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A Stewardship Education Kit

Teacher’s Guide

This teaching resource is supported by:

Inside Education thanks these supporters for their generous contributions.

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acknowledgementsTable of Contents

CARE Package Detailed Item List Page 4Energy Stewardship – facts and tips Page 9Water Stewardship – facts and tips Page 12Waste Reduction – facts and tips Page 15Useful Websites Page 18Classroom Activities Page 19 Quick Reference List Page 20

Inside Education

www.insideeducation.cainfo@insideeducation.caP: 1-888-421-1497

This guide was printed on unbleached 100% recycled paper.

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introductionYou have just received a C.A.R.E. package.

This package contains a number of simple items and ideas that can help make exciting changes for our

world and our environment. Share this package with your students and discover easy ways to

decrease the consumption of natural resources like water, trees, and fossil fuels. With this C.A.R.E. package you can help your students learn about environmental stewardship and become stewards themselves!

What is environmental stewardship?

Environmental stewardship means that you actively CARE for the environment and our

natural resources. There are many elements to this CARE process:

• Stewardship takes Cooperation: While it is important for each of us as individuals to be good

stewards of the environment, the collective bene!ts of working together can produce tremendous results!

• Stewardship takes Action: We must go beyond talking and become actively engaged in activities that promote environmental stewardship. After you decide how to change the way you consume our natural resources, you must implement that change.

• Stewardship takes Responsibility: You are accountable for your own actions and your own decisions. When you decide that you are responsible for the conservation of our environment, you are becoming an environmental steward.

• Stewardship takes Education: Often, the best way to solve a problem is to !rst learn more about it. Understanding environmental issues and concerns is the !rst step toward practicing stewardship.

Teacher Tips

The CARE Package is the ultimate show and tell kit and is meant to be used in a variety of classrooms, school situations and grade levels where the instructor would like to explore topics related to environmental stewardship. As a teacher you may choose to:

• Present the information to your students.

• Have the students research and present the information to their fellow classmates as a jigsaw exercise.

• Have students educate other classes or sta" as part of their stewardship activities.

• Complete some of the activities at the back of this booklet.

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Why should we practice environmental stewardship in our homes?

• To decrease the use of our natural resources

“By the age of 6 months, an average Canadian has consumed an equivalent amount of resources as an average person in the developing world consumes in a lifetime.” (Recycling Council of Ontario)

A natural resource is something from the natural environment that we use to meet our everyday wants and needs. Non-renewable resources are those that cannot be replaced in a human’s lifetime (e.g. fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas).

• To minimize our environmental footprint

“In 2008, Canadian governments and businesses disposed of approximately 26 million tonnes of municipal, commercial & industrial, and construction & demolition waste. That’s down from 31 million tonnes in 2002.” (Statistics Canada)

As the human population continues to grow, so do demands placed on our planet. By reducing the use and development of our natural resources, we can help lessen these demands on the earth’s ecosystems. Environmental stewardship requires an understanding of the relationship between our wants and needs and the planet’s ability to provide them and cope with the waste produced.

• To decrease the impacts of climate change

“Nationally, transportation accounts for approximately 29% of Canada’s GHG emissions. Leaving your car at home one day a week will cut your vehicle fuel bill by about 15 per cent and reduce vehicle wear.” (Climate Change Central)

Many human activities, including the burning of fossils fuels, can result in an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) found in the earth’s atmosphere. Greenhouse gases help to trap some of the earth’s heat energy, maintaining a stable climate. An increase in the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere can cause the earth’s climate to change, resulting in varying weather patterns across the globe.

• To save money!

“If every Canadian household replaced one standard 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a 20-watt compact !uorescent light bulb, we could prevent 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere (same as removing 66,000 cars from the road) and save $73 million each year in energy costs.” (Environment Canada)

Being an environmental steward can save money. From reducing the amount of water we use, to using less electricity to light our homes, being e#cient means doing more with less!

introduction

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CARE Package contains 23 simple items that can be used in the home and classroom to help save energy, protect and conserve our water sources, reduce waste, and save money! Even the CARE Package bag itself is made of 85% recycled material and is 100% reusable! Reusable cloth grocery bags can help replace the millions of plastic bags that are thrown away every year. This can help reduce waste and conserve the energy and natural resources that go into producing plastic bags.

Each item in the CARE Package has a number assigned to it. Use the lists below to help you identify what it is and how it promotes environmental stewardship.

care packagedetailed item list

Energy Products

1. Power Outlet Timer

Stop phantom power (the current that $ows when your appliances are turned o" but still plugged in) by plugging appliances into a timer. You can save even more by plugging the power bar into the timer. When the timer turns the power bar o", the current stops and you save electrical energy and money because no current is $owing to devices that are not in use.

2. LED (light emitting diode) Bulb

LEDs are very durable and give o" low heat. An LED light bulb can last up to 100,000 hours compared to 8,000 for a CFL (compact $uorescent light) bulb or 1,000 for an incandescent bulb. That is an average of 12 hours of light per day for 12 years. The light output of individual LEDs is small compared to CFL bulbs so multiple diodes are often grouped together into one bulb. LEDs do not contain mercury like CFL bulbs and, therefore, disposal is less of a concern.

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3. Draft Detector

Finding drafts around doors, windows, baseboards, and electrical outlets can require some detective work. A simple way to locate small cracks and holes in your house is to use a draft detector. On a windy day, light the detector. When it starts smoking, hold it near the suspected area. Watch the smoke to see if there is movement in the air. If you !nd a crack or hole, seal it up with caulk or weatherstripping.

4. Rechargeable Batteries

Using rechargeable batteries saves the resources and energy that go into producing disposable batteries. All batteries contain harmful chemicals that can pollute the environment when they enter our land!lls and should be disposed of at your local eco-station.

5. Air Register Seal

This register seal is a magnetic sheet that secures over air registers to direct warm or cool air to the areas that need it most. Redirect warm air to the basement in the winter, and cool air from the basement in the summer. By heating or cooling your house more e#ciently, you will save energy and have a more balanced temperature all year long.

6. Tire Gauge

Under-in$ated tires cause automobiles to use signi!cantly more fuel than tires with correct pressure. A simple tire gauge will let you know if your tires are under-in$ated. Checking them once a week is a great way to keep on top of extra fuel consumption. Using a tire gauge will help your tires last longer and driving will be safer too!

7. Power Monitor

Phantom power is the current running through appliances even when they are turned o". This power monitor is a device that determines the energy consumption for any appliance that plugs into a standard wall socket. With this knowledge you can make better energy decisions in your home by !nding out which machines use the most power so you can choose to plug these appliances in only when they are needed.

detailed item list

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detailed item list8. Vegetable Seeds

Have fun and save energy by growing a garden of your own. Consider the energy needed to process and transport food. If you want to reduce the distance food travels to reach your plate, your own backyard is a great place to start. By planting fruit and vegetable seeds, you can also save money on groceries and eliminate chemicals from your food.

Water products

9. Low-!ow Showerhead

This low-$ow showerhead uses 36% less water and is a great way to conserve water. Because less hot water is used, it can also save energy and money and reduce a homeowner’s greenhouse gas emissions by about 650 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions per year. (Climate Change Central). Installing a low-$ow showerhead could save a family of four more than an average swimming pool of water a year.

10. Flying Disc

Did you know that your lawn only needs 2 cm of water per week? Use the $ying disc as a helpful tool to measure how much you water by putting it on your grass upside down. When it is full, turn o" your sprinkler! You can also reduce your lawn’s water and fertilizer needs by cutting your grass higher and leaving the clippings right on the lawn. This will help put nutrients back in the soil, help trap moisture, and reduce waste!

11. Micro"bre Sponge Cloth

Using a micro!bre cloth can reduce the amount of water you use when cleaning anything from your kitchen to your car. They absorb over !ve times more water than regular cloths. Because they can clean surfaces without the use of potentially environmentally harmful cleaning agents, they can also help protect our water quality. Finally, they reduce the amount of waste generated while cleaning because, unlike a paper towel, they are reusable.

12. Handmade Soap

This soap is made without dyes, perfumes, petroleum, formaldehyde preservatives, phosphates or enzymes. By using this soap, you protect our water quality and reduce the amount of potentially harmful products entering our water system. Environmental cleaning products can be found for cleaning everything from your face, $oors, laundry and even your bicycle.

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detailed item list13. Shower Timer

Save water, save energy and save time for your other morning routines like eating a proper breakfast or reading the paper. By installing and using this simple shower timer, you can conserve water while also reducing your greenhouse gas emissions created through heating the water.

14. Toilet Leak Detection Dye

Toilet leaks are the most common water wasting problem in the home – it can add to your water bill without you even knowing it. Leak detection dye can come in both strips and tablets. Add one of these to your toilet tank and wait twenty minutes. If the water in the bowl changes colour, the seal around the $apper is leaking. Replacing the $apper should solve the problem. Of course you could also use a few drops of food coloring to do the same test.

Waste Reduction Products

15. Recycled Plastic Garbage Bags

These bags are made in Alberta using 100% post-industrial recycled plastic. By making simple choices such as choosing recycled plastic products over virgin plastic, we can reduce our natural resource consumption and provide a second life for plastic waste.

16. Mesh Produce Bags

These little bags are good for the environment as a replacement for the smaller plastic bags found in grocery stores. Plastic bags

are often discarded and do not break down easily. If fewer plastic produce bags are produced, energy is saved in their production, fossil

fuel use decreases, and fewer greenhouse gases are emitted.

17. Reusable Sandwich Container

These are great for the environment because you can reuse them for years and years instead of using disposable plastic wrap or sandwich

bags. Also, you don’t have to worry about your books squishing your sandwich.

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detailed item list18. Recycled Newspaper Pencils

Ever wonder what newspapers are turned into after being recycled? One of the the many possible products is this pencil made with 85% post-consumer recycled newspapers. Fewer resources are needed to create new products when recycled materials are used.

19. Do-It-Yourself Recycled Paper Notebook

This recycled paper notebook is a product you and your students can make for almost no cost. All you need is scrap paper, heavy paper for covers, something to bind the notebooks with, and your imagination! These books are made with box covers and bound with thread.*Hint: Use thumbtacks to punch the holes before sewing the pages together.

20. Staple-free Stapler

More than a billion tonnes of steel are used every year to make staples. In order to make them, raw materials need to be mined, re!ned and sent to the factory. This staple-free stapler needs no metal staples and can staple up to 5 pieces of paper. It uses a binding fold to hold the sheets together. Using fewer staples not only protects the environment, but it saves you money as well.

21. No Junk Mail Sticker

30 million trees are cut down each year just for unaddressed mail. It is estimated that 450 pieces of unaddressed mail arrive in your mailbox each year (www.greencalgary.org). Make a big di"erence in reducing your waste and conserving Canadian forests.

22. Biodegradable Cutlery

At your next picnic or party, try using biodegradable cutlery if bringing your metal kitchen cutlery isn’t possible. These utensils can be washed and used again. Once you’re !nished, they can also be put into your compost and will break down in a matter of months. Compare that to plastic cutlery, which can remain in a land!ll for hundreds of years. This biodegradable cutlery is made from wood, which is a renewable natural resource.

23. Water Flow Rate Bag

We all know that we shouldn’t leave the water running when we brush our teeth, but just how much water are we losing down the drain? Flow rate bags measure the volume of water running out of the tap or showerhead. Use this reusable bag to !nd out how much more water and money could be saved by upgrading your water !xtures or changing behaviour around water use.

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What is energy?Energy is the ability to do work, and it exists either stored (potential energy), or working (kinetic energy). We use various forms of energy each day including electrical, chemical, heat and light energy. These sources of energy help us cook our food, drive our cars, heat our homes and light our way. Energy can come from either renewable or non-renewable sources.

energy stewardshipWhy do we need to reduce the amount of energy we are consuming? Often, we release energy through combustion or burning, particularly fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are burned, they produce greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide. While the earth requires certain levels of greenhouses gases to trap some of the heat energy from the sun, increased concentrations of GHGs can have adverse e"ects on our climate, altering long term weather patterns including temperature and precipitation levels.

It takes energy to make energy! It takes energy to develop and produce our natural resources so they can be made useful. Conserving energy not only reduces the amount of GHGs we release, but also the GHGs released through the development of these natural resources.

We must also consider that we have only a limited amount of natural resources available to produce much of our energy. Reducing our energy use and using alternative and sustainable forms of energy will help ensure that there is energy available for future generations.

Often, energy sources are used to create electrical energy. Therefore, if we decrease the amount of electricity that we use, we decrease the amount of natural resources needed to produce that electricity.

Much of Alberta’s electricity is produced using fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Here, coal or natural gas is burned to heat water and create steam. This steam is then used to drive an electrical generator. Alberta’s electricity also comes from hydroelectric dams and sources such as wind, biomass and solar. The percentage breakdown is as follows:

* Source: AESO, 2010

Renewable Energy

sources that can be replenished quickly or

are not used up

WindGeothermal

WaterBiomass

Solar

Non-Renewable Energysources that cannot be replenished quickly

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(solar, biomass, ect.)energy source

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Where does Alberta’s electricity come from?

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energy stewardshipEnergy Facts

• For every degree you lower your thermostat in the winter, you can save 3% on your heating bill.

• Improperly sealed/caulked windows can account for up to 25% of total heat loss from a house.

• A refrigerator built 20 years ago uses 70% more energy than today’s energy e#cient models.

• More than half of the energy used by a computer is used by the monitor. LCD monitors use 80-90% less energy than conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors.

• A computer that runs 24 hours a day uses between $75 and $120 worth of electricity each year – more power than an energy-e#cient refrigerator. In standby mode, your computer’s energy use can be reduced to $15.

• Compact $uorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, while providing the same amount of light.

• Incandescent bulbs use only 5% of the electricity you pay for to produce light, while the other 95% ends up as wasted heat.

• Idling a vehicle for 10 minutes a day uses an average of 100 litres of gas per year. If gas costs 70 cents per litre, you will save $70 per year just by turning your key.

• During the winter, Canadians idle their vehicles for a combined total of 75 million minutes/day. This is equal to a vehicle idling for 144 years. Although we idle our vehicles about 40% less in summer, we still waste an enormous amount of fuel and money.

• Instead of burning fossil fuels, consider walking and/or cycling. It can improve your health and help the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: Environment Canada (www.ec.gc.ca) and The Green Book (www.readthegreenbook.com).

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energy stewardship• Close drapes, blinds, and shades to keep the sun’s rays out of the home during the warmer months. You will help keep

your house cool without an air conditioner.

• Draft-proof your home to save on heating and cooling energy. Check windows, baseboards, walls, ducts, and doors to ensure the energy you’re using isn’t slipping through the cracks.

• Plant deciduous trees on the south and west sides of your house. They will provide shade in the summer and allow sun to warm your house during the winter after they have lost their leaves.

• Clean furnace air !lters, registers, vents, and electric baseboards to make sure your heating system does not have to work harder and use more energy than necessary.

• Fans use less energy than air conditioners. They also circulate the air making it feel cooler and less stu"y

• Reduce water-heating needs by using less water. Install low-$ow showerheads, faucet aerators and buy energy and water e#cient appliances.

• Use alternative methods of cooking, such as the BBQ, in the summer. This will prevent the need to turn up the air-conditioning if your home gets hotter from the added oven heat.

• Turn o" anything electronic when it is not being used.

• When turned o", your appliances and electronics are still using energy if they’re plugged in. This type of energy is called phantom power. Simply unplug your appliances when you’re not using them, and this will save you both money and energy.

• Ask your local energy supplier about switching to or purchasing electricity from a renewable energy source, such as solar or wind.

• Use the oven light to check on food; opening the door wastes energy.

• Use natural light instead of turning on the lights.

• Hang clothes outside to dry in the fresh air.

• Use LED Christmas lights and a timer so they don’t light up the neighbourhood all night.

• Install occupancy or motion sensors if you have the tendency to leave the lights on after you leave a room.

• Replace lights you use the most with compact $uorescent bulbs or LEDs.

• Turn o" your monitor when at a meeting or out for lunch. You will save more than half the energy used by your computer and there will be no start-up time when you turn the monitor back on.

• Remove roof racks and roof storage units from your vehicle when not in use to reduce aerodynamic drag and fuel consumption.

• Remove unnecessary items from your trunk. The lighter your car, the higher your fuel e#ciency.

• Check your tire pressure regularly and especially after a sharp drop in temperature. Cold winter temperatures decrease the air pressure in tires adding to the resistance caused by snow and slush.

• Use public transit as much as possible. You could save money and reduce pollution – not to mention reducing the stress of driving in rush hour

• Create idle-free zones in your school’s bus loading zone, student drop-o" zone, and sta" parking lots.

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Tips for Using Less Energy

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Why should we practice water stewardship?Water is the world’s most important natural resource. Without water, there would be no life on earth. Albertans are fortunate to have valuable sources of fresh water including our major rivers originating in the Rocky Mountains, our wetlands and lakes, and groundwater. Still, this water is not evenly distributed across the province and there are areas with ever-increasing water challenges such as the semi-arid south. In addition, water is only as useful as the quality of it and it often takes a great deal of treatment before it can be used in our homes. Water treatment can have large energy and economic costs associated with it. Because of this, we must conserve the water we have and protect the quality of the water around us — this is water stewardship.

Where are we using water in our homes?The majority of water we use in our homes goes down the drain! Toilets and showers make up 63% of the total water use in our homes.

Source: www.epcor.ca

*Source: Environment Canada

Common Household Water Use*

Traditional Toilet Flush5 Minute Shower Tub Bath Automatic Dishwasher Dishwashing by HandWashing your Hands (with tap running) Brushing your Teeth (with tap running) Washing Machine Outdoor Watering

15-19L100L60L40L35L8L

10L

225L35L/minute

water stewardship

Outdoor 5%

Kitchen 13%

Laundry 19%

Toilets 29%

Showers/Baths 34%

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water stewardshipWater Facts

• In 2011, Canadians used an average of 335 litres of water each day.

• Only 10% of our home water supply is used in the kitchen and as drinking water.

• The biggest peaks in domestic water use during the year occur in the summer, when about half to three quarters of all municipally treated water is sprayed onto lawns.

• About 65% of indoor home water use occurs in our bathrooms.

• Approximately 300 litres of water is required to produce one kilogram of paper.

• It takes about 215 000 litres of water to produce one metric ton of steel.

• Today, around 3 800 cubic kilometres of fresh water is withdrawn annually from the world’s lakes, rivers and aquifers. This is twice the volume extracted 50 years ago.

• A !ve-minute shower with a standard showerhead uses 100 litres of water. A !ve-minute shower with a low-$ow showerhead uses less than 50 litres of water.

• A single lawn sprinkler spraying 19 litres per minute uses more water in one hour than a combination of ten toilet $ushes, two 5-minute showers, two dishwasher loads, and a full load of clothes.

• Approximately 1000 kilograms of water is required to grow one kilogram of potatoes.

• About 75% of all agricultural water withdrawals in Canada take place on the Prairies, mainly for irrigation.

• Water is a limited resource that we need to use wisely. Less than 1% of the world’s water supply is usable freshwater, 97% is salt water found in the ocean and 2% is frozen ice in ice caps/glaciers.

• Everybody lives upstream and downstream from someone else!

Source: www.ec.gc.ca/water

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• Don’t let the water run while you’re cleaning fruits and vegetables. Wash them in a partially !lled sink and save up to 5 litres of water each time.

• Keep a pitcher of water in your refrigerator rather than running the tap every time you need a cold glass of water.

• If you must run the tap, catch the water in a container to use for other things like watering plants.

• When hand-washing dishes, !ll 2 sinks: one for washing and the other for rinsing. You will save water by not running the water while rinsing.

• Pre-washing your dishes before putting them into the dishwasher uses twice the amount of water as you would if you put them directly into the dishwasher.

• Install a low-$ow aerator on your kitchen and bathroom taps. You can reduce your water consumption by as much as 50%.

• Always turn taps o" tightly so they do not drip and !x leaks promptly. One leak can waste several thousand litres of water per year.

• The average 15-minute shower uses about 300 L of water. Set a goal to cut your shower time in half and you will reduce water and energy used to heat the water.

• Turn o" the tap while you brush your teeth to save up to 8 litres of water a minute.

• Why $ush something so precious down the drain? Install low-$ush toilets that use 6 litres or less per $ush and reduce your water usage by 40% to 50%.

• Doing many small loads of laundry wastes water. By washing only full loads, the average family could save 2,000 litres of water a month, as well as a lot of energy.

• Change to a high e#cient front load washer machine to use less water and reduce the amount of phosphates being released into our water supplies. (It’s also easier on your clothes!)

• Try “xeriscaping.” Design your yard with indigenous plants that do not need more than rainwater to thrive. Say goodbye to grass and have a rock garden with colorful plants that need very little water.

• If you must use fertilizer, only use as much as your lawn and plants require.

• Dispose of paints, solvents, or oil-based compounds properly. Do not pour them down the sink or storm drain. Contact your municipality for disposal locations or chemical round-up events held in your community.

• Compost organic waste, rather than using a garbage disposal. Garbage disposals add unwanted nutrients to the water supplies and require energy to operate

• Install rain barrels to catch rainwater as it drains from your home’s gutters. Use the collected water on your lawn, garden, or $owerbed.

For more tips, visit www.goblue.org.

water stewardshipKI

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Water Stewardship Tips

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Why should we be concerned about waste? What impact does excessive waste have on our environment?Environment Canada has said that “…about 1/3 of our waste is paper and paperboard. Another third is yard and kitchen waste. The rest is divided among glass, metals, plastics, textiles, wood and other materials.” How much of this waste can actually be recycled? Most of it!

As consumers, we may not realize the impact of our actions on the environment. For example, we often purchase items with excess packaging that end up in our land!lls. We’re using electronics for less time before we throw them away and replace them with newer models. Large amounts of energy and natural resources go into the manufacturing of these products and their packaging. Often, we throw items away after using them only once, including the plastic bag that we brought the item home in. We toss kitchen scraps in our garbage with the rest of our trash to be taken to the land!ll. These activities result in greater amounts of waste entering our ever-rising land!lls meaning there are fewer places to empty all of this garbage. Land!lls must also be carefully managed to ensure that potentially harmful products do not enter nearby water systems. Actions must be taken to decrease the rising amount of waste that is ending up in land!lls.

“The role of the land"ll is to isolate trash from groundwater. In doing this, we also want to keep it dry and away from contact with the air. These are NOT ideal conditions for decomposition to occur, so the garbage ends up sitting there for hundreds of years.” (www.howstu#works.com)

UNEP/GRID-Arendal

The Three R’s of Waste Reduction: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The good news is that we can practice three easy activities to minimize the amount of waste we produce. First, we can reduce the amount of waste we produce by not accumulating it in the !rst place. For example, we can use a re!llable co"ee mug, or re-usable shopping bag rather than using disposable products. We can also reuse many items that we already have, or, make them available to others for reuse. Finally, we can recycle many of the items that cannot be used again Those items can be recycled with treatment (paper, plastic, metal, glass), or without treatment (clothing, household items, toys). Much of our paper, plastics, cans, and glass can go toward creating new products, and it usually takes less energy to turn them into something di"erent than it did to create them in the !rst place..

waste reduction

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waste reductionWaste Facts

• Plastic products contribute 7% by weight and 30% by volume to municipal solid waste. (Recycling Council of Ontario)

• 10 plastic soft drink bottles are required to make the !ber!ll for one ski jacket. (Greater Vancouver Regional District: Just the Facts)

• Presently, 80% of municipal and industrial solid waste in Canada is disposed of by land!lling processes, with the remainder disposed through recycling, resource recovery and incineration. (Government of Canada)

• Land!ll sites account for about 38% of Canada’s total methane emissions. (Environment Canada)

• One pound of newspaper can be recycled to make six cereal boxes, six egg cartons or 2,000 sheets of writing paper. (Recycling Council of Ontario)

• The automobile is the most recycled consumer product in the world today. It takes about 45 seconds to shred the average automobile into !st-sized pieces for recycling. (Clean Air Foundation)

• 25% of the energy used to manufacture cardboard is saved when the cardboard is recycled. (The Eco-E$ciency Centre)

• More than 140,000 tonnes of computer equipment, phones, televisions, stereos and small home appliances accumulate in Canadian land!lls each year. That’s equivalent to the weight of about 28,000 adult African elephants or enough uncrushed electronic waste to !ll up Toronto’s Rogers Centre sports arena every 15 years. (Environment Canada)

• Recycling one aluminum can saves the amount of energy to light one 100 watt bulb for 20 hours or run a TV for three hours. (Waste Reduction Week Canada)

• North America has 8% of the world’s population, consumes 1/3 of the world’s resources and produces almost half of the world’s non-organic garbage. (Waste Reduction Week Canada)

• Recycling all of your home’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass and metal can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 400 kg a year! (Earth Care)

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waste reduction• Use bags made of recycled plastic when a plastic bag is required. This will reduce the consumption of natural resources

and divert plastic waste from the land!ll.

• Challenge your students to bring a litter-free lunch.

• Large amounts of waste are produced by printing documents on only one side of the paper. Format your printer to print documents on both sides of the paper.

• Reduce the packaging used when buying quantities in smaller amounts by buying items in bulk at wholesale store.

• Buy for the long-term. Spend a little extra on reliable items that you know will last, instead of buying similar items and discarding them often because of malfunctions or wear and tear.

• Carry your own co"ee mug instead of using disposable cups every day.

• When cutting the lawn, leave the clippings on the grass. Not only does this reduce the waste heading to land!lls, but the clippings break down quickly and return nutrients back to the lawn. More water can be absorbed, reducing the amount of watering required.

• Create a compost area in your backyard or outdoor space. You’ll be able to produce your own healthy compost to help your garden, and you will also signi!cantly cut down on the amount of waste you send to land!lls.

• In the fall, compost the leaves from your yard.

• Carry reusable shopping bags with you rather than using the plastic bags stores provide.

• Reuse small containers and jars for storage instead of throwing them out.

• Donate cartons, cans, and bottles, to local schools and daycares as supplies for upcoming craft projects.

• Donate used household items to organizations that may need them after you’ve !nished using them. Toys, clothes, and furniture can all !nd a happy second home when they are donated to shelters or social service groups.

• Donate your books and magazines to doctor’s o#ces, schools, or other places that may take them.

• Purchase products that are packaged in recycled or recyclable material.

• Recycle as many of your cans, plastics, paper, glass, and cardboard products as you can!

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Waste Reduction and Consumer Tips

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These websites may help you discover even more activities you can do in your home to practice environmental stewardship:

www.epcor.caDiscover tips on how to conserve energy and water in your home. Use Epcor’s online guides, suggestions, and calculators to see where you can cut down your costs… and cut down your resource consumption.

www.ec.gc.caEnvironment Canada gives speci!c tips on what you can do at home to conserve energy, water and electricity. Learn how to create less waste in your daily life.

www.readthegreenbook.comThe Green Book, written by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, gives you ideas for simple things you can do in order to make eco-friendly changes to your home and life. Read the anecdotes from Hollywood stars like Cameron Diaz, Will Ferrell, and others who contributed ideas to the book.

www.albertarecycling.caThis website provides information on recycling, and helps you !nd the sites nearest to you for recycling paint, tires, or electronics.

www.environment.alberta.caVisit this website for information about Alberta’s water, air, land and waste. Learn about Climate Change and see how Alberta is addressing important environmental issues.

www.greenlearning.caThis website, designed and maintained by the Pembina Institute, is full of environmental educational resources and activities that are linked to the Alberta curriculum.

Websites for Students

www.ecokids.ca This website o"ers games and activities for kids about waste, energy, climate change, and land use. There are loads of exercises and puzzles to try, as well as quizzes to see how much you’ve learned.

www.storyofstu#.comThis is an American website, but it tells an interesting story from where “stu"” begins, to where it ultimately ends. It’s a 20 minute animated short !lm, and the notes and fact sheets are included on the website.

www.sortitout.caThis is a great website for students to understand what can and cannot be recycled; with games, resources, and contests to test your new knowledge of waste and di"erent options for disposal.

www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-doThis is the David Suzuki Foundation’s Nature Challenge for kids. Students are encouraged to reduce their ecological footprint by making simple life changes and spreading the word to their friends and family. This website is also a great resource for teachers.

www.kidsforsavingearth.orgThis website o"ers tips and information on environmental concerns. Be sure to check out the Programs area on the site, where you can choose a program that suits your interests to do one small thing to help the planet.

useful websites

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classroom activitiesBelow is a list of ten simple activities you can do in your classroom and school with the aid or inspiration of your CARE package. Have fun learning about and practicing environmental stewardship!

1. After going through the kit…and discussing the bene!ts of environmental stewardship, make commitments as a class to do at least one thing to reduce consumption of natural resources on a regular basis. See the tips on pages 11, 14, and 17 for some great ideas.

2. As a class save all your lunch garbage…for one week to see how much waste is produced. Now think about how many students there are in your school and !gure out how much garbage your school makes per week. Then encourage students to start bringing litter-free lunches to school. You can show them the reusable sandwich container as an example of a litter-free choice. You can also start this o" in a fun way by having a litter-free lunch party or a school-wide awareness campaign.

3. Organize a school wide cleanup…four times during the school year. Start by making posters to advertise the event to initiate conversation about waste reduction. Hopefully, you will see a reduction in the amount of garbage being thrown around your school and grounds with each passing cleanup.

4. Show your students the Do-It-Yourself recycled notebook…talk about the importance of the three R’s and then make your own recycled paper notebooks. Your school likely has a lot of scrap paper and the students can bring in pictures, magazine clippings, or other items to personalize the front covers.

5. Bring in a lamp…and put an incandescent light bulb in it. Test the power usage of the lamp using the power monitor and record. Then put in a compact $uorescent light bulb and test the power usage of the lamp again. Repeat with the LED bulb. Compare the energy usage of the three and discuss how how much energy could be saved if all lightbulbs were switched to compact $uorescent.

6. Find out how much money the school spends…on power in one month. Then organize a school-wide initiative to turn o" all lights and computers when the school day is over. After a month, compare power bills and see how much money you’ve saved the school!

7. If you have a sink in your classroom…plug the drain for the day and see how much water collects in the bottom of the sink. This is water that will be washed down the drain. Then, install the On/O" Tap saver and plug the drain again for a day. See if your classroom water wastage was reduced. With your class, brainstorm other ways water can be conserved or share the tips with them on page 14.

8. Hold an “eco-way to school” event…invite students to come to school on foot, by bike, by skateboard, or by some other imaginative way that is people powered. This event could be a great start to a day of environmental stewardship events such as a school-wide clean up or litter-free lunch day.

9. With your students, read about…how corn plastic is made at http://science.howstu"works.com/corn-plastic.html then make your own corn plastic! It is easy to do and requires only simple household ingredients. For older students also read the article at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/plastic.html and have a discussion about the issues raised by the author.

10. Invite the students to build their own CARE kit…for their homes. Many of the products in our kit can be found at local stores for reasonable prices. This would be a great activity to do for Earth Day (April 22).

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quick reference listITEM # CARE PACKAGE ITEM

Energy Stewardship

1 Power Outlet Timer

2 LED Bulb

3 Draft Detector

4 Rechargeable Batteries

5 Air Register Seal

6 Tire Gauge

7 Power Monitor

8 Vegetable Seeds

Water Stewardship

9 Low-!ow Showerhead

10 Flying Disc

11 Micro"bre Sponge Cloth

12 Handmade Soap

13 Shower Timer

14 Toilet Leak Detection Strips

Waste Reduction

15 100% Recycled Plastic Bag

16 Mesh Produce Bags

17 Reusable Sandwich Container

18 Recycled Newspaper Pencil

19 Do-It-Yourself Recycled Paper Notebook

20 Staple-free Stapler

21 No Junk Mail Sticker

22 Biodegradable Cutlery

23 Water Flow Rate Bag

www.insideeducation.ca printed September 2012

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A Stewardship Education Kit

Teacher’s Guide