For Educators and Students

Education students about the environment and starting a school recycling program are great ways to reduce waste and increase awareness about the importance of recycling.  There are many classroom resources that cover recycling, waste management, and other environmental topics.

Successful school recycling programs divert recyclables from the waste stream and help to keep valuable natural resources from ending up in a landfill. Often schools find they are able to reduce the size or quantity of the waste collection dumpsters or to lower the frequency that garbage is picked–up at the school site. This may result in saving money for the school, while educating the next generation on the value of caring for our community and environment.

Resources for Educators/Parents/Administration

Here are a couple of recommendations to increase awareness about recycling and start or boost participation in your school recycling program:

• The Georgia school recycling guide has step-by-step instructions on how to start a program and measure your success.
• Green Teacher magazine helps enhance environmental programs in your classroom.
• Looking for more activities to get students more interested in recycling?  Check out these teacher resources from EPA.

 

Looking for ways to engage your students in outdoor learning?

• Take a nature walk and try one of 12 nature walk activities from Project Learning Tree.
• Plants seeds to attract pollinators.
• Make seed balls from recycled paper with simple instructions from Buggy and Buddy.
• Plant a school garden. Gardening teaches kids healthy eating habits and increases the likelihood of kids trying new fruits and vegetables.

• • Plant native plants to support diversity and attract native wildlife. Learn more about native plants in Georgia at Georgia Native Plant Society’s website.
  • Looking for lesson plans for school gardens?  Try these pre-K-12 lesson plans from Georgia Organics.
  • Get helpful tips from growing vegetables from Georgia Organics (designed to help even those of us who may not have a green thumb!)
  • Learn more about food waste in America at furtherwithfood.org and how to make a difference.
  • Plant an extra row in your garden to donate to a food pantry.

 

Looking for addition STEM and STEAM activities?

• Explore more than 400+ lesson STEM plans from LEGO^® Education designed to engage and inspire a student’s creativity and interest in STEM.
• Try one of the 50 science activities from Buggy and Buddy.  From egg drops to catapults, you’ll find creative activities to help in the science classroom.
• Want to show students career paths in STEAM?  Check out LEGO^® Education’s STEAM Heroes: A Career Toolkit.
• Use recyclable materials to have a STEM building challenge with instructions from Buggy and Buddy’s mystery bag activity.
• From solo-powered pizza ovens to biodegradable polymers, check out Science Buddies’ STEM activities at https://www.sciencebuddies.org for high school students.
• Looking for advice from peers?  Check out Georgia Department of Education’s STEM/STEAM 101 Resource Overview page with Georgia schools and students share their STEAM/STEM experiences.
• Explore the 1,900+ specially curated resources for teachers and parents available from Smithsonian Institute’s Affiliation. This remarkable collection contains items ranging from vintage Earth Day posters to STEM resources.
• Explore The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks in an incredible, immersive virtual-learning opportunity from Google Arts and Culture.

Students

• Earth911 makes every day earth day!  Check it out for environmental games, activities, and information.
• Make your own biodegradable planter!  Find the instructions here.
• Want to know how you can protect the planet? Join the Planet Protectors Club today and learn about recycling and reuse!
• Watch a video from Glad to learn how to Make a Compost Bin for your home.
• Download a composting coloring book from the Georgia Recycling Coalition.

Reading Lists

Looking for books about the environment, composting, or recycling?  Check out these lists compiled for students.

Recycling and Environment Book List 

Compost Books for Kids