Activities and Lesson Plans

"Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world." – Lois Lowry

Campus Activities

To foster a school climate that is aware of the need for less trash in our streets and thereby our creeks, it is fundamental to incorporate an awareness of litter, the waste stream and water quality with everyday activities.  Incremental behavior modifications in regard to using less and putting waste in its correct place promote long lasting impacts on the health of our local environment. These shifts can be implemented campus wide, in the cafeteria or in the classrooms of motivated staff. They are easy to implement, and the best part is that many are passive! Educators know that incorporating behavior change does not have to be time consuming or need over explanation to be impactful. The key to success is creating consistency, modeling, and reinforcement through messaging. Then the impacts follow along in positive ways through the culture of your school community. 

The most impactful ways to reduce trash in our environment come from awareness and incremental behavior changes in the community that support healthy habits. Creating a waste stream system in the main areas of your campus such as the cafeteria, restrooms, corridors, copy rooms and office, help improve both staff and student awareness with regard to waste management. Having accessible cans with clear messaging in prominent areas reduces the amount of trash that may improperly leave the property as windblown trash. Waste that is unintentionally conveyed to the environment results in littered streets, clogged storm drains and infrastructure and ultimately degrades the water quality and habitat areas of our creeks and waterways. The more students know how their everyday activities impact our larger communities, the more likely they are to be active participants in making positive changes throughout the course of their lives. 

  • Students should always be responsible for throwing away their meal refuse at the end each period where they eat. The cafeteria and eating areas are the best places for the entire school to come together for reinforced awareness about putting trash in its appropriate place. Having cans dedicated to trash, compost and recycling with appropriate signage helps your student body see which receptacle to put their trash into and guides their learning on where it may end up after leaving their hands once they have eaten. Images and bilingual messaging of types of trash that belong in each category: the landfill, recycling and compost, bolster students’ understanding and confidence and set them up for success when making these daily, reflexive decisions on their own both inside and outside of school. In turn, this sets the community up for success when these children grow into the decision makers of the area. 

    This knowledge permeates the parent body as children make these decisions in front of family members and can be a spark for thoughtful, real-life conversations between parents and children. As families visit school campuses for events like sports, assemblies and performances throughout the year, they also see the messaging and efforts to educate students about the proper waste stream. This can be added inspiration for families to make changes when they are outside of campus and in the community.

  • At the end of recess, there is a window of opportunity for students to use up their last reserves of excitable energy before heading inside. Make use of a three to five minute “litter getting” activity where students can pick up and dispose of the days improperly placed litter. Encourage them to look around drop inlets on the blacktop, benches and tables where students congregate. This is a great way to capture any new waste before it becomes dirty, and it can add fun to your students’ day and build your classroom climate. 

    Reward students who show the most trash, the smallest or largest or most unique trash items by deeming them the line leader, allowing them to hold the teacher’s keys to open the door, winning class points towards a party or a prize when back in the classroom. Creating a goal or a game out of mini litter pickups like these increases student motivation and keeps everyone having fun while making behavior changes that have both immediate and long-lasting impacts for both the school and the environment. 

  • Hosting a schoolwide campus cleanup is a great way to promote litter awareness, school pride and appreciation for custodians. Hold one on a regular basis, monthly or quarterly or in April to celebrate Earth Day. For a complete plan on how to successfully hold a campus cleanup go to cleanca.com. Be sure to contact your local authority to see if they may provide resources (gloves, pickers, bags, etc.) to help you host a cleanup. 

    https://cleanca.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Campus-Cleanup-Instructions_FA-1.19.2024.pdf.

Resources

Lesson Plans and Activities

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