Well, the future is here! Ms Karin’s grade 4/5 and Mr. Mitchell’s grade 6/7 designed and built communities that had small eco footprints and sustainable designs. Both classes were challenged to use make a community that was possible using technology from today. We even looked at a few examples of cities that have important sustainability goals like Copenhagen, Denmark to be carbon neutral in 2025 and Vancouver’s 2020 Greenest City Initiative.
With so many examples of depressing futures in the movies, books and media, it is a breath of fresh air to be able to design a future where we are actually healthier and happier by restructuring our communities.
The students always come up with great ideas from ziplines that transport people and goods, to using composted bio-solids to fertilize hay fields, living in insulated, efficient buildings and protecting community watersheds. They also created some rules and regulations for their towns to be more sustainable like : no plastic packaging was allowed in the stores in their town. Or garbage pick was every two weeks but compost pick up was every week. Some towns created whole education systems so that people could make their own toothpastes/deodorant/soaps etc, take 5 min showers, and carry around reusable dishes.
All the towns had amazing trails to bike, roller-skate, skateboard and walk. Many also had electric cars, shared vehicles and high speed trains. Wouldn’t you want to live in these communities?
