Climate Detectives Projects 2018-2019

Project title: What about waste ?

Team: Elise Boelens

2018-2019   Institut Saint-Louis (Bruxelles)   Bruxelles   Belgium   42 Student’s age: 10-11

– We collected the garbage from the schoolyard. Result: 4 kilograms of garbage at the end of the week! – Various photos and videos from around the world were shown to them so that they could see the impact of waste on the climate (new waste continents for example). – The students suggested painting drawings in the schoolyard to encourage other students to reduce their waste consumption (the hummingbird symbolizing the fact that every action – even small – counts). – We sent a letter to the Mayor of the City of Brussels asking him to offer us small boxes in which to put the snacks without packaging so that they would no longer pollute the schoolyard/the planet. – A scientist specialized in waste management explained us to her job and answered the students’ questions by video conference.

– Students in the class significantly reduce their waste production: some make their own snacks, others take boxes with less individual packaging. Everybody does his part for nature. – The school management is sensitive to this problem and wishes to support us in our approach. From next year, snacks must be fruits. All organic waste will go to a compost within reach of children. – We are still waiting for the Mayor’s response to our request…. To be continued!

– Make students aware that they should no longer throw garbage in the schoolyard and/or significantly reduce packaging by finding alternatives. – Empower students to take responsibility for this problem and generate ideas to solve it.