SEPTEMBER 2012
Nektarina (S)pace helping create sustainable future
ISSN 1847-6694
Falling into the Fall Dear Friends,
September is in full swing, and as we are looking forward to the colorful Fall weather and the great outdoors, we are also taking some extra time to prepare this newsletter for you.
Every month we will do our best to share interesting, educational and relevant content — news, stories and practices with you, while focusing on our project Education for Sustainability, a project we started a year ago. We titled the Newsletter “Nektarina (S)pace”, and the brackets there are on purpose— this publication is both a space and a pace (a step). This publication is mainly a volunteer project, so please bear with us, as neither of us has professional experience in doing this kind of a thing. We do hope that with each new edition we’ll improve both content and design as we gain experience.
This first issue brings you Positive Practices from New Zealand. In every issue we will share positive practices (in terms of Sustainability and Education) from different countries and regions. In this issue we are bringing you some basic information about our project Education for Sustainability, and
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we also invite you to visit our website www.education4sustainability.org
Every Newsletter issue has a schools’ section as well, with plenty of ideas and things to do.
Nektarina (S)pace is available both on our website and our Issuu page, it is free for download and you can share it amongst yourselves, forward it to friends, colleagues and family or distribute it in your schools.
Do join us on social networks as well:
Facebook page
www.facebook.com/nektarinanonprofit
www.twitter.com/nektarina
Google + https://plus.google.com/u/0/114047738897251089132/posts
We hope you’ll enjoy reading this newsletter as much as we enjoyed putting it together!
Have fun, learn something, connect with us!
Yours truly, The Nektarina Team
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Chocolate Lake Nova Scotia Canada
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Nektarina (S)pace Web Publication issued monthly by Nektarina Non Profit Issue # 1 September 2012
Published by Nektarina Non Profit
Contributors: Elena Livia Minca Yula Pannadopoulos Nikos Sorrensen
All photographs (except images used in the New Zealand) by Sandra Antonovic
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Park Maksimir Zagreb, Croatia /detail/
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In this issue What are we all about
Introducing Education for Sustainability Project
Positive practices: New Zealand
Dear Schools
and more...
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THE EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT
Education 4 Sustainability is a project aiming at integrating the topic of “sustainability� in the curriculum of every school at pre-university level in the 30+ countries that are part of the Nektarina Non Profit network. The initiative brings together
communities
and
individuals,
governments,
organizations,
businesses and the educational community itself to ensure children have the skills to become citizens of a sustainable world.
Project Background People and the planet Earth have been interconnected throughout all stages of human development. Sadly, most of the time, people focused only on their own development, advancement and well being, treating the nature solely as a resource, and not as a natural partner. As a consequence, today we find ourselves at a point where our planet has been severely damaged. It is becoming clear that if we are to have any chance of preserving this planet for the future generations, we need to focus our time, effort and resources in educating people - children and youth in particular - on sustainable development, sustainable living and sustainable future.
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General focus The project Education for Sustainability aims at introducing Sustainable Development (and/or any similar subject, that may have a different name, but focuses on sustainable living, practices and futures) in schools curricula in countries and regions where that is not yet the case. The project targets Ministries and Departments of Education, Schools’ Councils and Boards – the decision makers when it comes to “official” education. Moreover, we are also addressing local communities, parents’ groups and general population.
Timeline The preparatory phase for the project started in September 2011 and was completed in May 2012. During this phase an extensive research was done on environmental issues in each country, on its educational system, legislative framework and decision making process. Since September 2012 the project has gone live. We are working with local experts, agencies of environment, civil society organizations, schools and volunteers on understanding the local circumstances and on compiling, presenting and sharing data, research and facts that will help us explain and advocate the purpose of the project. For more information regarding the project please visit www.education4sustainability.org.
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E4S in different countries Each country, through the partner organization, should define its own set of measures and actions that are deemed necessary for reaching the project goal, which is obtaining commitment form national
authorities
that
sustainability/sustainable
development
will be addressed in all its complexity as a separate discipline, either compulsory or elective, in public pre-university level schools. The actions should take into consideration the various local factors and current educational situation: is there already such a subject or similar one in place, are there any initiatives already started that might have a similar goal, what is the general attitude of authorities towards the subject, what is the procedure of introducing a new subject, how would such an initiative be received by schools and general public, etc.
In
general,
the
actions
defined
by
the
partner
organization
should fall in one of the following categories, based on the entity to be addressed: → Contacting schools in the country from various locations and backgrounds in order to collect their views on the suitability of the initiative for them, find out their main concerns and try to build a support network that can be used in the negotiations with official bodies; → Contacting local experts in education that can offer an informed opinion on the best ways to proceed and format most suitable for the country; 16
→ Contacting ministries and other official bodies that act as decision-makers in the process in order to make the proposal and carry out negotiations; → Contacting local media in order to increase the public exposure of the project and build a support pool.
The country partner will have the obligation of sending monthly reports with the activities that have been performed, the activities that are envisioned for the following month and what support they require from Nektarina Non Profit. A spending log will have to be included as well. Additionally, bi-weekly calls with the partner organization will be arranged in order to keep an accurate tracking of steps and address possible challenges. Apart from
this,
the
partner
organization
can
and
should
inform
Nektarina Non Profit by e-mail or phone of any other issues that may appear in the normal flow of events, should they consider this is the case.
Nektarina Non Profit will support the partner organization in the following ways: → Based on an initial budget required by the country partner, Nektarina will seek appropriate sponsors that are willing to cover this budget. Once the full sum is agreed on by both parties and secured, Nektarina will distribute the amount to the country partner, as agreed in the contract signed;
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→ Nektarina will offer logistic support to the country partner in terms of project materials. Any piece found in the Wiki section of the project website can be used by the country partner; → The project website will be constantly updated with relevant information about the actions taking place in
all
countries.
Information
about
the
country
partner and/or logo can be displayed on both the project and the Nektarina website; → The project website will slowly be transformed into a web platform where all interested parties from the project countries will be able to contribute their experiences and good practice; → Apart from the exposure in local media that will be provided by the country partner, Nektarina will also advertise the project in all relevant media, including social networks, blogs, newspapers, radio, etc; → Depending on the circumstances, Nektarina may organize events/workshops to present the activities carried out in different countries in order to draw attention on the project and present positive results/ examples; → If the need may be, Nektarina will take place and offer support in the meetings arranged by the country partner with relevant bodies and authorities; → Nektarina will collect and manage all the reports sent by the country partner in the required formats.
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Background on Nektarina Non Profit Nektarina Non Profit is an international non-profit organization dedicated to educating, connecting and inspiring people to care about their communities and their environment. It was founded in 2009 in Zagreb, Croatia, with one broad idea in mind - highlighting issues that affect us all globally, by raising awareness and inspiring action but, most importantly, by educating people on these issues. Our approach is highly local, and we consider cultural, religious, ethnic and any other diversity when carrying out our campaigns. Our activities target general population, but we tend to give stronger focus to younger demographics. We are active in 30+ countries from Europe and Central Asia. Nektarina Non Profit uses on-the-field events like workshops, conferences, forums, debates, film screenings, indoor and outdoor classes, concerts and fairs to reach its target groups. Peer-to-peer education is one of the most important methods we use in our work. Direct share of practices, case studies, knowledge and experience proved to be the most effective and inspiring way to educate and connect people. With the staff of only four people, Nektarina Non Profit relies a great deal on the network of volunteers and we work closely with official volunteer centres in the countries we are active in. 21
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Positive Example
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The Enviroschools Programme in New Zealand Enviroschools is a national programme that aims to create a whole-school approach to environmental education, through which schools are supported to become more sustainable and are rewarded when they reach a level of achievement.
The Programme is a joint local–central government initiative focusing on community partnerships, sustainable school practices and student leadership/engagement. It focuses on learning communities that draw on — and develop — the leadership of students and community members. It also draws on educational knowledge from the community sector, including Māori knowledge.
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The Enviroschools Programme began in Hamilton in the late 1990s as a local government initiative and now involves approximately 20% of all New Zealand schools (there are currently 587 Enviroschools nationally).
The Programme is being implemented in Early Childhood, Kura, Primary, Intermediate and Secondary school settings. It delivers Education for Sustainability (EfS) support in schools through a local and regional structure funded by local government, and a national office funded currently by the Ministry of Education.
The Enviroschools Programme is implemented regionally, along regional council boundaries and is supported by a network of people working for a range of different organisations. Regional partners contribute by providing funding, skilled people, ideas and networking opportunities. Assistance differs from region to region depending on the number and type of organisations involved. Each enviroschool has a Facilitator who guides and supports the journey.
A region will usually have
a number of people working as facilitators and a Regional Coordinator who ensures collaboration, networking and support between all agencies involved in the Enviroschools Programme.
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The five Guiding Principles of the programme
Enviroschools is based on five guiding principles. Schools are encouraged to integrate these five principles in all the learning and action they undertake.
Empowered Students are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their schools and community, their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change.
The principle of Learning for Sustainability recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes.
The principle of Māori Perspectives honours the status of tangata whenua in this land and the value of indigenous knowledge in enriching and guiding learning and action.
Respect for the Diversity of People and Cultures acknowledges the unique gifts, contributions and perspectives of individuals and groups, reinforcing the need for participatory decision-making in Enviroschools.
Sustainable Communities act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.
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The four key areas that make up a Whole School Approach
Within schools there is a strong focus on what students learn through the formal curriculum.
This includes gaining
skills, knowledge and competencies in subject areas through formal curriculum projects. Students also learn through knowledge and experience that they gain from other aspects of school life, such as what the school grounds feel like, how the buildings are built and what people do. This is sometimes referred to as the hidden curriculum. A whole school approach aims to make visible what is currently hidden and enable all aspects of school life to be threads that strengthen the learning experience of students.
The whole-school approach incorporates four key areas of school life that have an effect on sustainability and student learning. 
Place: Where the school buildings and grounds are designed to work with natural systems, and reflect the culture and heritage of the place.
The school becomes a site for hands
-on student action and learning, which integrates the academic, creative and practical aspects of learning.
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· People & Participation: Decisions and actions are made with
the involvement of students, staff and other members of the community. There is a sense of belonging and ownership as schools draw on the combined wisdom of their multi-cultural community. · Practices: School policies and systems support environmen-
tally friendly and sustainable practices, which are monitored and evaluated, to document progress being made towards sustainability. · Programmes: Students take action on real issues in the
school and wider environment, and they learn as they create a sustainable school and community. Sustainability is a core part of the formal curriculum and students research, design and implement sustainable projects, and draw on role models and experts in the school and community.
Students share their
learning and become mentors and leaders for younger students, and for other schools and groups in the community.
The Enviroschools process (main elements schools undertake) Every school in New Zealand is different, so the enviroschools process is different in every school. However there are some key processes that all schools undertake – such as creating a
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whole school vision, forming an envirogoup, working with the community, implementing action projects and reflecting on and monitoring the changes. Each enviroschool works with a trained facilitator who guides and motivates schools along their journey, and helps to create valuable links with complementary programmes, relevant experts and other schools. The process is not a checklist and should not be seen as linear.
Experience has shown that the
components of the process overlap, are revisited, modified and further developed over time. So while there are key Enviroschools values and concepts, there is no fixed formula for being an enviroschool. Schools are encouraged to work at their own pace – becoming a sustainable school is an ongoing process that develops and deepens over time The Action Learning Cycle is the main Enviroschools tool used to help plan and carry out student-led projects. It enables young people to be empowered to investigate, explore ideas, make decisions, take action and reflect on the changes they have created. Also, sharing knowledge is an essential part of the Enviroschools process. Local, regional and national Enviroschools events provide opportunities for all participants to learn from each other. Events are also a great way to link schools and centres with the diverse range of expertise in the wider community on sustainability topics.
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Dear Schools,
We hope you enjoyed the summer holiday and that you recharged your batteries for a new year of learning and great experiences.
Just as last year, we will be again beside you, with fun facts and interesting information. The Newsletter you were used to is now going to be a part of a wider monthly Newsletter,
called
Nektarina
Space,
where we will also keep everyone up to date with our other projects. We wish you a wonderful new school year and hope you will continue to read and participate with ideas and opinions to our newsletter.
Have a great year, everyone! The Nektarina Team
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Visit the botanical garden in your town A visit outdoors, in the nature, is sometimes the best way to relax and remedy the daily routine. Travelling to the countryside or abroad in search of new nature corner to explore can be time consuming, as well as costly. For people living in the ever -growing urban environments reaching a green oasis every now and then is becoming somewhat of a challenge.
Luckily, an alternative exists, that brings together the joy of discovering habitats from various parts of the world and the recreation of a walk in the nature. Botanical gardens and parks combine both features so, if you haven’t already, start planning a visit there soon. If you don’t have one in your town, look for the nearest one and organize a trip there with your class. It will be a whole lot of fun. To help you out with your tour, we put together a few suggestions you can check out, depending on the facilities offered by the botanical garden you will visit.
The greenhouses Here you will find special plants and habitats that naturally grow in places with different climatic conditions than the ones in your region. In order to survive they require different parameters, such as temperature, humidity and soil type.
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During the visit observe the particularities of plants in a certain habitat in connection with the above mentioned conditions. For example, most varieties of cactus have waxy leaves, in order to prevent water loss, and spikes, so that predators won’t eat their water-carrying stem. Can you find other connections? What part of the greenhouses did you enjoy the best? Don’t hesitate to write as at mail@nektarinanonprofit.com
The vegetables garden Most botanical gardens include a section of common vegetables and fruits. You should be able to recognize most of them, although several regional and local varieties may be available. Given that it is harvest time, many of them should be ready for pick up (some even have already past that period and transitioned to the new vegetative state). Have a go at naming all the available plants and their main uses. Some plants, such as cabbage, onion or parsley, complete their biological cycles (are able to create seeds) in two years – also called biennial plants, thus they look different depending on the year they are in. Do you know how to spot the similarities and differences? Discuss this with your teacher and colleagues.
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Public Gardens Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
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Any seasonal exhibitions? Botanical gardens often host seasonal exhibits that relate to their field of activity. They can range from butterfly pavilions to insect or reptile exhibits. If this is the case in your botanical garden then you should definitely book a ticket. This may not only enhance your experience, but it will give you a more complete picture of the habitats that you’ve just seen. So why not try it out?
Why does nature change in the fall? Autumn is indeed the season of changes, many of which you can directly see and feel in your surrounding environment. But why do all these changes occur at this precise time of the year? To answer this question we will need to take it one step at the time. In the beginning, however, it is only fair to mention that the above mentioned changes vary greatly depending on the location in the world. The 4-seasons year only includes temperate and subpolar regions. Hot tropical and subtropical regions generally have only two or three seasons (rainy, dry and sometimes also a mild or cool season). But for now we will only focus on the temperate climate, where autumn is the third season of the calendar year.
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Leaves’ colour and falling During the summer and, implicitly, the vegetation season, the leaves of deciduous trees have green colour due to a substance called chlorophyll, which transforms solar energy in food for the plant. As the day gets shorter and temperature drops in autumn, the chlorophyll amount in the leaves decreases and so does their green colour. The other pigments present in the leaves, ranging from yellow to red and brown, which were hidden by the green, start now to be visible.
Observe the trees in your garden and throughout your community. How long does it take for the colours to change? Is it a sudden or a smooth transition?
As the tree is preparing for the winter months, its leaves are gradually falling. This is because in winter trees get very little water through the roots and they need to conserve it in order to stay alive. By losing their leaves, trees reduce the amount of water that would evaporate. This is not the case with the evergreens, whose narrow, waxy needles don’t lose as much water as deciduous leaves.
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Plants offer their precious gifts Autumn is also the season of harvest. As many of the plants enter the last vegetative stage before the winter, they produce seedsbearing fruits or various nutrient-carrying roots or stems that will ensure their transition to a new year once the winter has passed. A large variety of fruits and vegetables is available to be harvested and stored. What is your favourite?
Animals and birds prepare for winter Just as we do, animals too store up food before winter comes. Besides collecting nuts, seeds or acorns, they also eat as much as they can in order to accumulate body fat reserves that will be consumed in winter, when very little food is available. The cool fall and winter months determine insects to become sluggish and hide in tree cracks or attics to await the springtime. Some of them even die before winter and a new generation will emerge only from the eggs they have managed to lay so far. The scarcity of food is the main factor for bird migration in winter as well, although some birds have found ways to adapt, especially in the human dominated environments. You can actually help out remaining birds to survive the winter by installing bird feeders in the trees in your home or school gardens.
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Daylight time
It takes one year for our planet to cover a full rotation on its orbit around the sun. During this time its position, as well as its exposure to the sun change, making seasonal variations possible. At the same time, the Earth is spinning around its own axis, thus exposing one side or the other to the sun and so determining the day and night time.
For most of the year, day and night have different lengths, precisely because the sunlight falls more in one hemisphere than in the other, depending on the season. When autumn comes the difference of sunlight in the two hemispheres is reduced, so that on the 23rd of September the sun casts the same amount of light on both of them and the daytime is equal to the night time. This moment is called the autumn equinox. After this date, the Northern Hemisphere is being lit less than the Southern one, making the nights to gradually become longer than the days.
Discuss at class about the changes that occur in both hemispheres during the year in terms of daylight and seasons. Use the picture below for help.
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Weather The shorter exposure to sunlight incurs a steady drop in temperatures. The precipitations, more abundant, transition from rain to snow. The lower evaporation rates enable the soil to accumulate water, in preparation for the vegetation boost in the spring. Can you already feel a change in weather compared to summer time? Do you think climate change can influence this transition? Discuss with your teacher and colleagues.
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What is water footprint? People use lots of water for their daily activities, such as drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint concept was introduced in 2002. The concept was refined and accounting methods were established with a series of publications from two lead authors: A.K. Chapagain and A.Y. Hoekstra from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. Cooperation between global leading institutions in the field has led to the establishment of the Water Footprint Network in 2008 that aims to coordinate efforts to further develop and disseminate knowledge on water footprint concepts, methods and tools. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. Water use is measured in terms of water volumes consumed (evaporated or incorporated into a product) and/or polluted per unit of time. A water footprint can be calculated for a particular product, for any well-defined group of consumers (for example, an individual, family, village, city, province, state or nation) or producers (for example, a public organization, private enterprise or economic sector). The water footprint is a geographically explicit indicator, showing not only volumes of water use and pollution, but also the locations. 48
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A water footprint consists of three components: blue, green, and grey. The blue water footprint is the volume of freshwater that evaporated from the global blue water resources (surface water and ground water) to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community.
The green water footprint is the volume of water evaporated from the global green water resources (rainwater stored in the soil as soil moisture). The grey water footprint is the volume of polluted water that associates with the production of all goods and services for the individual or community. The latter can be estimated as the volume of water that is required to dilute pollutants to such an extent that the quality of the water remains at or above agreed water quality standards. The water footprint of humanity has exceeded sustainable levels at several places and is unequally distributed among people. There are many spots in the world where serious water depletion or pollution takes place: rivers running dry, dropping lake and groundwater levels and endangered species because of contaminated water.
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As a consumer, you can reduce your “direct water footprint” (home water use) by installing water saving toilets, applying a watersaving showerhead, closing the tap during teeth brushing, using less water in the garden and by not disposing medicines, paints or other pollutants through the sink. Your “indirect water footprint” – the water consumption and pollution behind all the goods you buy – is much larger than your direct water footprint at home. You have basically two options to reduce your indirect water footprint. One is to substitute a consumer product that has a large water footprint by a different type of product that has a smaller footprint. Examples: eat less meat or become vegetarian, drink tea instead of coffee, or even better drink plain water. Also replacing cotton clothes by clothes from artificial fibre saves a lot of water. But this approach has limitations, because you may find it difficult to drastically change your consumption pattern. What still remains, however: you can select the cotton, beef or coffee that has a relatively low water footprint or that has its footprint in an area that doesn’t have high water scarcity. This requires that retailers provide you with proper information to make such choices. In this respect, ask product transparency from businesses and regulation from governments.
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Some facts and figures → The production of one kilogram of beef requires 15 thousand litres of water (93% green, 4% blue, 3% grey water footprint). There is a huge variation around this global average. The precise footprint of a piece of beef depends on factors such as the type of production system and the composition and origin of the feed of the cow; → The water footprint of a 150-gram soy burger produced in the Netherlands is about 160 litres. A beef burger from the same country costs about 1000 litres; → The global water footprint in the period 1996-2005 was 9087 Gm3/yr (74% green, 11% blue, 15% grey). Agricultural production contributes 92% to this total footprint; → Water scarcity affects over 2.7 billion people for at least one month each year.
Discuss with your colleagues and teachers about the water footprint and try to calculate your own footprint. Several websites are available
for this, for example:
page=cal/WaterFootprintCalculator.
www.waterfootprint.org/?
What do you think are the
best ways to reduce the individual footprint? What about the one of
businesses?
Send
us
your
thoughts
at
mail@nektarinanonprofit.com
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Preserving resources in your school and at home
With the ever-increasing consumption worldwide, much of which unnecessary, the planet’s resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. Still, there are things that each of us is not only capable of, but should actually put in practice. Nowadays we hear more and more about recycling possibilities and, although it has obvious advantages, it is still in the early phases, especially in less developed countries. Altogether, recycling most of the waste fluxes created
by
mankind
is
a
demanding
process,
which entails setting up special infrastructure and transportation. Moreover, for these things to be in place and work efficiently local and national authorities need to get involved.
So our advice is: recycle all that you can, as often and as best as you can. But first of all reduce and reuse as much as possible. This way the amount of waste that needs to be recycled will be reduced as well, same as the one that has to go to landfill. Below we give you some suggestions, for your school and your home.
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Paper → Print only when necessary and, if possible, double sided. Use any faulty prints as scrap paper for notes, messages, etc. When the sheet is full shred it and use it as packaging material; → At school, use all the pages in your notebook and don’t discard it until it is full; → If you have books that you no longer use, try to give them away to colleagues that will need them, or to the school library, instead of throwing them away; → Take envelopes which are sent by businesses (in the hope that you will return them), place a label over the pre-printed address, write in a new address, and send it; → Use old envelopes for writing notes to family members (don't recycle until it is completely filled), for storing receipts or for writing grocery lists; → Use old greeting cards as bookmarks or make them into a new ornament; → Wad old newspapers up and use them as packing material or to cover text books;
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→ Recycle all paper that cannot be reused. If an option is available, separate carton from regular paper. If not yet implemented, ask your teacher about the possibility to have recycle bins at least for paper in your school.
Plastic
→ Don’t take too many plastic bags at the supermarket, even if they are for free (for example, if you are only buying one pineapple, don’t wrap it in a bag, stick the price tag directly on it). For carrying groceries home, use a textile or tote bag; → Use plastic bags from groceries as a lunch bag, to line smaller garbage cans in your home, to discard your scoopable cat litter clumps (or take with you when you walk your dog to scoop your dog's poop) or use in your car as a travel garbage bag; → Depending on the size, various food plastic containers can be reused in many ways: as flower pots in your classroom (punch holes in the bottom if necessary and put the lid underneath to catch excess water), for salt, pepper or spices, for storage of small pieces of food in the fridge, as food dish for pets, etc; → Don’t forget to clean and then recycle all the plastic categories that you are able to. 59
Glass → Use old wine or beer bottles as a candle holders – the wax dripping down the sides will create a nice effect, or use them as a vase and decorate it as you like; → Small jars can be reused for storage of nuts, seeds, bolts, etc. Alternatively you can keep them on the desk for storing paper clips or rubber bands. You can also insert a wick and fill with wax to make your own candle; → Large jars can help you in storing extra spaghetti sauce which comes from a can, storing homemade soups or even cookies in the freezer. They will be protected from breakage and easily visible. You could also can your own tomatoes and other vegetables; → When recycling, separate the glass according to its colour.
Aluminium and other metals
→ After use wash aluminium foil if necessary, flatten, and reuse at a later time → Metal cans can be used as a pen and pencil holder, for potting plants indoors or as a scoop for pet food. Cut to make them shorter and use as a scoop for sugar, flour or pasta; → Always recycle metal and especially aluminium cans, as this saves 95% of the energy used to make aluminium cans from virgin ore. 60
Electronics and batteries → When buying a new computer or electronic device, try to give your old one to charity instead of disposing of it, so that other people can benefit from it as well. Bring this issue up with your class and teachers if the school is planning to renew its IT labs; → Batteries can release toxic substances when thrown in the landfill with the rest of the trash. Try to find a recycling centre near you and, better yet, use rechargeable ones to reduce the amount of batteries used. These are only a handful of examples of things that could be done to keep our planet cleaner. What are your ideas for reducing and reusing? Do you have recycling options in your school and at home? Send us your comments at mail@nektarinanonprofit.com
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biennial_plant http://family-friend.blogspot.fi/2006/11/what-happens-in-autumn.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_footprint http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/home http://www.recycling-revolution.com/reuse-trash-ideas.html http://www.cancentral.com/funfacts.cfm
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