Unit 11: Project Design
and Management
Project planning
activity guide and
worksheet
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This project was funded by the Department of
Sustainability and Environment.
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Unit 11: Project Design and Management
Project planning activity guide and worksheet
Estimated duration: 60 minutes
Aim

To decide what their sustainability project will be and to start planning for it
Outcome
By the end of this class, students will be able to:
 articulate what their sustainability project will be and how they’ll go about it
 Understand the process of project planning, through applying it to their own
project
Resources

Worksheet: Project planning (included below)
Activity Description
Now it’s time to make some decisions about the students’ own project.
Choosing a project
First get students to decide what they would like to do for their project. Use the
brainstorm from the start of the class as a starting point. This time it is important to take
into account the limitations of how much time they have available, what resources they
have available (although they may well be able to get some resources donated), and
what they have power over (e.g. they can’t get more recycling bins installed in public
places, although they can create a petition to encourage the council to do this). Also
make sure that they think about the environmental impact of their project. Note that
this is intended to be a group project involving the whole class, not a series of individual
projects.
Planning the project
Get students to work through the project planning worksheet as a group, discussing
how they can answer each of the questions, and recording their answers individually, so
they all have a record. Note that they might not be able to answer all of the questions in
this class – they might need to choose someone to do some more research on existing
projects which are similar, or to go and talk with the groups they will be working with.
Student Roles and Responsibilities
Participate in agreed tasks
Contribute to class discussions
Work cooperatively with others
Seek teacher assistance and support when needed
Level of Teacher Support
Facilitate discussion
Provide encouragement
Introduce tasks and activities
Provide assistance when requested.
Assessment
To use this learning activity as an assessment task, collect evidence such as:
Teacher checklist and observation
Teacher checklist for class discussions
Copies of student materials and worksheets
Unit 11: Project Design and Management
Project planning worksheet
How to begin your 13 step plan for your
project
1. What is your
purpose?
E.g. Get the canteen selling fruit grown in students’ backyards
2. What is your
project about?
E.g. Learning how to grow and distribute fresh food
3. Are there any
E.g. The canteen is already getting fresh fruit delivered!
similar projects which
already exist?
4. If there are similar
projects, are there
ways you can work
with them, instead of
competing with
them?
5. What are your
goals and targets?
E.g. The group could decide to change the project to growing
herbs for the canteen.
E.g. To supply the canteen with a fresh supply of parsley, basil,
mint and coriander within six months.
Unit 11: Project Design
Project planning worksheet, p.2
6. Which people
can help get you
started?
E.g. Canteen worker, parents, nursery, gardener
7. Who will you
work with?
E.g. The VCAL teachers, the canteen, the local nursery, parents &
friends
8. Have you spoken
with these people
about the project?
It’s important that you speak to the people you will be working
with. You might find that the canteen doesn’t want herbs!
9. What research
do you need to do?
E.g. Find out about herbs, cost of garden supplies, growing
conditions
10. Who are your
target groups?
E.g. Canteen manager, school community
11. What methods
will you use?
E.g. Use pots placed in school greenhouse. Establish watering
roster.
12. Will you need any
E.g. Pots, potting mixture, seeds
materials? How much
will they cost?
(note that you will work on
how to get some of these
materials in the next activity)
13. How will you
present your results?
E.g. PowerPoint presentation to community garden group