Introduction:
Through
the 2014-15 school year, my current and former sixth and seventh grade students
at The Episcopal Academy “taught” Dr. Crawford’s senior pre-service education
majors how to think about personal qualities and talents, identify passions for
social change, and act to change the world for the better. Through Skype
and shared project plans, my students and those of Dr. Crawford have inspired
and encouraged each other to make a difference.
We are delighted and proud to share the TCAP work of our students, and
we will present jointly at NCSS in November 2015.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CEsgbg3AdLrKW6kyHNR9v3nZJumPzg6f7Gk8cr6EouwHjYHUIjaToLDRsjxzcf66E6uDB52ZX_int19oK9F1ZyFWK8tmkbJBk2BU40etw30x3zgUpLylnwQaMZ2ZLZWRsyFfFBuinvK_/s200/Susan+Cannon14-15.jpg)
GUEST POST #3: Learning, Teaching, and Working
to Help the Environment
By
Kassidy Wait, Melissa Cook, and Atina Guidetti
University
of North Carolina Wilmington
We are Elementary Education majors at the University of North
Carolina Wilmington. For our social studies methods course, we took part in
Think-Care-Act Projects in which we chose to help the environment in some way.
First, we gathered information, much as a classroom teacher and students might
do when preparing to tackle environmental concerns.
Solid Waste Facts:
Did you know that every second, 12.5 pounds of waste is created in New Hanover County, North Carolina? The New Hanover County Department of Environmental Management oversees one of the State’s most advanced integrated solid waste disposal systems. The Department operates a variety of services which include a recycling drop-off collection system, a Household Hazardous Waste and electronic waste collection system, a RCRA Subtitle D landfill, Construction and Demolition Debris (C&D) diversion, and yard waste passive composting operations. The resulting system minimizes the use of land resources consumed for burying the waste we generate, and minimizes the potential risks for contaminating the area’s delicate environment (Environmental Management, 2015).
Did you know that every second, 12.5 pounds of waste is created in New Hanover County, North Carolina? The New Hanover County Department of Environmental Management oversees one of the State’s most advanced integrated solid waste disposal systems. The Department operates a variety of services which include a recycling drop-off collection system, a Household Hazardous Waste and electronic waste collection system, a RCRA Subtitle D landfill, Construction and Demolition Debris (C&D) diversion, and yard waste passive composting operations. The resulting system minimizes the use of land resources consumed for burying the waste we generate, and minimizes the potential risks for contaminating the area’s delicate environment (Environmental Management, 2015).
Recycling Facts
Some facts to ponder...For every ton (2,000 pounds) of paper
recycled, 17 trees are saved. It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans
than making them from raw material. Everyday, U.S. papermakers recycle enough
paper to fill a line of train boxcars 15 miles long. If every individual repurposed their copy of a single edition of The New York Times, we could save 75,000
trees. The
energy saved from recycling one glass bottle could operate a 100-watt light
bulb for four hours. The mission of the recycling division is to reduce
reliability on landfills and keep our coastal environment clean and safe for
our future generations (Environmental Management, 2015). Recycling has numerous
benefits, including protecting our water quality, reducing air pollution,
saving needed landfill space, conserving natural resources, creating jobs, and
providing industry with raw materials for new products. There are various
drop-off sites located around New Hanover County. Visit the links below to
learn more.
Pesticides, Plastics, and
Pollution
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWn-CZVElDuSOIavTGF_pQonhUenkYu4NkylumIG3cffWvDLIO2bIqpWsj0kEIRHG0JGjmV3lCsiqNiXZdMOnz8213x0-4ycteKhbFrOgrOgwsFBm6Sg3YP_PyaUF-TfXfqxnt2_EA3RR/s200/Envir2.jpg)
Likewise, proper trash and waste disposal on
beaches around the world has been an ongoing problem for many years. If this
problem continues, marine life as well as plant life can be harmed and
eventually depleted. According to recent research, approximately 8 million tons
of plastic drifts into oceans around the world each year (Woodring, 2015). This
waste does not include other garbage products such as paper, tin, aluminum, or
metal. These waste products enter the ocean through drifting off of beaches,
dropped from individuals on boats, carried by animals, or through other means
such as factory pollution and runoff. Although trash enters the oceans from
different sources, 80% of trash found in marine areas is from a land-based
source (Woodring, 2015). When these products pollute the beach and ocean,
animals and plants may be harmed. Animals may eat shiny objects and become
entangled in items such as plastic rings. If the disposal of plastic and other
debris continues, beach life may eventually deplete.
Plastics do not biodegrade, thus they only
split into smaller fragments and drift into sandy areas (Vartan, 2014). Beaches
could turn into piles of microplastics rather than miles of white sand. An
organization known as the Plastic Bank strives to make plastic economically
desirable so that individuals will be less likely to discard this product on
locations such as beaches (Vartan, 2014). If all individuals work together to
stop the disposal of plastics and other debris on beaches, many animals and
plants could be saved.
Teaching
for Environmental Action
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fK34ZsqBeLpOFs-096Q39NGAOjA94asAdumf_q9RPoUmRIgCy6eZvGiMmkBPL6k-1aL40dsW5AYvyoa6z4T9jmIEZ-e2IUGcWkVd4XrOvLG9mJtUG1yKKLK-gle0G_O_jNE8W7lCMdoU/s320/Envir5.jpg)
If each individual was educated about the damage humans
have on the Earth, they may take action to protect the living things within our
world. We can begin by using less. By recycling, gardening and composting,
people can reduce the amount of waste in which they are contributing to the
landfills. On earthsfriends.com,
there are many ideas on how people can change the way they live their everyday
lives to enrich their lives and all the lives around them: human and non-human.
Our Action
Plans
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgyMZelLsLAI_vXVlGHozwrPRDWbEPgCvYHShnUE7LNpBHjind2X-WYePpfuyMyZ561dkTuqAU-p32XosXDqBlq9OcZZR3rm3gZPMgjJiZLtpuCdpKue0cGvq2XVwvoahs_l0aGdT-5gG/s320/Envir3.jpg)
-- by Kassidy Wait, Melissa Cook, and Atina Guidetti, 2015
RESOURCES and REFERENCES:
- http://www.earthsfriends.com/
- Environmental Management | New Hanover County | North Carolina. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015, from: http://recycling.nhcgov.com/
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (2012). More information on marine debris. Water: Marine Debris. Retrieved from http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/marinedebris/moreinfo.cfm
- Vartan, S. (2014). How to solve the plastic pollution problem and poverty at the same time. Huff Post Green. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/26/plastic-pollution-plastic-bank_n_5213132.html.
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