
Encourage students to use home-made toxic-free cleaning solutions in the home.
Recycling/Conservation
COLLEGE SUCCESS TIPS
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