National Recycling Week 8 -14th November

In 3 weeks time its National Recycling Week.

If your school needs a kick start to get its recyling program off the ground then this could be the opportunity that it needs.  Its organised by Planet Ark and they have got a few ideas to get you going.  Why not organise a Swap Party for your class, year group or even whole school.  Everyone brings in good quality clothes they don't wear and get to exchange them for ones they want.  Everyone pays a fee to enter so you could raise money for a good cause or for a school recycling program.

 This page on our website gives you a step by step guide on how to set up a recycling program in your school.

We've also got lots of resources on our website can help get it into lessons too.   In  'i change' students look at all the materials in their phones or MP3 players, how quickly they're running out and the issues around recycling them.  They then organise a schoolwide phone recycle.  If you taught this next week a collection could happen in National Recycling Week. 

That's a Society and Environment lesson (although it could easily be a science one too).  In Home Economics the Food Waste Module examines packaging.  In the 'Smart Cookie' lesson students sort packaging into recyclable or not and look at alternatives, which don't need recycling.  The whole module addresses the issue of food and resource waste (as you probably guessed from the title) and would be applicable to the week.

Or usse our recycling powerpoint to launch a poster competition at a school assembly.

So Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - and enjoy it.  I'm a bit of an opshop fiend, I am just so pleased when I find some new clothes - they're reused, but still lovely, not expensive and the money goes to a good cause and its fun finding things.  Find your way to enjoy it and get your studetns enjoying it too.

Water

We're going to develop some resources about the topic of water.  In the meantime here's a link to the Australian Water Education site which has a great search engine allowing you to search for Water teaching resources by concept, activity type etc.

Just a short one.  We'll be searching through these to find the best ones and show you ways to use them with your classes. 

Climate Change Graffiti

We've got another new module up on the website.  YEY!  Climate Change Graffiti is an upper school art module developed by Anna Henshall who has developed a couple of other great art modules for us already...... Design for the Future & Painting Australia's Natural Habitat.

This one, as the title suggests, gets studetns to create a graffiti artwork that gets across the message about climate change and encourages people to change and act to stop climate change.  I think I would have really enjoyed doing this one at school.  I always like editing the Art ones as I learn loads of things myslef and get really inspired.  I hope that some schools take this on and allow their studetns to brighten up some boring school walls with an important message.

The module also gets them to look at the work of local Perth Graffiti artist Stormie Mills and I felt particularly cultured when I came across these in a car park in Subiaco last time I was up in Perth as I knew they were by Stormie.  They're pretty affecting too I'm sure you'll agree.  He looks at beauty in decay and people's resilience even when things don't seem to be going well.

In the module students analyse how he gets his message across and then think about how they will communicate theirs and develop their own style.

Grab your spray cans now!  (but of course make sure its legal to paint where you plan!!)

Lucy

DIET FOR DE-STRESSING

If you're feeling anything like I am then you're grasping at any mineral supplement on the shelf to try to find the miracle cure for fatigue / bunged up head cold / stress.
Maybe it is time to learn a little more about the best ways to treat the mineral-deficiencies that can cause stress - and all those other ailments too.
This information is put out by NutriTech - it is good, but it points towards their products to solve the problem.  There are often cheaper alternatives.  For example, my friend Corynne uses a epsom salt and clay poultice applied on her lower back as a way to ingest magnesium.
Nevertheless - this is an interesting read (thanks Peter Blackburn for the link).

De-Stress or Die Young

The Top Ten Stress-Busting Strategies 

Getting (more) organised.

Sorry we've been a bit quiet.  We've been busy organising ourselves and our systems.  We had a big team meeting on Friday out in the garden at Samudra.

As you can see quite an inspiring place to meet.

Well we've got ourselves organised and hope this means that we can help you all even more efficiently than before.  OF course as ever let us know what you want or need to help get your sustainability education flying.

We are continually developing our curriculum framework and I'm preparing a document that should help you see at a glance which of the resources on our website can help you teach about different sustainability concepts.

Enjoy the sunshine.  Lucy