Other Activities

 

Earth Friendly Activities for Kids		Educating Children about Recycling
Kids' Page Office of Water		National Geographic Kids
Recipes for Reuse		Wastruments

Paper Tree Display A paper tree is an educational tool used to encourage recycling. The tree visually emphasizes the relationship among paper use, recycling and natural resources. The display is a paper stacked up around a support structure like PVC or rebar. Educational posters or signs should accompany the display.

Economic PVC Tree
Equipment
Plywood base
Drill or use a carpentry shop

1. Make a 30" by 1" thick plywood base(optional cover with fabric by staple gunning it to the wood)

2. Use a drill with a wood bore bit (do-it yourself or ask your campus carpentry shop to do it on their drill press)

3. Slide the paper over the PVC. Fanning the paper out prevents sagging around the edges.

The Industrial Lifetime Tree
This tree is more expensive to create and requires collaboration with other departments on campus(weld shop, carpentry, purchasing) but it is built to last a lifetime; it can't be knocked over easily and is extremely stable.

Equipment
Three pieces of 6" long #5 Rebar
½ inch thick 24"X24" square flat washers

2. Use a wood bore drill bit on a drill press to make holes in stacks of paper and remember to make the hole a little larger than the trunk of the tree.

3. Slide the paper over the rebar. Fanning the paper out prevents sagging around the edges.

Suggestion
Make a stand that has wheels for easy moving. The UNLV Rebel Recycling Program used the wood base, but mounted it on 3" rubber swivel wheels.

Tara Pike, UNLV

The Buy Recycled Game Without a demand for use of recycled materials as a resource, recycling will not survive. Recycling has become mainstream in recent years with a focus on collecting materials and more recently, reducing waste. The Buy Recycled Game was designed as an educational tool for varying audiences. The time is now for us to re-group and change the message:

BUY RECYCLED PRODUCTS SO WE CAN RECYCLE THE PRODUCTS WE BUY!
OBJECT OF THE GAME

· Get folks to learn to read labels on products/packaging before purchasing

· Understand the need to purchase products made from recycled and recyclable materials

· Teach the concept of closing the loop

· Inspire folks to demand easily identifiable labeling not only on the product but also on the package

· Create dialogue about recycling

· For us to learn more about what the public needs to be successful in supporting recycling through purchasing

· Have fun!

WHAT YOU NEED

· Buy, acquire, or borrow… a pile of various products that:

§ Are labeled with recycled content

§ Have no labeling regarding recycled content

§ Have packaging that is deceptively labeled as recyclable or made from recycled materials when the product is not

§ You know is made from recycled materials but it is not labeled as such

§ Just locating these items is an education in itself!

· A table

· A place to do the promotion/activity (maybe for a particular event like Earthday or America Recycles Day)

· Some type of prize for playing the game. Examples include: canvas bags that say "Buy recycled products so we can recycle what we buy!", bumper stickers, pencils, lollipops, etc. People like getting something for playing…

· Informational materials on buying recycled

· Get a press release out on your activity to get some extra PR miles out of this. Plus, it makes a great photo opportunity!

SET UP

· Lay everything out on a table at random… layers of stuff are fun to go through!

· Have a sign behind you saying, "Play the Buy Recycled Game, Win A Prize!"

· Have a second table with info laid out on Buying Recycled or recycling in general. Making a display on Buying Recycled would be a great use. Also, a brochure would be helpful for the consumer too!

HOW TO PLAY

· Have folks working the table, inviting folks to play as they walk by: "Play a recycling game, win a prize!"

· When someone comes up to play, ask them to tell you what amount of recycled materials are used in any of these products

· If they are dumbfounded, encourage them to read labels. You can help them out by asking them to pick up the ream of paper that says, "Made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials".

· Have a discussion about what the object of the game is and how important it is to buy these types of items, and send them off with their prize.

SOME THINGS THAT MAY COME UP

You will see a lot of varying responses to this experience, which is educational for all of us. Use your expertise to address these issues. Remember the object is to get folks to read labels and to purchase things made from recycled/recyclable materials including the packaging. Inspire folks to understand that recycling will no longer exist unless these types of items are purchased.

· You will find that there is no consistency in the labeling and that it is difficult to even figure any of it out. You will need good and bad examples: reamed paper is a good example, a set of plastic hangers wrapped in a cardboard wrapping with a recycling symbol on it is a bad example! Some things will be labeled will is they have the "Green Cross" labeling on it. Other stuff can be deceptive as in the hangers example. The recycling symbol on the cardboard wrapping could mean recyclable or made from recycled materials. Or it could be there to get the consumer to think the company is environmentally friendly!

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS AND THANKS FOR PROMOTING BUY RECYCLED!
Yours in closing the loop, The University of Oregon Campus Recycling Staff

WHAT YOU NEED Promotional Flyers "Ask Me About My Trash" buttons Fact sheets for participants to hand out Survey for participants upon entry and upon exiting Trash Bags Instruction sheets Queen Size Mattress Bags(2) Weighing Scales Tables, chairs Volunteers

2. Give them half-page fact sheets which can distributed to non-participants who will more than likely ask the participants why they are lugging their trash around.

3. On the last day of the week, the participants bring their trash bags to a marked area on campus to be "weighed in."

4. Create two piles out of the trash a recyclable pile and a landfill.

5. Participants fill out a survey evaluating the event and commenting on what they learned form the exercise.

6. Pitch this idea to biology, sociology, political science, elementary education and business professors and encourage them to give students extra credit for participation.

7. Get the student government and Campus Housing to co-sponsor the event.

--Tara Pike, UNLV

Paper Making Materials: Electric blender or egg beater Picture frame, approximately 5"X7" Window screen to fit the frame Thumb tacks or staple gun to attach the screen to frame 3" deep pan, larger than screen Blotting paper or newspaper Large spoon Paper towels and sponges Iron Scrap paper--the more colorful the scrap, the more colorful the recycled paper will be.

Begin by making the paper frame.  Tack the piece of screen to the picture frame.  The paper will be made on this screen.

Process:
1.  Tear paper into strips and loosely pack in blender until 1/3 full. Add water until the blender is 2/3 full.
2.  Blend for 3 to 5 seconds. Add colored paper at this stage until you get the shade you like. Blend again. Experiment with texture by adding bits of thread, dried spices, leaves, etc.
3.  When the mixture looks like mush, pour it into the pan and add about an inch of water. Stir.
4.  Hold the frame screen side up and spoon the mixture evenly onto the screen. Let the excess water drip off.
5.  Place a piece of blotting paper on top of the mixture and flip the whole screen over, blotting paper down.
6.  With paper towels or sponges, blot up the moisture which seeps through the screen, especially at the edges.
7.  Carefully lift off the frame and cover the new paper with more blotting paper, making a blotter "sandwich." Iron both sides using the "wool" setting.
8.  When the blotters seem to be dry, peel them off. If they can't be peeled easily, the paper isn't dry enough.
9.  Iron the paper to dry it out completely. Now you can use the paper you made yourself!

PAPER PRODUCTION

It takes 17 trees to make 1 ton of paper.  This produces wood wastes.  Meanwhile, old newsprint is de-inked by washing and rinsing it in large vats of water.  Sometimes newsprint and wood wastes are combined, mixed to a pulp and poured onto large rollers.  Other times mostly used paper is processed again.

For links to fun paper making web sites click here:

Garbage Art
Are you tired of all your trash? Are you buried in packaging materials? Make use of that useless garbage… Make it art! Gather all of your reusable trash items and invite others to do the same. Set up a table for Earth Day, America Recycles Day, or even your favorite recycling event. Encourage people to look at examples of scrap sculptures and to make their own. You might even want to have a community art piece for everyone to add something new as they pass by. Don't forget to have informational materials at your table to answer questions and spark interest in reusing materials and recycling in general. Some reusable items that could be fun- nuts, bolts, used colored paper (both sides of course), dead pens, floppy disks, lipstick cartridges, plastic containers, etc. Just have fun!

Source: "Trash = Treasure" Event Flyer, Campus Recycling

Fun Junk Function
Create a Fun Junk Art Contest!

OBJECTIVE
Organize a contest to make something creative out of junk to promote recycling, reuse, and resource conservation! Get everyone involved, have prizes, and most of all, make it fun!

JUDGING & PRIZES
It would be best to have separate age groups for judging and prizes, such as students (age 14-18) and adults (age 19 and up). Make up your own age groups based on the variety of people who show interest in the contest. Get local companies and stores to donate cash and/or gifts. Have prizes for the best in each category or even 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes. It all depends on how many prizes are available. You might want to think about having judges who are invention or recycling/reuse experts themselves. Also, you will need to have in mind exactly what the judges will be evaluating when looking at each of the entries. Some examples include creativity, originality, quality, durability, and the percentage of reclaimed materials used.

SOME IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED
Here are a few ideas for categories of junk art. Try adding a few ideas of your own!

• Fabulous Functionals- furniture, shelter, transportation, instruments, alternative tech, etc. If it's useful, it fits in here!
• Kinetic Kraft- it moves! By sun, wind, human, etc. A frivolous or functional invention, a toy, a game, or even…
  
• Scrap Sculpture- the name says it all! Any type of art, so long as it uses plenty of junk…
  
• Builder's Brainchild- photo display and text explanation of entry that is built-in or too large to move.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
You might want to think about how much space is available for your function and limit the size of exhibits accordingly. Also, the use of fossil fuel or electric-powered entries might not be a good idea since this contest is to promote recycling and resource conservation. A statement about not being responsible for theft, damage, or loss of property should also be included.

SAMPLE REGISTRATION FORM

* This idea adapted from the Fun Junk Function at the 1997 Springfield Filbert Festival *

THE MONSTER TRASH RECYCLING BASH

OBJECTIVE
This new program will create a fun and interesting interactive experience that provides interdisciplinary education for middle and high school students. The program is versatile and adaptable to the needs of each school: length of time exhibits are available, number of exhibits based on space available, choice of exhibits based on age or curriculum needs of the students. The only requirement is that every class in the school participates.

Natural Resource Hero Math- Using common every day items, a scale and calculator, kids will calculate how many cereal boxes, soda cans, toilet paper rolls, etc. need to be recycled to equal saving one tree, one ton of bauxite, etc.

"Cans Across Campus" EQUIPMENT Fish String Cans Environmental Messages

1. Recycling Bulletin Boards Place these above all residential recycling stations with program information posted on them. 2. Waste Reduction Tips Create a flyer with waste reduction information on a certain topic(paper usage, energy, etc.) 3. Contamination Notices Post these above bins where there have been contamination problems. 4. Resources Saved Share information that people can relate to with participants about resources that are saved through recycling. 5. Eco-Mugs Print your recycling logo on it place an insert bout recycling and waste reduction. Give them to new students. 6. Environmental Policy Manufacture a 4-inch high sandwich board with your Environmental Policy printed on both sides to display in lobbies around the campus.

--Sarah Carson, Recycling Coordinator, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

ECO-FAIR outside our student union. We had a series of three games along with an information table that you have to go to for prizes and to enter into the final game of guessing how many bottle tops we could fit in 3 gallon water jug.

The first game was called Hockey Game (okay, I tried to be creative with the name, but group members shot down my ideas). The object was for the player to use a hockey stick to shoot a crushed can into the goal, rather, recycling bin (a decorated cardboard box on its side), getting past the goalie, a.k.a. the Trash Devil (just a cardboard silhouette on the front of the goal). Other ideas for a goalie was an incinerator or a landfill, or for me to get into our mascot costume, Rusty the Recycling bin, a decorated rubber trash, no, recycling, can with the bottom cut out that I wear with the lid on my head.

The second game was Pin the Bin. Here, each player was given push pins that were modified to represent recycling bins. The object is for the player to put the bin-pins on a giant 36"x48" map of the campus in the correct places. After playing, each player received a brochure featuring a map of all the recycling bins.

The third game was What's Recyclable? Going by what we can recycle on campus, players were given a box of mixed waste, and they had to sort it into a desk side recycling bin and trash can. After playing, each player received a list of what's recyclable where on campus. We kept their score on their Recycling Report Card, a tenth of a piece of paper. After playing, they would go to the info table to claim their prizes and learn more. They also entered into the Guessing Game.

Prizes ranged from small fun-size candy bars to small houseplant from the bargain 99 cent store for the games, and the guessing games winners (3) won a large houseplant or a pineapple plant, with the winners notified by e-mail. They were eligible to get a prize by just participating in one game, but I designed it so they could see how easy it was to get a better prize, therefore encouraging them to play all three.

Overall, the entire event was a success. In only three hours, we gave away 30 small houseplants (top prize), 48 Arizona Iced teas, on ice (which was used to get people to come over and check us out!), and about 100 regular sized candy bars and 200 fun sized.

PRE-EARTH DAY CELEBRATION We had our "Pre-Earth Day" celebration on April 18th. We featured numerous area environmental groups with a wide spectrum of causes that set up tables, continuous entertainment, crowned our 2001 "King and Queen of Litter-Free", unveiled a "reCREATED" art piece by campus art students, sold CO2 credits, had poetry and other readings, featured NASA's mobile education bus from Cleveland and the US EPA info. trailer, and ended in the evening with a special planetarium presentation themed on natural resource origin and conservation. It was our most successful to date. Jim Petuch Youngstown State University

  

TRASH BASH AND EARTH FESTIVAL

Here At Kalamazoo College, we generally have two annual events per year. In the fall quarter, it known as "TRASH BASH" primarily focus toward 1st year students since most of the other class are aware of it and have fun participating in it. Then in the spring we simply name it "EARTH FEST".

Here are some of the examples in the past that has been effective as follows:

speaker(s) paper making pumpkin carving contest (prizes) recycle art contest (prizes) eco-games (prizes) student organization booths informational booths Bands -students as well from local bands tye dying leaf pile to jump in composting campus wide outdoor dinner veggie cook out

EARTH FEST (one week event)

We generally break down the events during the week. Here are some examples as follow not necessarily in order

Monday - composting workshop Tuesday - bike day Wednesday. - classes outdoors if weather permitted Thursday - no computer day to conserve energy Friday - movie on the quad (environmental movie) or/ and nature walk Saturday. - Earth day event same as trash bash with exception of dumpster diving, pumpkin carving and leaf pile. We try to make this event somewhat similar to "Woodstock" but we call it "Quadstock" with more bands. Prizes for most part been donated from local businesses and here are some of the examples dinner for two indoor climbing day passes for two pizza gift certificate

movie pass for two concert for two food co-op gift certificate book store gift certificate on, on, more unlimited potential stuff Well that's all folks hope this will give some insight for your Earth day ideas !

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