Juice Containers

Juice Container Recycling

The first response I received sums up the challenges of juice container recycling. I’m sure you can relate to this:

YES! The containers get dirty and need to be washed. Not all juice can be squeezed out by little 5 year old hands. The straw goes where? the box goes where? All of this with no adequate adult supervision since teachers are not there during lunch hour. We do have monitors but they are only 9 years old and can't be expected to remember everything either. Our monitors need explicit training themselves. Any suggestions?

Some of our schools have a completely different approach – Just Say No. No recycling. Take it home.

The more I think about the obstacles of container recycling, the more I think the “NO” approach is like a breath of fresh air, although it’s contentious.

The freedom that I imagine accompanies the Take It Home philosophy is tantalizing. No more sticky, smelly containers to collect, sort and count (but are they piling up in your coatroom, desks, or corner of your classroom?).

If your students are required to return their waste to their homes, is it more or less likely to be properly recycled?

If mom and dad find a week’s worth of spent juice boxes at the bottom of the backpack on Sunday, will they be more willing to buy a reusable bottle instead?

Do you lose your only opportunity to teach your students to reuse, reduce and recycle?

What about the money? Some schools really count on those nickels for funding. But what about your time? How much extra time did you donate in order to accrue those nickels?

What do you think? Is it worth it to use class time to recycle juice containers?

A wonderful example of how to successfully integrate recycling into your teaching came from a local elementary school. You'll probably know who this is from, but if you don't and you want more information, let me know and I'll connect you.

One idea might be to take the scale down from "whole school" to just "classroom by classroom".  It's more manageable and it still lets the teacher promote (and ensure?) recycling happens.

My Grade 2 class recycles juice boxes and yoghurt cups.  We throw out the straws and cut the corner off the box so that we can rinse it out.  Each child is expected to do this before putting the container in the "draining basket".  The "classroom custodian of the week" empties the basket each day into a recycling bag/box.  At the end of the week, the bag goes home with this student along with a green sheet that explains the recycling to the parent (we use the money to buy suet for our Canada BirdFeeder Watch program) and asks the student to "draw a picture of the money" that they collect.  We write "debit, credit, balance" money math in our math journals as "incidental learning".  We also "invite parents" to add their own recycling to the week's proceeds if they wish, and I bring in my orange juice and pop bottles just to "fatten the pot" a bit.

When there is money left over at the end of the year, I either give everyone a loonie or if it's way more, we vote on how to spend it.  One year we even had a field trip to the aquatic centre!  Other times we have spent half and donated half to a worthy cause.

It's small and manageable. Nothing hangs around the classroom more than a week or two, so "imperfect rinsing" doesn't result in any fruit flies at all.

Inspired...

Our first Professional Development day of the new school year - and thirty teachers from all grades and different schools hopped on a bus to explore the Coquitlam Watershed, most for the first time.

Our morning was spent on and off the bus at different points on the watershed tour, with varying levels of walking through old-growth forest. We returned to our home base (my classroom) for lunch and spent the afternoon sharing ideas and making plans for future ProD and discussing ways to apply what we had learned.

This is my third tour of the watershed in three months, and I find that I learn something new each time. It changes based on the questions voiced by different groups of participants, although the basic information is consistent and thorough.

Now... what to do for the October Pro D?

Think and Eat Green @ School Summer Institute at UBC, July 2012

Think and Eat Green @ School

You’ll reap the biggest benefits of the Institute if you can attend with a small team from your school, and if you have a plan or a firm intention to start a food garden at school.

That being said, being surrounded by creative thinkers and problem solvers is a great way to spend a day (or three).

Each day offered choices of sessions: Tools in the Garden; Lawns to Loaves; Teaching Science in the Garden; Watering and Irrigation; Cooking up Curriculum and Eating the (PL)Outcomes; The Gonder’s Neck; Season Extension in the Garden; Cooking in Cramped Spaces; Farm to School: Integrating Local Food into the Kitchen, Lunchroom and Classroom.

In short – come with a problem; leave with a solution.

Coffee, Snacks and Lunch were provided all three days, as well as dinner, on the final day. The food alone is worth the trip – the ideas, the company… icing on the cake!

It was all very accessible, entry-level information intended to help you start from zero and find a garden that suits your school community. Of course, this can be adapted to help you expand, improve or rescue an existing garden.

Best tip (and the hardest one to follow) –

START SMALL. (But label it clearly so that District Maintenance doesn’t remove it.)

My favourite? Chef Steve – a few minutes of his rapid-fire stream of recipes, ideas and innovations was totally worth the trek from Coquitlam to UBC.

I attended with an entire district on my mind. We have a lot of teachers and staff who would dearly love to garden with the students. I think the TEG program would suit many of you, and I strongly recommend that you check it out. There will be another Summer Institute next year, and if you want local Pro D on gardening and outdoor classrooms, just let me know! That’s the role of an LSA – to provide Pro D and support and EELSA would be more than happy to arrange the kind of Pro D that YOU want.

The District Carbon Neutral Action Reports (Coquitlam SD43)

Even wonder about the details behind the scenes? 

What are the District's goals and plans? 

What supports are available? 

From the public site, Our Green Future, come the Guiding Principles:

1. Educate students and staff on energy consumption, and our carbon footprint; the Moral Imperative (Improve Student Achievement through Ecological Literacy)
2. Engage staff and students in Climate Action programs of change i.e. reduce environmental impact, minimize waste, reduce energy consumption, paper
3. Support Facilities management of energy saving upgrades and maintenance
4. Promote innovation in design in the implementation of sustainable facilities planning
5. Develop well represented Climate Action Design Team that works closely with the Executive Level "Green Team".

Here's some light summer reading for you - you know you can't resist:

http://www.livesmartbc.ca/attachments/carbon_neutral_action_reports/SD43_2009.pdf

http://www.livesmartbc.ca/attachments/carbon_neutral_action_reports/SD43_2010.pdf

http://www.livesmartbc.ca/attachments/carbon_neutral_action_reports/SD43_2011.pdf

My favourite, though, is the "Activate" page on the District Green sharepoint site. I'm a little biased, since it has my fingerprints all over it, but I like it because it's more "grassroots" than some of the other information.   This page has the potential to be BY teachers, FOR teachers. 

Happy Summer, everyone!

Summer, now with sunshine!

After a rather cold and dreary West Coast spring, Summer arrived with a teaser of sunshine. More rain in the forecast. Such is life in the temperate rain forest. I like the rain, actually. I love the soft rains we get and the smell of the wet city when it hasn't rained for awhile. I like that the colours around my neighbourhood intensify in the rain, and that the hustle and bustle of the city gets muted and blurry.

Some good news for the District Network - we are well represented in the PSA (EEPSA). Kerri and I have both joined the PSA Executive (check your email if you don't know what I mean). There will probably be another General Meeting of the PSA in the fall, so add that to your calendar so that you can check it out.

I think a lot of us are in limbo, waiting to see what the political climate delivers, and yet, we don't want our projects held hostage by politics. Is your project EXTRA-CURRICULAR? Well, are there learning outcomes to your project? Do you assess your students using your projects? Could you?

Still not sure? There is a Curriculum Framework (on the Ministry's own web page, as well as many other places). It's called "Environmental Learning and Experience", and it contains Curriculum Maps that easily enable you to make connections between your teaching and the PLOs.

Job Action does eliminate "clubs" outside of class-time, but that doesn't mean we can't find a new way (a better way?) to connect your students to the natural world.

Survey Question: Even though we ALL teach about "the environment" in one way or a million others, the concept of "environmental education" seems to exclude a lot of educators. How would you "brand" teaching about the environment as part of your whole curriculum? Our primary teachers are working on "Nature-Based Play"... thoughts?

Seaview's Garden Story

Hi Laurelei,

Here is my garden story which began almost two years ago. Three Kindergarten/ grade one classes worked together to get an area fenced for an "Exploration Garden".  The children decided they wanted an apple tree in it. One of the children's parents worked for a garden centre which generously donated a beautiful apple tree grafted with five different apples. 


We planted it, watered it and loved it but two weeks later our caretaker found it pulled out by the roots, tossed aside on the grass. We wondered if it would survive the vandalism but we replanted it, watered it and loved it. We tagged the tree with a special message indicating that it belonged to the K/1 classes and needed love and care.The rest of that year it looked very bleak. The child's parent donated a second apple tree herself just so that the children would be sure to have at least one tree the following year. 


I am very happy to report that this spring the original tree grew new buds on one of it's branches and many new branches are beginning to grow. The second tree has survived very well and so far no more vandalism! We have added planter boxes with a variety of plants and grow new ones from seeds. The children delight in their ability to carry water to the trees and plants, pull weeds and generally frolic in the garden. It is a happy place!

Sincerely,
Hanna, Vicki and Stefanie

Pitt River's Front Garden - formerly a Green Games Project

BEFORE

AFTER

I wanted to let the photos speak for themselves, but I think some clarification is necessary. Just imagine, that I used to think the "Before" picture was ugly!

The school is  going to be demolished after the new school building is complete, around September, 2013. This, of course, really limits what kinds of gardening projects you can undertake. I had wanted my Green Team to work on beautifying the front garden, so that the school would look more welcoming during this awkward phase. This section of the front garden was in question, since the part of the building in the background was slated for demolition. When it was decided to keep that section intact, the garden seemed safe for another two years.

The frustrations, aside from the obvious?

1. It wasn't easy to get the grant to buy the plants - the money came in around June 28, last year.

2. Getting the plants - one Rona location offered me a really good discount, but they're an hour's drive from home, and my trunk doesn't actually hold very many plants.

3. Only having my student gardeners for a 25 minute block really made it hard to get the plants in. 

4. The principal found out late on a rainy, Friday afternoon. There was no time to dig up the plants and relocate them, or store them to be replanted next week.

Obviously, my disappointment outweighs both the cost of the flowers and the time to plant them. The hardest part will be facing the kids on Monday. 

AFTER-AFTER

The trees came down on Saturday. I went back on Sunday to see if they'd removed the debris, but it was still there. So, Monday morning, I took the Green Team out to survey the wreckage. By the end of Monday, the debris had been cleared, and the stumps removed. It was actually worse than I'd expected. The few flowers on either sides of the trees are fine, but I don't think anything in the disaster zone can be saved. The stump removal was something I hadn't anticipated - I'd thought the worst would come from the work boots of the clean up crew. I really hadn't pictured the ground getting torn up the way it did. The kids and I will have to discuss moving the survivors to a better spot tomorrow.

Another P. S.

Friday morning: The Green Team and I went out to water the salvaged and replanted flowers. We had moved them to the lower garden which seemed like it would be left alone. A student reported that "they" were removing more trees outside. Water buckets in hand, we went out to investigate. Sure enough, some younger trees were being removed (they will be replanted somewhere else to save them from what's next). What's next? It seems that the front garden area will be redone by the construction company (or someone). Anything we have planted was wasted. Wasted time. Wasted effort. Wasted money.

A little bird told me that the courtyard is next... and since the whole thing will be demolished eventually, the word was "salvage what you can". But not 'when'. I have more to say... it won't be posted here. 

The continuing saga of the garden: very late in June, the excavator dropped by...

Hopefully, the next picture has something "green" in it.

11 months later. Still waiting.

Got Outdoors!

Despite last night's torrential rain, today's Pro D day was sunny and warm. Good thing, because "Get Outdoors" isn't just a workshop title, it's an instruction!

We had about 32 participants at the workshop held at Kilmer today, and even though I don't get to read the feedback sheets, it looked like everyone was having a good time! I had fun!

We discussed curriculum connections, and how getting your class outdoors isn't doing "one more thing", it's just taking your learning to a different location. We looked at meeting the PLOs out of the classroom and even found out that being outside playing in the dirt makes you happier, scientifically.

Everyone received a resource guide (over 100 pages of activities), and some other goodies. I really love the big, laminated satellite maps of the region - now that I have 6 of them, I can distribute one per group, and turn my students loose exploring the maps.

On the edge of Kilmer's "forest" we played games and discussed how to adapt and extend them for all grade levels. The Get Outdoors workshop can be offered in short and long versions - which is great, because I think I could happily have played outside all day.

I'm looking for dates to book Get Outdoors again next year. If you'd like to check it out, let me know.

Meetup in May - Save the Date!

	Coquitlam Green Teacher  Networking and Social Thursday, May 10, 4 – 5:30 pm Nestor Elementary, 1266 Nestor St., Coquitlam RSVP Jill Reid, Staff Development or Laurelei Primeau, Network Coordinator Refreshments will be provided Guest Speakers: Alena Prchalova, Environment Ed. LSA Bruce Ford, Sustainability Education Coordinator, Metro Vancouver

PSAs, LSAs... a-okay?

As we approach the next vote (April 17th and 18th), I've been concerned about the effects on our Network and our initiatives and projects. Many, if not most, of our projects happen within class time, and can be classified as "curricular". If you run a club, then perhaps we should huddle and discuss how you can continue without incurring the wrath of your colleagues.

PSAs (Provincial Specialist Associations), LSAs (Local Specialist Associations) and other Professional Development, are all still acceptable. Pro D must be teacher-initiated, teacher-led (yes, you can have guest leaders,) and voluntary. Your Administration cannot direct you to specific ProD. (Although if they happen to suggest something that you like, by all means, take the suggestion).

Since the Network email list is a closed forum, it may be a suitable place to ask questions and discuss items. If you would prefer a face to face discussion, we could plan another Green Teacher meet-up. Let me know!

What is EELSA?

EELSA, or the Environmental Educator's Local Specialist Association, is a local chapter of EEPSA, the Environmental Educator's Provincial Specialist Association. (Okay - truth be told, we're not formally a local chapter. But we thought we were. I'm trying to sort out all the red tape right now. We ARE an LSA in Coquitlam's eyes, we just haven't caught onto all the details as required by the BCTF)
There are two sets of criteria for an LSA:
Under the CTA's policies:
 In order to be recognized as an LSA of the CTA the following criteria must be met: (AGM 2002)

1. There shall be a PSA in existence. If there is not a PSA, a Representative Assembly must approve the LSA.

2. A representative shall be named to the LSA Council. 
3. At least one workshop on the CTA PD Day shall be sponsored. 

4. At least three LSA meetings shall be held each school year.

Under BCTF policy:

1. Any interested group may form a chapter. As soon as members have made a decision to organize, they should inform the local PD chairperson and the provincial specialist association’s president or chapter co-ordinator.

2. The majority of chapter members must belong to the PSA with which the chapter is affiliated. 

3. A chapter has certain responsibilities to its local union. It should keep the executive informed of its plans and projects and should go through the local union in any business with the school board or superintendent.
4. The executive of a chapter is elected from the membership at a general meeting of members held annually [usually in the late spring for the following term]. All members of the chapter executive must be PSA members and active BCTF members. 

Essentially, an LSA provides Professional Development opportunities for teachers in their District.

How does EELSA differ from the Green Teachers Network? Or does it?

To be considered a member of EELSA, you need to demonstrate some interest e.g. attending meetings, ask to be informed of meetings and events, or somehow identify yourself as interested. There are no membership fees at this time, and no formal membership list. In order for the LSA to maintain good standing, at least half its members must belong to EEPSA, and the Executive must all be EEPSA members.


To be a member of the Green Teacher's Network you need to have an SD43 email address, since the Network is primarily an internal distribution list and most of the information gets distributed through the District email system. 

EELSA meetings are open to all District staff and the general public. We alternate meeting locations between the schools of the Executive members, which, to date, have been in Port Coquitlam.

Check out of the rest of Coquitlam's LSAs! Where there is no rep listed, there is currently no LSA, but it's easy enough to start/restart one. It helps to have a network for support, especially in interesting times such as these ;-) 
(More truth? It's actually much easier to have a Coquitlam-only LSA than it is to set up a Local Chapter. However, if the corresponding PSA is interested in having a chapter, they can probably be very helpful)

Welcome!

Hi!

The Coquitlam Green Teacher Network has 195 members: teachers, administrators, caretakers, clerical staff and SEAs. We have a great Sharepoint site that can be accessed if you have a District login, but no other way for anyone outside the District to find out what kinds of projects and ideas we're working on.

Many members of our network would hesitate to call themselves "environmental educators". Our assignments, projects, challenges and success stories are diverse and constantly evolving. So, how did we all come together to become the Coquitlam Green Teacher Network? An internal email list in our District was created for teachers (and non-teaching staff) with an interest in recycling, zero waste programs, composting and gardening.

Some members are creating outdoor classrooms and gardens, some are fine tuning zero waste programs and some of us are just trying to get through the juice box recycling without losing our minds.

So - who am I? I've been a Coquitlam teacher for ten years now. I started with grade 3/4 classes and dabbled in teaching "computers" and music. I moved to teach middle school seven years ago, and this year I switched from teaching "core" classroom subjects to Home Ec and ELL. I teach in a school with a great staff, and great students - I'm very lucky.

And where do I find the time? (I get asked this a lot). Like many teachers, there are work-related things you do outside your job that renew your spirit. Some people coach sports, some people have band concerts. I like to play problem-solver. If my class is making me crazy, I can blog about it until I find the humour, and I'm ready to go back and try again. If my green waste program is cancelled, at least I can help someone else be more successful with theirs.

Don't worry - I don't plan to editorialize throughout the entire blog - I have others that I can use as my soapbox. This one is to help us find answers, resources and each other. Feel free to let me know what you want to see here. And if you can help me figure out how to add you as a contributor, I'd be happy to share the space.