Project and classroom examples
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Action Projects
Students analyze runoff water samples for traces of hazardous products. |
Teachers apply concepts learned in the Hazards on the Homefront teacher training to projects or to their classroom lessons.
Examples of hazardous waste action projects
Family Link Program, Vashon Island
Claudia Gross-Shader organized a presentation for families in the Vashon Island Family Link program to learn the basics of label reading, the risks of hazardous products in groundwater, and the use of safer alternatives. This group also created and maintains a native-plant garden with the help of the local high school horticulture students.
Kenmore Junior High, Northshore
Cathy Ferbrache-Garrand, Eighth Grade Earth Sciences
Students transformed an untended area adjacent to the school into a major learning opportunity by restoring a natural area with native plants. Students uprooted blackberries and ivy, added mulch, and prepared the area for native plants. Work continued over the summer, and in the following school year, the project became an official after-school activity with students working in the garden every Wednesday all year long.
Kennydale Elementary, Renton
Sara Taylor’s fourth-grade students made posters and wrote songs, plays, and poems about how kids can go green in easy ways such as using safer alternatives to household hazardous products at home, school, and in their neighborhoods. Parents and family members were invited to attend an environmental fair at which the final student projects were displayed.
Shorecrest High School, Shoreline
Barbara Steffens, Lisa Chi, Danielle DuChesne, Ninth Grade Integrated Physical Science
Students analyzed neighborhood soils and runoff quantities to determine how much of the hazardous products used in yards might be getting into Puget Sound. Students became more aware of how much waste can enter surface water and groundwater and how that affects the local environment. They wrote letters to parents and key local organizations to report their findings and suggest safer alternatives.
West Seattle High School, Seattle
Ninth-grade health students at West Seattle High School created projects comparing hazardous products found around the home to safer alternatives. The students presented their projects to the rest of the class and some also gave presentations to students at the nearby middle school.
Examples of how teachers integrate hazardous waste topics into the classroom
Canyon Park Junior High, Northshore
Danielle Knapp’s students generated a list of materials they could use as safer alternatives to household products and analyzed the potential benefits of using them in place of hazardous materials in the home.
Christian Faith School, Highline
Rolin Rayne’s eighth-grade students completed a one-week unit on household hazardous waste during which students created a diagram of where hazardous products were found in their homes.
Denny Middle School, Seattle
Nancy Mora’s students researched recent news articles on household product accidents and created their own headlines that summarize the problem or hazard posed by the product.
Kentlake High School, Kent
After learning about the hazards of household cleaning chemicals, Shawna Behren’s students created their own environmentally-safe cleaning products.
Kentridge High School, Kent
Kealy McCleary’s students expanded their covalent bonding and laboratory safety units to include an investigation of personal care products and a discussion of consumer choices.
Secondary Academy for Success, Northshore
Barbara Wilson’s students have been regular volunteers at 21 Acres, an organic farm and sustainable agriculture project.
SeaTac Occupational Skills Center, Highline
Students in Elisabeth Scheuer-Sturgeon’s translation and interpretation classes analyzed common cleaning practices in their community, brainstormed ideas for change, and posted translated materials on green cleaning throughout the school.
Terminal Park Elementary, Auburn
Leah McIntyre’s students took home information on waste collection sites and safer alternatives to teach their parents about proper disposal and less or non-toxic substitutes to hazardous products.
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