Education Programs
Education is an excellent way to foster and promote a positive environmental ethic. Take advantage of a variety of assistance, available at no charge to schools located in towns served by GUVSWD, that will help promote recycling, waste reduction, and responsible waste management. This is an opportunity to reduce your school's environmental footprint, as well as integrate these themes into curriculum and daily school practices. If the kind of help you need is not mentioned here, please Contact Us.
Click below to learn more about educational assistance offered by GUVSWD:
Classroom Presentations
GUVSWD offers classroom presentations on a wide variety of solid waste topics, tailored to any age group, from kindergarten to college. Presentations are approximately 45 minutes long and begin with an overview of solid waste issues followed by a hands-on activity. To schedule a presentation, Contact Us.
Topic: Recycling
This program begins with a discussion about what's in our trash, how much we throw away and what ultimately happens to our waste. Students will come to understand what the "Three R's" are (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), why they are listed in this order and why they are better alternatives to landfilling and incineration.
Activity: Making Recycled Paper
We explain how paper is recycled, demonstrate how to make paper from used paper, and then set up a paper-making "factory". Each student gets a chance to make his/her own sheet of recycled paper. This wonderful hands-on experience is a favorite of many teachers. One or more adults (depending on the age of the students) are needed to help during this activity.
Topic: Source Reduction/Reuse
Students learn that everything they use comes from something that was taken or extracted from the earth. They will discover first-hand that there is no magical place where trash goes called "away". We can make choices that are better for the environment by practicing the Three R's (Reducing, Reusing and Recycling).
Activity: Birthday Party
We set up two mock Birthday parties and compare the trash generated. One party is "wasteful", the other is "environmentally friendly". Children can easily relate to birthday parties; this activity geared to younger children will help them see the results of choices they make.
Activity: Paper Life Cycle (appropriate for grades 5 and up)
Students travel through the life of paper from tree to disposal. Each step requires energy and results in waste and pollution. Students understand how the products they purchase, use and dispose of impact the environment and why waste reduction is the best option.
Topic: Solid Waste Overview
Students learn what we throw away, how much we generate, where trash goes, and why there are concerns about what happens to trash in landfills and incinerators. Students review the Three R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). They also learn about buying recycled products, the most forgotten aspect of the recycling loop.
Activity: Trash Sort
The best way to reduce waste is to know what we throw away. Students will take part in a "trash sort", separating and categorizing common (clean) waste that can either be reused, recycled, composted, or must go in the trash. This may seem simple to the veteran recycler, but the question to recycle or not to recycle is one that often needs review and further explanation.
Activity: Solutions to Solid Waste Concerns (for grades 7 and up)
Students are broken into "community groups" and assigned a waste management dilemma. Each group works together to create solutions to the town's specific problem.
Topic: Composting
Students learn about what solid waste is, what kinds of trash we generate and what happens to trash that is thrown away. The discussion will focus on ways to reduce waste and highlight that composting is an excellent way to recycle. Students will learn the basics of composting; how it works and how it can reduce the waste-stream.
Activity: Worm Composting: Getting to Know Red Wigglers
Students meet red wiggler worms, which do much of the work of breaking down food waste in a special compost bin. Students observe and record information about worm anatomy and behavior, learn about the needs the worms have to survive, and learn how they are able to decompose waste in a worm composting bin. If requested, a worm bin can be assembled during the presentation to be left in the classroom.
Topic: Household Hazardous Waste
Many products we use can be toxic or dangerous to our health and the environment. Although students may not be purchasing these items, they are the consumers of the future and can make choices that have an impact today.
Activity: Understanding the Hazards of Household Hazardous Waste (grades 6 and up)
Students learn how to recognize toxic products and the routes that hazardous products travel that make them dangerous. Less toxic alternatives and proper disposal are also explored.
Activity: Mercury (the Element!) Awareness & Energy Solutions (grades 5 and up)
Students will understand the health and ecological problems associated with mercury and participate in activities that demonstrate methods to reduce mercury pollution.
Lesson Kits
GUVSWD has several kits available for loan. Kits contain all the materials needed to teach three of the activities explained above:
- Recycled Paper Making
- Birthday Party
- Paper Life Cycle
Technical Assistance
Have you always wanted to initiate a school-wide recycling program but it seemed too daunting a task?
Or maybe your school has a program that needs a boost.
Invite GUVSWD staff to your school - we can provide the assistance necessary to start or revitalize a successful recycling or composting program.
Teacher Workshops
GUVSWD staff provides teacher workshops on the following topics:
- Incorporating waste management themes into curriculum (waste reduction, reuse, recycling).
- How to begin or improve a school recycling program.
- Mercury (the element!) education: mercury, as it travels through the environment, is a danger to our health and the environment. Learn how, where and why and how students can make a difference. Find out where to look for mercury products in your school. These lessons are geared to students in the fifth grade and above.
Time length of the workshop can be tailored to meet your school's needs.
Assembly Programs
GUVSWD contracts with the Association of Vermont Recyclers to do assembly programs in District schools. These are interactive theater presentations designed for large groups. GUVSWD has funding to cover the cost of a limited number of AVR assemblies in District schools. Funding is granted on a first-come, first-served basis. To schedule an assembly program, Contact Us. Below is a list of the assembly programs currently offered by AVR.
"Ghosts of Products Past" emphasizes environmentally-conscious consumption by following Trudy Trendy's buying habits. She is visited by ghosts of products past and learns how her consumption patterns affect the environment. (K-6)
"Think Before You Throw" challenges students to be intentional in their use and management of hazardous products. Students appear as contestants on a game show that teaches how to identify household hazardous products and choose safer alternatives. (K-6)
"Chef Suzette's Feedbag Restaurant" helps students understand the benefits of composting by watching Josephini Zucchini confront her fate as a rejected vegetable for a stew because she is rotting. Students play the roles of compost components. (K-6)
"Blazin' Barrels" focuses on the air pollution generated by burning garbage in a woodstove or backyard barrel. A Vermont family discovers that burning trash can lead to a variety of health and environmental problems. This interactive assembly teaches students about this controversial topic in a non-threatening and entertaining way. (K-6)
"The R Files" is a delightful parody on the TV show The X-Files. Agents Mulcher and Smelly meet an American family who is successfully engaging in the 3 R's (reduction, reuse, and recycling). (6-12)
"SOLD!" is a musical comedy that challenges students to question the "more is better" mantra of many advertising campaigns. (6-adult)
Youth Environmental Summit (YES!)
The Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) (usually in May) at the Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee is sponsored by the Vermont Association of Recyclers. The conference features interactive workshops, nature adventures, discussions, teen networking, theater and more! For more info and to REGISTER, visit http://www.vtrecyclers.org . Scholarships for students in GUVSWD towns are available.
Curricular Materials
GUVSWD has a variety of curricular and other education materials available to help educators teach students about solid waste issues. All materials are available at no charge. Also see Association of Vermont Recyclers resources available.
The Other Three R's: Waste Management in the Classroom for the Greater Upper Valley
(Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste District, North Hartland, VT, 2005)
What About Our Waste? A Curriculum for Challenging Middle School Students to Examine Solid Waste in Their Community
(Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste District, North Hartland, VT, 1997)
Teacher's Resource Guide For Solid Waste and Recycling Education
(Association of Vermont Recyclers, Plainfield, VT, 1999)
The Recycle Game; Learning Guide
(By W.H. Mitchell, Lebanon NH, 1994)
Teaching Toxics: Activities and Information on Household Hazardous Waste
(Association of Vermont Recyclers, Plainfield, VT, 1992)
Watershed Stewardship Program: A Curriculum Guide for Middle School Students
(Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, Brattleboro, VT, 2004)
Backyard Composting: Your Complete Guide to Recycling Yard Clippings
(Harmonious Technologies, 1992)
The Composting Council's National Backyard Composting Program
(The Composting Council, Alexandria, VA, 1996)
America Recycles Day: Planning Guide
(Also available at: http://www.americarecyclesday.org)
Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are
(Robert Lilienfield and William Rathje, 1998)
Worm Compost and Outdoor Compost Containers
GUVSWD can provide indoor or outdoor compost bins (small scale) at little or no cost, and we can be there to help you get your program going.
INDOOR WORM BINS
Individual classrooms can recycle food scraps by worm composting. GUVSWD staff is available to visit your class. The worm bin is kept in the classroom, much like an aquarium or ant farm. It is easy to maintain and fun for the students to observe. One bin can accommodate food scraps from about 20 students.
OUTDOOR BINS
These can accommodate leaves, grass clippings, and food scraps from larger numbers of students. The bins may be constructed from used materials or purchased ready to assemble. On-site composting requires considerable thought and maintenance, but the school reaps the benefits of the finished compost.
Getting Mercury Out of Your School
GUVSWD offers assistance at no charge to help your school get rid of mercury and mercury-containing devices (e.g. thermometers, thermostats). Please Contact Us and we'll do what we can to help, including scheduling a time to pick up the materials you would like to dispose of (or recycle!).
Recycling Bins
GUVSWD offers recycling bins at a subsidized cost to schools as a helpful way to boost school recycling. Contact Us for details!
Videos
Buy and Bye: The Rest of the Cycle
A locally produced video that is a brief, fast paced look into the "behind the scenes" world of recycling. It follows recycled materials as they make their way through the recycling process. The primary objective of the video is to increase the understanding of the process of recycling, so that people will make informed choices to manage their waste in an environmentally sound matter. It is suitable for all ages and offers a reminder about the environmental impact of our everyday choices. The soundtrack features music from Mickey Harts Planet Drum and compliments the visuals, providing an engaging experience. The video is available for loan or for sale.
(Windham Solid Waste Management District, 2000)
Blazing Barrels
Focuses on the air pollution generated by burning garbage in the woodstove or backyard barrel. A Vermont family discovers that burning trash can lead to a variety of health and environmental problems, and waste reduction measures can keep disposal costs down.
(Association of Vermont Recyclers, 1998)
Low-cost and "Green" Procurement
Materials exchanges are sometimes a great way to get equipment for your school at minimal or no cost. See web sites and phone numbers of our local exchanges. Also see Association of Vermont Recyclers page on cleaners and pest management. AVR services are usually free or paid for by GUVSWD.
Proper Disposal (Recycling!) of Old Computers
Schools are encouraged to use our Recycling Computers program to recycle old electronic equipment of any sort. Contact Us for assistance if you require pick-up of large quantities.
Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District
96 Mill Street, PO Box 58, No. Hartland, VT 05052-0058
Phone (802)296-3688 | Fax 281-7088 | E-mail GUVSWD@valley.net
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