RELGION – JUSTICE IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY - ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Clean and Green
Students are to design a “Clean and Green” project for an area within their local community or school grounds.
Some suggested projects might include: CHOOSE ONE
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Identify ‘hot spots’ where litter is most likely to cause environmental impacts. Consider quantities of litter and the
effects of different types of litter (e.g. plastics, food wastes or glass) on the local environment. Identify those who use
the ‘hot spots’. Work with the school community, especially those who use the ‘hot spots’, to develop ways to reduce
litter.
Create a poster on decomposition rates to promote awareness of materials that need to be recycled (glass)
Make presentations at school assembly on why litter is a problem for the local area and how other students can
assume a stewardship role
Create a ‘Litter Monster,’ a rubbish bin character, to encourage younger students to put litter in the bin. Conduct
promotional activities to support a “Clean and Green” school. Paint bins in attractive colours with environmental
designs to encourage students to put litter in them.
Set up separate recycling bins for cans, glass, plastics and paper (check to see what can be recycled in your
area)
Collect food scraps and set up a worm farm for recycling organic waste - contact the council about a compost
bin
Collect useful items to reuse in art, craft and technology, e.g. paper, card, material cut-offs, wool, and ice
cream containers
ORGANISE and hold a ‘Litter-Free Lunch’ day
Develop school policies about double-sided photocopying, paper use and reusable ink cartridges - Make signs
Develop an education program about litter and waste reduction and recycling for use in your school community
Create a useful item out of recycled material to be used in the classroom or at home – encouraging others to be
more aware of recycled materials
If you complete these at home you will need to have photographic evidence
PROJECT NAME:
PLAN: (What do you plan to do?)
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Diagrams: Draw any design ideas or models of what you plan to create
What will you need? (materials, permission, resources)
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ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Why is it important to encourage people to look after our environment?
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Read the following to help you answer the final question
Stewardship
A number of Catholic social teachings directly apply to the sustainability of our environment.
God destined the earth and all it contains for all people and nations, so that all created things would be shared fairly by all
humankind under the guidance of justice, tempered by charity.
The Church in the Modern World, #69
The Bible, from the first page on, teaches us that the whole of creation is for humanity, that it is the responsibility of men and
women to develop it by intelligent effort and, by means of their labour, to perfect it, so to speak, for their use. If the world is
made to furnish each individual with the means of livelihood and the instruments for growth and progress, all people have
therefore the right to find in the world what is necessary for them.
On the Development of Peoples, #22
The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Statement on the Environment was issued on Social Justice Sunday 2002. An extract appears
below.
“The Church hears the cries of the poor and the groans of the earth. It seeks to stand in solidarity with the poor and the
marginalised and to exercise good stewardship of the fragile ecosystems that support life on earth. Every day more Christians
are becoming aware of their responsibilities as people of faith towards God’s Creation.
This growing awareness is also reflected in the teachings of the Church. Since the late 1980’s, the Pope has been raising social
and environmental issues with increasing frequency and intensity in an important contribution to the development of Catholic
Social Teaching in our times. These teachings can help us, as individual Christians and as part of a Church community, to
accept our responsibility to protect people and the planet.”
We have a sacred duty of STEWARDSHIP to protect our environment. What does this mean?
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Roles for Lifelong
Learners
Students demonstrate and reflect on ways of leading
justly
Reflective, SelfDirected
Learner
Students develop and implement strategies to
promote just ways of acting in the local community
Community
Contributor
Leader and
Collaborator
Students create and undertake plans that aim to
influence decisions
Students seek and employ ethical ways to address
and solve problems affecting the well-being of the
local community and global environment
Students use leadership skills to contribute positively
to achieve goals
Well
Above
Expected
Above
Expected
Expected
Below
Expected
Well Below
Expected