Sunday 29 July 2018

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!






2 comments:

  1. Gosh Room 3, I can really see how much you enjoyed visiting the Tread Lightly lessons. I love how the lessons at each station are so interactive so that you can see and feel (through cycling) how hard it is to generate power and/or make a difference!

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  2. Some great learning from your visit Room 3. I was particularly shocked by the number of earths some of us would need to maintain the way we live at present. I look forward to hearing what pledges you have chosen and how you are going with following through on them. To do my extra bit for the environment I am composting at home and also trying to buy products at the supermarket that have less packaging around them.

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