Back to Earth - Green Waste Survey - 5 & 6

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students design and conduct a survey of other students, staff and parents at their school to see how well and/or frequently green waste bins are used at home, and what the barriers are to using them more often. Data acquired through the survey can be used in the Considering Social Action activity – Green Waste Messages.

Following these lessons plans is an ideal way for your students and the community to tune in to what happens to green waste once it is collected in a kerbside bin. The Back to Earth initiative is about connecting people with what happens to green waste once it leaves the garden, how it is processed, what it is used for at the end of this cycle and why its important to put the right things into the bin!

Join thousands of others who have learnt about the benefits of using their green waste service correctly, for their communities and for the planet. Don’t forget to check out the Back to Earth initiative website: www.backtoearth.vic.gov.au – to learn more.

Learning goals:

Students understand the environmental problems associated with sending green waste to landfill.
Students recognise the benefits recycling green waste and composting.
Students understand how to design and conduct a survey of the school community.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability – OI.8.

Australian Curriculum content description:

Geography Year 5

Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI095)
Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI105)
Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI104)

Geography Year 6

Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary and secondary sources (ACHASSI123)
Present ideas, findings, viewpoints and conclusions in a range of texts and modes that incorporate source materials, digital and non-digital representations and discipline-specific terms and conventions (ACHASSI133)
Reflect on learning to propose personal and/or collective action in response to an issue or challenge, and predict the probable effects (ACHASSI132)

Design and Technologies Year 5 & 6

Investigate how people in design and technologies occupations address competing considerations, including sustainability in the design of products, services and environments for current and future use (ACTDEK019)
Critique needs or opportunities for designing, and investigate materials, components, tools, equipment and processes to achieve intended designed solutions (ACTDEP024)

Syllabus Outcomes: GE3-4, ST3-14BE, ST3-15I, ST3-16P, ST3-5WT.

Topic: Back to Earth

Time required: 3 x 60 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: High – oversee design and conducting of survey, assist with analyzing and presenting survey data

Resources required: Survey design tips factsheet, pen and paper or tablets, camera (optional).

Digital technology opportunities: Digital sharing capabilities.

Homework and extension opportunities: Includes opportunities for extension.

Keywords: Green waste, compost, environmental benefits, survey.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

The Back to Earth Initiative would like to acknowledge Veolia and these participating councils.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation

Overarching learning goal: By participating in this activity students will understand the environmental problems associated with sending green waste to landfill and will recognise the benefits of recycling green waste and composting. Students will also understand how to design and conduct a survey of the school community.

Teacher content information: Many people think that sending green waste to landfill is fine. It’s natural right?? Surely it just breaks down and creates good soil that helps the environment?? No, sadly, this is not what happens at all.

Landfill sites are essentially great big piles of rubbish. There is no air in these great big piles and this means nothing much breaks down in them at all (did you know that old landfills are now being treated as archaeological sites because the waste is so well preserved?!). The only organisms that can survive in a landfill are bacteria which decomposes the waste anaerobically (without using oxygen). Unfortunatel

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Student Worksheet

Thought starter: What is green waste?

Part 1.

Choose one the words below and write it next to the correct definition.

waste-words-2

1. Food that is discarded or cannot be used.
2. Decomposed organic material used as a fertiliser for growing plants.
3. Any animal or plant based material and degradable carbon such as garden organics, food, timber, paper and cardboard.
4. Biodegradable waste that can be composed of garden or park waste, such as grass or flower cuttings and hedge trimmings.
5. The disposal of waste into or onto land.
6. Anything that is no longer valued by its owner, and which is or will be, discarded.

Part 2.

Read the following pages from the Back to Earth website and answer the questions below:

Two things that interested you about composting and green waste:

One question you have abou

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Activity: Back to Earth – Green Waste Survey – 5 & 6

Activity Introduction