Raising Awareness in the Community
Ideas for getting started:
- Organise a whole school clean-up activity – see Quick Clean Up Activities module
- Form an Eco Team. School Eco teams can motivate students to start a conversation at school, home and in the community.
- Use the school newsletter, school website, local newspaper or social media to raise awareness. Upload a photo, video or podcast of a street or beach clean-up, turning off lights, sorting rubbish or any other sustainability action.
- Encourage students to write a poem, comic or story for the school newsletter or local newspaper.
- Download sustainability apps like “Treasure Earth” and send posts of environmentally sustainable actions.
Image by Freepik
- Join a school network such as Ecoschools or Green Hope Foundation
- Join a campaign or make up your own campaign or competition at school. (Waste Reduction Design Challenge)
- Many schools have signed up to campaigns to raise awareness about an environmental issue that needs to be addressed. Campaigns can be local, national or global:
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- Litter Less Campaign.
- Earth Day
- World Pulses Day
- Campaigns run by Green Hope Foundation
Image by Freepik
Link to stories that teach about sustainability:
(Raising Awareness)
School Level: Primary to lower secondary
Other Ideas:
Engage in community walks to identify areas of need eg polluted environments, overflowing rubbish bins.
Engage community council members in school projects
A Planet Full of Plastic
By Neal Layton
This non-fiction book can be used to teach students about plastic waste.
Topic: Waste
Journey of the Sea Turtle
By Mark Wilson
This story can be used to teach students about ocean pollution and the life-cycle of turtles.
Topic: Oceans, Waste, Conservation
The Hidden Forest
By Jeannie Baker
This story can be used to teach about the ocean plants and their value to our world.
Topic: Ocean, Marine life
The Last Straw
By Susan Hood
This book of poems can be used to teach students about reducing plastic waste.
Topic: Waste, Reducing waste
The Windy Farm
By Doug MacLeod
This book can be used in lessons about sustainable sources of power.
Topic: Renewable energy
Like the Ocean We Rise
By Nicola Edwards & Sarah Wilkins
A book about climate change. It shows students how groups and individuals can work together to make a difference.
Topic: Climate change, Taking action
The Old Man and The Penguin
By Julie Abery & Pierre Pratt
This story can be used to teach students about conservation, and the hazards of oil spills.
Topic: Oil spills, Conservation
Examples in schools around the world
The following list of schools features examples of sustainability practices which are part of school programs around the world.
Generally, these schools aim to achieve a Whole School Approach; the school community integrating sustainability into their daily programs and school life.
These examples highlight some of the outstanding but achievable practices. Projects do not have to be on a large scale to be effective.
Singapore: Henry Park Primary School
The students are involved communicating about the importance of environmental sustainability at school by giving presentations.
Australia: Carrum Primary School
The school does regular interschool podcasts filmed and produced by the school Student Communications Team.
India: ASN Sr. Secondary Public School
The students created a platform to spread the sustainability message to other schools
United Arab Emirates: Ghayathi Center for Care and Rehabilitation
Sharing their story on the Earth Day website of how they spread the sustainability message
Southeast Asia: Jerudong International School
The school has an Eco Committee comprising students from junior to senior levels to encourage and organise student participation in sustainability events.