Natural Parenting Green Back-to-School
| Green Back-to-School |
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| Eco News |
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When it comes to the environment, the two highest-motivated groups in the community are parents and children.The best of these seek to emphasise the importance of how food is grown and produced. Purchasing eco friendly school supplies. But remember, the greenest thing you can buy is what you already own. Read on for good green school habits for parents and schools to help children grow up to respect the planet, rather than become carbon-heavy climate changers? WE WANT them to grow up to be assertive, respectful, conscientious, considerate, resilient, kind. And, increasingly, to be greener. Shopping After you've made your list and before you buy anything, decide what you really need—did you use all the supplies? Did you outgrow those clothes? Then figure out what you can get secondhand or swap with friends (think about what comes between "reduce" and "recycle"). Then see what you can get from recycled and sustainably made materials: pencils, notebooks, binders, backpack, planner, organic cotton clothes.Do you really need it? When you go to the organic grocery store or farmers market: buy organic crackers, carrots, yogurt, cheese, and other food in bulk, not single-serving packages; buy organic juice in large bottles, not small boxes or pouches; and don't buy plastic sandwich bags, plastic water bottles, disposable utensils, paper napkins, or paper lunch bags. (And don't forget to bring your own reusable grocery bags to the store). Swap Club Eco kids set up a swap club with your school friends. Join the local library or video store so you can borrow rather than buy. Share CDs and computer games. Apart from saving money, you'll help the environment because making, packaging and transporting everything you buy involves energy, water and waste.
Reuse containers and reduce waste. Did you know that one kid's average school lunch generates 67 pounds over a year? There are lots of ways you can cut back on lunch waste (and save money). Put sandwiches, small fruit, snacks, and other food in reusable containers, preferably glass; put juice or water in a reusable stainless steel bottle; and put metal utensils, a cloth napkin, and your food and drink in a long-lasting reusable eco-friendly non-toxic lunch bag or box. Laptop Lunches are American-style bento boxes designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches for school, work, and travel. These sustainable lunch containers--which come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunch-making recipes--are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. And all of the lunchboxes are lead-free. The best part is that it's easy to pack a variety of fun, creative lunch items in these colorful compartments. Kids love the design, and it helps them to become more adventurous in eating a variety of healthy foods. More info School Food Healthy Lunch If you buy lunch, reduce waste by bringing a reusable water bottle and a set of utensils with you. Don't get more food than you can eat or more napkins than you need. Demand that your school has a healthy lunch. It would be nearly impossible to formulate a joke where the punchline is "healthy school lunch," so we won't try. And it's no joking matter anyway—the fare in school cafeterias these days is clearly designed to suit students' picky palates, not the needs of their growing cells. But food choices do have health consequences for those in school, just like for anyone else. “TODAY’S SCHOOL LUNCH SPECIAL — IT’S EDIBLE!” The Organic Lunch Box Celebrations + Excursions Green schools ask pupils not to bring birthday cakes, also requesting that parents do not send in other types of celebratory treats. "There will be celebrations. Maybe the child will be the principal for a day, or pick out a special book or lead the class line to the cafeteria" Superintendent Sarah Jerome said. Nutritious food and beverage policy also encourages parents to provide healthy school lunches and covers food eaten while on school camps and excursions. Getting There Fuel prices, carbon tax and congestion problems are likely to drive more people on to buses and trains, or looking for alternative modes of transport.
Go Green Go Green schools kept nearly 3 million pounds of paper, 10,906 printer cartridges, and 21,000 pounds of food waste out of landfills. In 2006, Go Green schools reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 1,389 metric tons. Once kids are recycling, composting, and reducing waste at school and at home, this builds lifelong habits. We can raise a generation who is committed to a clean, healthy environment from the start.Visit Go Green Initiative http://www.gogreeninitiative.org/ Good school habits aren't limited to studying. Make sure you turn off the lights when you leave the room (and if you can, change the bulbs to compact fluorescents or LEDs). Plug electronics into a power strip and turn off the strip when you don't need power. Do only full loads of laundry. Shorten your showers, and turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or washing your face. Grow as much food as you can. Buy local chemical - free food. Take reusable bags with you to the bookstore. Recycle everything you can—once you've used it thoroughly. Any time you share your mailing address—when you subscribe to a magazine, open a bank account, get a credit card—make sure you say that you do not want your address added to any mailing lists. Finally, see if there's a green group you can join. If not, start one! Growing Up Grow a vegetable garden at school as well as at home. Whether it's a couple of pots of herbs on the balcony or a fully fledged permaculture garden strewn with no-dig vegetable patches, home gardening can help children grow a greener heart. Rob Birse, an Australian teacher in biodynamic gardening, says open-leafed lettuce, radish and nasturtiums are seeds that will give reliable results. "All you need is a good-quality potting mix and a bit of seaweed fertiliser," he says. "There's nothing worse than for kids to plant something that doesn't grow. It's important for them to have positive experiences early on. "But as well, it's good for them to see that working with nature isn't always straightforward and there's an element of risk. "If the parents can help the kids to get a sense of awe from nature, then they'll quickly pick up on that." Imagine lunch hour at a Berkeley middle school: Eighth graders tossing salad side by side with cafeteria workers, seventh graders eating the chard they grew in the school garden while receiving a geography lesson, sixth graders sorting seeds to plant for the next harvest. Edible Schoolyard in conjunction with Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, California. Edible Schoolyard provides urban public school students with a one-acre organic garden and a kitchen classroom. Students learn how to grow, harvest, and prepare nutritious seasonal produce. The experiences in the kitchen and garden foster a better understanding of how the natural world sustains us, and promote the environmental and social well-being of the school community. For more information, visit www.edibleschoolyard.org. Duchy Originals Garden Organic for Schools is a nationwide program which helps children to grow vegetables at school and to learn more about their food. Participating schools are encouraged to establish manageable gardens within or near their grounds. Practical gardening activities are supported by educational resources specifically developed for students and teachers. These include an informative website, print published materials, and a convenient helpline for gardening advice. Each year, the achievement of participating schools is celebrated with a competition focusing on positive qualities like enthusiasm, innovation, and cooperation. http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/schools_organic_network/ In schools throughout the United Kingdom, there is growing demand for educational programs which encourage young people to adopt positive attitudes toward highly nutritious foods. The best of these seek to emphasise the importance of how food is grown and produced. Commencing in September, Year of Food and Farming will provide a nationwide focus for many of these endeavors. This industry led initiative was developed through the work of Farming and Countryside Education (FACE). One of its primary aims is to remove some of the barriers which separate consumers from the biological realities of the food chain. This will require the development of new links between schools, farmers, and other representatives from the food industry. With support from their local communities, schools will be encouraged to explore some of these worthwhile opportunities. For many schools, much of the groundwork should already have been laid. Growing Schools is a popular government program dedicated to developing the potential of outdoor classrooms as a sophisticated learning environment. Within this context students are able to investigate the many facets of natural environments, sustainability, and resource protection. The experience is integrated within the curriculum schedule of diverse subject areas. For example a geography lesson may consider human influences on the local environment while a combination of scientific and mathematical learning can be delivered through outdoor lessons involving habitat research and data collection. Visit http://www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/ Jamie Oliver is doing his work to incorporate healthier foods into British school systems. Within schools, he is working to make cooking and life-skills classes a must for all students, encouraging them to learn about food and healthy eating habits. He is working with parents and school officials to rid junk food from school cafeterias. Oliver continues to campaign for a 10-year strategic plan that will redirect people back to a proper diet and empower and persuade the public to make healthier choices. As one of Britain’s leading TV personalities, he is making health and organic “cool” for Britain’s young population. For more information on Jamie Oliver and his continued efforts, Visit www.jamieoliver.com School Fundraising Eco-Friendly Fundraising Mother earth Fundraising has exclusively green products like reusable bags/bottles, green school supplies, organic baking mixes, 100% recycled giftwrap/cards. There hope is for schools to ultimately abandon catalog-based fundraising once their respective communities become more green-aware and tech-savvy. “If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk" Eco Kids...This is your planet and there's no escaping the fact that you are the future. Find out all you can about what is happening to the environment and talk about it at home and school. Then get everyone to walk the walk. |
There is growing demand for educational programs which encourage young people to adopt positive attitudes toward healthy green living.Add your comment
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