Demonstrating Active Citizenship Beyond the Walls: Introducing the Year 1 Recycling Revolution Centre

CHARMAINE SARACI AND ALLISON CARR, JUNIOR SCHOOL TEACHERS

‘From the beginning, children demonstrate that they have a voice, know how to listen and want to be listened to by others’. - Carla Rinaldi

“Did you know by the Year 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans?”

“I can’t believe it takes 450 years for a plastic water bottle to decompose!”

This year, the children in Year 1 have been observing the world around them. Their passion and curiosity for marine life was evident, and their quest to care for Mother Earth emerged. A desire to investigate further, was developed during our beachcombing excursion to Queenscliff Foreshore and the Marine Discovery Centre. Here the children observed firsthand, the impact of human waste on our natural environment and they wanted to provoke change within the community. “We only have one planet to live on and we only have one lifetime to change it. That seems like a really long time, but Earth is bigger than anything we have ever known. We have to take care of our planet now.”

“How can we share our message of taking care of Mother Earth beyond our walls?” To encourage students to respond and apply their newly developed knowledge and skills, the Year 1 children have

created their very own ‘Recycling Revolution Centre’ as a solution to unwanted waste. A place where discarded materials can be repurposed and sent to manufacturers to create new recycled products. After much research, the children discovered organisations in Australia to partner with, that not only help the planet, but also assist others in need in our community. Our young recycling team have been collecting plastic bread tags, plastic bottle lids and aluminium ring pulls to create prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs for children in Australia and beyond. In addition to this action, the ‘Year 1 Recycling Revolution Centre’ endeavour to upcycle discarded fabrics to design and produce reusable bags with personalised slogans. This will further promote the children’s strong message to limit single use

Through our Inquiry, the children explored the following concepts and wanted to encourage others to:

• Rethink their options, what they use and how they use things • Refuse single use and unnecessary items • Reduce the consumption of items to avoid creating waste • Reuse what they can until it can’t be used anymore • Repurpose items by giving them new life instead of sending them to landfill plastics, keeping them out of our precious oceans. Connections have been made with an Environmental Projects Facilitator within our community where we hope to continue our conservation journey beyond the walls of Campbell House.