Tread Lightly - Looking after our Environment

Our Photos

This week in Room 3, we took a serious look at factors that impact our environment, here in New Zealand and globally. It all starts in our backyard with us. The session with the Tread Lightly Caravan educators and the fantastic supporters from Room 3 parents and caregivers, challenged us to think about our personal impact on issues related to sustainability and the role we can play with our families to reduce our environmental footprints.

We looked at...

• Our stormwater system - only rain should go down the drain 
• The fascinating microscopic world of the compost bin 
• Generating power through Kinetic Energy - the different pull of power for different appliances
• Reducing waste through efficient management - how things break down over the years 
• Our family environmental footprints - how many planets do we need to sustain our current level of lifestyle if everyone in the world used the resources we do 

Each topic encouraged us to discuss what we know, what we want to know more about and how we can make changes to help sustain a better environment.

We were shocked or surprised by some of the facts we learned about... 

• How many planets we would need to keep our lifestyles going 
• How the marine creatures habitats are impacted by the dirty water and rubbish going into the ocean from our drains - especially not being able to hunt for their food source due to murky water 
• How different appliances use different amounts of electricity and what the energy stars mean 
• Some materials (particularly plastics) don’t break down even after 100 years 
• That praying mantis have five eyes

 After the session, we selected a Tread Lightly Pledge to commit to. We have four weeks to make a difference and hopefully a new habit due to the awareness of how it impacts on the environment and can make a difference to sustainability. We also have an opportunity to make a family commitment to change. We love our planet and what to keep it healthy and cared for.

Here are some photos from our explorations:

Robin generating power for the light

Thomas working hard

Olivia is caught off guard with the smooth sander

How things break down over the years (or not!)

Neil gets the hairdryer revved up

Debbie explains our environmental footprint

Allen leads the discussion on stormwater pollutants

Lisa and Kirsten help us understand more about how to effectively manage waster

Kavita helps us understand what goes on in the microscopic world of the compost bin

Thank you Joe, Allen, Debbie, Lisa, Kirsten and Kavita - we couldn't have had so much fun without you!