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Description
Climate Change: The Impact of Landfills is a flexible resource that allows the teacher and class to decide how deep they wish to investigate the problems stemming from greenhouse gases caused by landfills. There are a variety of activities that offer a range of learning opportunities around the issue.
The students will watch a short video that explains the current reality of the landfill situation in Nova Scotia. At the end, it poses this question to the viewer “ What can we do to reduce waste and our impact on climate change?”
The resource then offers three directions for activities that can be completed individually or all together. There are suggestions for both long-term projects or shorter in-class activities.
The three directions are:
1. Taking action to decrease waste will decrease the need for landfills which are a source of greenhouse gases. Students will create an awareness campaign, take a pledge to reduce their waste and advocate for change within their school.
2. Reducing organics in landfills is a way to mitigate climate change. With this direction students will start a backyard composting program, conduct a classroom waste audit and provide a vermicompost bin.
3. Reducing the waste we produce decreases the need to transport it and decreases greenhouse gases. With this direction the students will map the journey of a waste stream from the school to its place of processing. They will then interview the custodial staff regarding waste storage and collection and contact the waste collection company to determine any efforts being made to reduce their impact.
General Assessment
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This resource presents information in a clear format. The in-depth projects and shorter in-class activities are easy to implement and offer excellent learning opportunities for the middle school Science classroom when dealing with the topics of climate change, human impact on the environment and greenhouse gases.
Relevant Curriculum Units
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
- Step 1Select a province
- Alberta
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Interactions and Ecosystems
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Earth and Space Systems: Heat in the Environment
- Life Systems: Interactions in the Environment
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 6
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Living Things
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- The Living World
- Grade 8
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- The Living World
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
Themes Addressed
Air, Atmosphere & Climate (1)
- Climate Change
Citizenship (1)
- Sustainable Consumption
Human Rights (1)
- Environmental Racism/Justice
Land Use & Natural Resources (1)
- Sustainable Urbanization
Waste Management (4)
- Composting
- Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Solid Waste Disposal
- Source Reduction
