Golden Horn Elementary: Eco-Challenge for Primary Students

Teacher: Colleen Obrien
Grade: 4

Golden Horn Elementary is a rural school outside of the city of Whitehorse, Yukon.

Project details

During the Earth Week competition, Ms. Obrien's class did the following:

Reduced 26 hours when doing their Lights Off activity. The students were very excited about this.
Completed the Track Your Waste activity using our Eco-Challenge tracking posters.
Did the What's on at Home chart and then reduced.
Created "Bright Ideas" posters where students wrote out the 3 things they are doing for the environment and how they plan to reduce energy.
Created a large school banner for Earth Week with beautiful drawings and saying for the Earth.
Did Eco-Magnets for the fridge.
Had an environmental classroom debate.
Got on CBC radio and told the north what they were doing and how everyone could conserve.
Did yard clean-up.
Created Eco-book marks with statements about protecting the environment and pictures.
Did a Mother Earth, Father Earth activity.
Developed environmental posters and put them around the school.
Hosted a school pancake breakfast to celebrate the Earth and do a yard clean-up.
Completed an on-line environmental story/program called The Magical Thread.
Each student discussed with their families 3 actions they could do for Earth Week and then tracked it. Actions that students did during the Earth Week competition with their families are as follows. Students are confident that their goals will "stick":
- Run around the house each time they leave the house and turn off all the lights
- Persuade their mother to stop idling
- Do the recycling in their home
- Turn off the electric piano, radio and lights when not in use
- Take shorter showers
- Use wood stove to warm things instead of turning on the electric stove
- Persuade family to buy less stuff
- Turn off the heat at night and use more blankets
- Reused garbage bags
- Family put clothes on the clothes line instead of putting it into the dryer