Some of the most fun aspects of Beyond Recycling are the hands-on projects. This year, Mrs. Galina’s grade 6 class at St Mary’s Catholic Independent School got their creativity flowing by building Commuities of the Future. Supported by Outdoor Ed teacher Ms Patty, and Beyond Recycling Educator Ms Kim, the grade 6s combined their year of learning into sustainable futuristic cities that considered food, transportation, housing, water, energy and of course waste needs of a small-medium sized community, much like theirs.
How could cities improve from what we have now? Can current technologies be used in new ways in the future? Do we really need to center our cities around vehicle traffic, especially carbon-burning vehicles? What will our communities look like in 20 years if we use renewable energy, eat local food, reduce waste, and protect water wisely? These are just some of the problems the class considered in their planning stages.
With support from Beyond Recycling, the school was able to purchase some new tools to help students build their imaginative cities. Some groups chose to draw their communities, while others build 3D models using clean recyclables and the new cardboard building system. Students integrated ideas like solar panels, water recycling facilities, community compost, and creative transportation such as zip lines.
Once our community builders retired back to their regular studies, their designs were showcased for the whole school during Earth Day Week.
