SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS
The
Sustainable Oregon Schools Initiative is a movement to
establish a permanent, state-wide, comprehensive K-12 school
sustainability program that supports schools in more
sustainable operations and prepares our children to deal
effectively throughout their lives with the issues of
sustainability. Learn more about Sustainable
Oregon Schools.
There
are easy steps you can take to make your classroom and school
more environmentally friendly.
- Make and request double sided copies.
- Keep a tray of one sided paper for student use. These can also be cut in half for smaller assignments.
- Use reusable backing for bulletin boards such as fabric, rather than butcher paper.
- Use email messages or routing slips rather than printing copies of a note or memo.
- Recycle printer and copier cartridges.
- Start a worm composting bin to compost left over lunch fruits and veggies.
- Send home permission slips, newsletters and notes home with the oldest sibling of a family rather than one for each student.
- Choose products with recycled content.
- Schedule a classroom presentation with EarthSmart!
- Encourage students to bring their lunches in reusable containers.
- Challenge your students to a Waste Free Lunch Day!
- Be mindful of energy consumption by turning off the lights, computer and other applicances when not using.
- Establish a recycling system that is easy to use and works well for you and your students.
- Use reusable rags and towels instead of paper towels for cleaning up after activities.
-
Enlist the students' help! Create weekly jobs
in charge of monitoring:
- Recycling Bin - The right things are inside and people are using it
- Water - No one is leaving it running.
- Power - Turning off lights after the class leaves
- Energy - Closing outside doors behind the class
- Paper - Prepping one sided paper for short assignments by cutting in half. -
Challenge your
students to come up with new ideas and put them into
action!
