What is an Environmental Action Project?
Earth Rangers' action projects provide a practical and fun way to enhance students' knowledge of environmental issues and get them excited about making a difference.
An action project involves identifying a problem (usually at the local level), researching the issue, brainstorming solutions and acting to effect change.
Action projects help kids expand their awareness about how their actions affect animals and the environment and encourage environmentally responsible lifestyle choices. These empowering, hands-on projects help children to develop useful practical skills for future problem-solving.
Action projects are most successful when they:
- Deal with personal and local issues
- Tackle root causes of environmental problems
- Garner community support
- Are student-driven and adult-supported
Here are some documents and worksheets to get you started. They are designed to help you select a project, create an achievable plan and provide ideas for promoting your project within the school and community.
When you click any of the links below, you will start to download a *.PDF file to your computer.
Waste
Canadians are one of the largest producers of waste in the world – generating almost double what a person in Sweden does, in just one day!
Although much of the waste that we put out to the curb is made of materials that can be reused, recycled or composted, most of it is incinerated, treated or buried in landfills. But space is running out, our waterways are being contaminated, and most importantly, better options exist.
Help your students become aware of their consumption habits and start reducing, reusing, recycling, re-thinking, repairing and more.
Try a Litterless Lunch campaign or start composting in the classroom. There are lots of easy ways to reduce our waste, and it can all begin in your classroom with an Earth Rangers action project!
When you click any of the links below, you will start to download a *.PDF file to your computer.
Projects:
Activities:
Worksheets:
Energy
Canada is a big country with a thriving economy, hot summers and long, cold winters. This means that we use a lot of energy to get from one place to another, to heat and cool our homes and offices, and to power our industries.
Per capita, Canada is one of the top energy consumers in the world! We are huge energy hogs and our fossil fuel consumption is a major source of air pollution and contributor to global climate change.
The good news is that simple conservation methods could go a long way to helping us reduce the negative impacts of our consumption habits.
Help your students become aware of their energy use and take steps towards conservation. Try an anti-idling campaign or a walking school bus program. There are lots of easy ways to save energy, and it can all begin in your classroom with an Earth Rangers action project!
When you click any of the links below, you will start to download a *.PDF file to your computer.
Projects:
Activities:
Worksheets:
Please note that each of the projects (excluding the Walking School Bus) require schools to conduct an audit or collect a baseline measurement. This helps students to better measure and understand the impact of their actions and allows them to see the results of the projects firsthand.
This information also helps Earth Rangers to accurately calculate the carbon your school saves. If Earth Rangers has visited your school, you will be given a login and password to sign in to Earthrangers.com and enter your action project values into our Carbon Calculator.
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
The
Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) manages and protects Ontario’s natural resources for wise use across the province. It aims to meet today's needs and at the same time ensuring that natural resources will be available for future generations. It works collaboratively with a wide variety of partners, including environmental organizations, private resource sector industry, fish and game associations, researchers, and other government agencies. Earth Rangers is proud to partner with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Check out some of the MNR's activities:
Biodiversity poster (pdf)
Pick the Path (pdf)
Climate Detective (pdf)
Rain Gauge (pdf)
For additional resources, check out our pre- and post-show material, designed by John Mighton of JUMP Math.