Pollution
Recycle Utah
Summer Camp
Time 45 – 50 minutes
Ages 6-12
How many campers? (This exercise works best for groups of 10-25)
Site needs: Areas for groups to wander
Materials needed:
1. Box of recyclables
2. White board with markers
3. Picture of landfill & picture of nature
4. Pollution checklists with clipboards
5. Book – “All the Way to the Ocean”
6. 8 pairs of plastic gloves & 8 plastic bags
1. Recycle Utah Review (5-10 min)
- Who are we? What do we do? Where are we? Why is it important to recycle?
- Where does each category come from? (Paper=trees, Glass=sand, etc…)
- Show samples. What CAN’T go into curbside bin?
- Compost. Almost 1/3 of landfill waste is compostable (show photo of a landfill)
- 80% of landfills doesn’t need to be there – could have been recycled/reused or composted
2. Show a big picture of a city, mountainside or ocean. Discuss what pollution is? Describe different
types (including sight, smell, sound OR air, land, water): (5 min)
a. Noise (tractors, people, planes, cars…..)
e. Air
b. Litter/trash
e. Food
c. Water
f. Spilled oil
d. Hazardous Wastes
g. Light
Write on whiteboard: “any contamination of air, water or land that affects the balance of the
environment”
Explain how the U.S. Govt thru the EPA tries to control pollution, since 1970 – Earth Day (offices of
water, air, chemical wastes/pollution, land, etc…). Interactive discussion here, depending on ages. (3
min)
1. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 and give each group a ‘Pollution’ sheet & clipboard. Set
them free to go find pollution for 10 minutes (w/a counselor). Have a set of gloves and a plastic
bag for each group for one designated person to pick up litter. Tell groups to look for anything
that is not natural, including dog poop. (10 min)
2. When they return, have written on the whiteboard the different pollution categories (Noise,
Litter/Trash, Water, Air, Other). Have a ‘scribe’ from each group write down what they found
from each category. Then discuss as a group. How did it get there? What caused it? How
could it have been prevented? Could the pollution affect plants or animals (including
humans)? Now, add some other forms of pollution that we didn’t find today. (10 min)
3. End with a book – “All the Way to the Ocean” then discuss. Tie in recycling/conclude. (10)
Pollution Checklist
1. Sight
- Litter/trash ________________________________________________________
- Water _______________________________________________________________
- Air ___________________________________________________________________
- Land _________________________________________________________________
- Other? _______________________________________________________________
2. Smell
- Trash/Food __________________________________________________________
- Water/liquids? _______________________________________________________
- Air _____________________________________________________________________
- Other? _________________________________________________________________
3. Sound
- Air ________________________________________________________________________
- Land ____________________________________________________________________
- Water ___________________________________________________________________
4. Light pollution?