For as long as I’ve been a Beyond Recycling educator in Invermere, I’ve been taking Beyond Recycling classes to Cranbrook for their Waste Field Trip. We’ve visited the big central landfill, the central bottle depot for the Kootenays, and the Materials Recovery Facility – all great learning experiences. However, this year, Kristen Curry, the teacher … Continued
When this bizarre moustached & sunglasses-wearing Garbologist appeared in Ms. Curry’s class, one student exclaimed “what on Earth is happening!?” And indeed, what was happening in this class of Grade Seven students at JA Laird Elementary in Invermere? Why was this garbologist rifling through the class garbage & separating items into the categories of recyclables, … Continued
We here in the Upper Columbia Valley, All need our water to drink, swim, wash, To plant our seeds and watch them grow. Every time we turn on the taps the water just Runs, runs, and runs. Water, water, everywhere… We used to take our water for granted, Always there when we … Continued
Debating is an art, but before you make your masterpiece you must develop the skills. How do you develop skills other than trying, failing, trying again, practicing and slowly gaining confidence, success and skills. Most students in Ms. Curry’s class at J.A. Laird school in Invermere had never participated in a debate, let … Continued
As you can see from this brainstorm of descriptive words related to “waste”, we humans do not have positive associations with waste! Thankfully, there are other hardworking creatures that would make the exact opposite brainstorm, if they had hands or arms. But they’re also too busy decomposing the organic waste in Ms. Curry’s Gr 6/7 … Continued
Education about where our food comes from and how it’s grown is important in developing citizens who care enough to spend a little more to support local farmers and minimize their impact on planet Earth. Thus with those goals in mind, for their Good Food field trip, Mrs. Wilisky’s Grade 5/6 class from JA Laird … Continued
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that if you ask someone to stop doing or using something that’s key to their lifestyle, you need to provide or brainstorm an alternative. For example, if you just tell someone who relies on fishing for their entire livelihood to stop fishing as the local fish population … Continued
When you get up in the morning and brush your teeth with your electric toothbrush, pull on your jeans and t-shirt, and grab a pencil to write down today’s to-do list, do you ever stop to think about how the batteries you use, jeans you wear and pencil you just used were made? It’s hard … Continued
The Columbia Valley, where Invermere is located, does not have a plethora of local farmers, making it even more important to support, visit, and interact with the few local farmers around. Thus as part of Beyond Recycling’s focus on learning where stuff comes from, Ms. Lema’s Grade 7 class from J.A. Laird in Invermere went … Continued
What do the two pictures below have to do with each other and helping out with the end of school? Figure 1: Ripped pieces of paper Figure 2: Handmade Artisanal Paper A) They both are pretty B) … Continued
