Warrington School/Envirethical
From WikiEducator
Envirethical Curriculum
Caring for the earth and its inhabitants Enviro - environmental consciousness Ethical - dealing with the world in a moral or ethical way
Aims:
- For a global and local perspective in education - care and consideration for the earth and humanity
- To assist in changing the emphasis in education to think beyond our present geological boundaries
- To challenge educators to think about what the terminology might mean - and what our future practice could and should begin to look like
Combining environment and ethical acknowledges the inter-connectedness of the earth For the world to exist in a harmony of human and ecological balance, people need to learn how their actions or inactions can impact, in either a negative or positive manner, on the planet and people.
Questions:
Is it still acceptable as a teacher to:
- Share values such as "equity" and then drink non-fair trade coffee?
- Learn about world sporting events such as the Olympics without looking at why some people boycott them?
- Purchase sports equipment that promotes healthy children but is produced in a child labor sweat shop or from a polluting factory?
- Expect to have the latest equipment but not care what happens to it when it becomes redundant?
- To care for ones own students but not think about other less fortunate students?
Envirethical Pedagogy
Envirethical Computing
BBOSI People
Envirethical Orienteering
Envirethical Nature Study
Kiorahi - a game for all people
Envirethical Non-toxic Cleaners Investigation
- As part of the School's Enviro-Clubs a team of 8 children investigated and transformed the school cleaning cupboard!
- They began with a sneaky look at our Cleaner's current cleaning resources and analysed as best we could what was in them... BE CARFUL... POISON... TOXIC... SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE !!!
- We then flicked through the alternative literature on non-toxic cleaning products to see what we could possibly make to replace some of the chemical cleaners with
We found some recipes to play with that don't require the use of gloves, mask, or goggles. With household ingredients such as:
baking soda
white vinegar
eco-friendly liquid soap
eucalyptus oil
lavender oil
- The children became chemists and mixed their first batches of "www.cleaners".
- First a non-toxic general purpose cleaner (in 2 batches, one with the eucalyptus scent and the other with lavender)
- Next a non-toxic (and very easy to make) disinfectant and a desk cleanser.
These have been given to the school cleaner to trial for 2 weeks, which she has enthusiastically agreed to do. 2 years later the school cleaner is still happy with our cleaning products and we now sell them to the wider community from the Seacliff Market.
- We now make all our school's cleaning products for - floors, doors, desks, windows, ovens, bench tops
Our school cleaner says "The cleaners are working good so far. They're nice to use and smell beautiful, AND they don't irritate my hands!"
- HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FANTASTIC WWW.CLEANERS NON-TOXIC RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY OUT YOURSELF!!!
Enviroschools WWW.Cleaners Journey
Envirethical Rag-rugging Group
- Hi, we're two nine year old girls from Warrington School. For enviro groups, we've been in the rag-rugging group. To start, our supervisor brought an old coffee sack along. Then we each chose a coloured strip of organic wool blanket. With a crochet hook, we looped it over and over again, eventually filling it in with lots of colours.
- It is great for the environment because we don't have to buy new rugs every year. It is recycling because we use blankets that are old and that no one wants to put on their beds. We enjoy enviro groups because it is educational and sociable because we can chat while we work.
Most credit to our supervisor. By I.C.L and E.K.M.S
Envirethical Knitting/Craft Group
- Winter was a great season for sitting in a circle with a group of children learning to knit. We loved chatting away together, making woolen wonders and relaxing!!
- We are now branching out into creative explorations of Christmas craft for presents and decorations, using resources that we have readily available.
Envirethical Community Service Group
Hi we are in the community service group and we enjoy it alot. It's good for the environment because it is sustainable and it's nice for the people who we have helped and it makes them feel really nice for what we have done for them. Can't wait for next week.
By T.A.F and N.A.A
Envirethical Cooking Group
As another club group there are about 7 children doing cooking this term. I have only started doing this club this term as at the beginning of each new school term we get to change, so we get to try out all different sorts of Envio Friendly clubs at our school. I have only made two different things this term and they are:
Lemonade Scones - Instead of using milk in the mixture we used lemonade. Which sounds a bit weird but they turned
out a different texture than when you add milk.
The second product we made were Banana Chocolate Chip muffins. The muffins tasted real yummy and delicious.
This club teaches us how to learn some of the basic cooking methods so then we wont need to go running to the supermarket just to pick up some scones for when visitors pop in too see us. We can make them ourselves and there are very basic ingredients in them that we usually have in our cupboard at home.
Envirethical Building Group
- We have made an eco-friendly building out of sticks, branches, flax and sacks. But as a building group we have also made a fire and made some damper, YUM YUM.
Ingredients for damper: salt, sugar, flour and that's all!!
- We had a big discussion all about how to build our hut, what shape to make it and looked at lots of different types of buildings. Now if we get lost in the bush we will be able to make a hut to have shelter.
I like how we are making a hut for everyone and work together with adults and get to see how it's done. We even stuck everything together without using any nails or rope... we used flax only. It was a lot of fun making the frame. C.I. and S.R.
Integrated Envirethical Inquiry Project
Other Integrated Envirethical principles to explore
- Envirethical Mathematics:
- Comparing the worlds populations through number, statistics and measurement when including density.
- Envirethical ICT:
- Using wherever possible recycled ICT components.
- Using Gnu/Linux operating systems free open source software.
- Envirethical Clubs
- Envirethical School Council
- Envirethical Assessment
Envirethical Worm Farm
- Pull the guts out of an old washing machine and you have an instant worm farm
- Just add worms and worm food (food scraps, crumpled paper and weeds)
- Keep adding layers
- Leave for a while (3 months) and then lift up the washing machine to reveal lovely worm castings
- Worm castings can be added directly to all gardens providing lots of food for plants


