Students examine the availability and use of important resources, people practice conservation. They explore the needs of an expanding human population, societies practice resource management and employ technology.

Pupils experience how to make compost. This instructional activity is ongoing with periodic checks and maintenance. They select a piece of ground around the school or around their homes to establish a compost pile. Organic materials are...

Fourth graders identify recyclable materials in an experiment. They discover how to properly dispose of these items. They discover how to use materials again that cannot be recycled.

Learners define recycling and design a use for old materials.

In this recycling activity worksheet, complete a word search and treasure hunt for a recycling activity. Young scholars write 3 ways to reuse a plastic jug and 6 things that can be recycled.

Students explore organic and inorganic objects. In this environmental lesson students perform a composting experiment using flowers in different soils. Students record their observations.

Second graders define composting and recognize what can be composted.  In this composting and mulching lesson, 2nd graders classify objects or pictures as good or bad for composting. Students write a story about life in the compost...

Young scholars read article, "Toxic Transmission" and discuss technology pollution, specifically cell phone pollution and its ripple effects in other parts of the world.

Students investigate data about America's trash production. In this environmental lesson, students use statistics about what we throw away to create an art pie chart project called a "trash pizza."

Young scholars evaluate trash. In this Science activity, students collect and weigh trash from their classrooms. Young scholars categorize the trash and the corresponding weights, recording the information on a data sheet.

Students explore creative ways to reuse materials. In this ecology/art lesson plan, students create artwork using trash. Students view examples of folk art from around the world that used waste products as a main component.

In this bug survey worksheet, students fill in squares on a graphic organizer with information about flowers currently blooming, hiding places for "good bugs," and any bugs they have seen that are helpful for pollination, as food for...

Youngsters consider the amount of packaging used in manufacturing food and follow its travels through to the landfill. They brainstorm ways in which to reduce packaging and take a survey at home to evaluate ways they could reduce trash.

Learners experience and practice compositing and recycling through hands-on-activities. They distinguish between which items from their trash can be recycled, composted and reused. The process for making recycled paper is also covered in...

Students determine the weight of paper waste generated by the class. They brainstorm ways to reduce and recycle. They make their own paper to demonstrate recycling. This lesson is very effective in demonstrating how recycling works.

In these radical glass worksheets, students write 8 things that can be recycled in the 2 colored bins. Students then arrange the recyclables in alphabetical order. Students write names of items that can be recycled using the given...

Students find uses for old or discarded items (recycling) by making puppets.

What should go in the trash, and what can be composted? Guide your young conservationists through the process of composing their trash with a lesson about the different ways we can dispose of garbage. Using a trash bag with clean...

Third graders recognize what our natural resources are and their importance. In this natural resource recycling lesson, 3rd graders understand why it is important to recycle and conserve natural resources. Students can explain how...

Garbage, recycle, compost: Does it really matter where we put our trash once we are done? By making detailed observations over seven weeks, kids will see which materials break down naturally to become a healthy part of the soil, and...

Students participate in an investigation in which they compare a polyethylene bag designed for recycling or disposal with a polyethylene food storage bag. Students use hexane to determine the differences between the low density...

Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...

The last activity in the series of four has individuals determine steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprints and then analyze their schools' recycling programs. Through a sustainability audit, they identify how and where their...