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Warrington School/Envirethical
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Envirethical Curriculum
The aim is for children to learn about the world from an envirethical viewpoint. This equates to caring for the earth and humanity in an environmental and ethical manner.
Envirethical sums up the direction education needs to take. Being made up from the words enviro - environmental consciousness and ethical - dealing with the world in a moral or ethical way.
An envirethical curriculum will emphasize caring for the earth, including its flora, fauna and all its natural resources and also caring for humanity in an ethical manner. Combining these two words acknowledges the inter-connectedness of the physical and human realms of the earth and that we need to care for both aspects in an equal manner.
For the world to exist in a harmony of human and ecological balance, children need to learn how their actions or inactions can impact in either a negative and positive manner on this harmony.
We need to teach in a manner that inspires young people to think about the world, their relationships to it, and their ability to influence it in an entirely new way. An envirethical curriculum signals the changing emphasis in education. It challenges educators to think about what the terminology might mean - and what our future practice could and should begin to look like. Is it still acceptable to:
- teach about the Olympic games without looking at why people are boycotting this event.
- share the virtue of "Fairness" and then as a teacher sit in a staffroom sipping on non-fair trade coffee.
- purchase sports equipment that promotes healthy NZ children but is produced in a child labor sweat shop or from a polluting factory.
An envirethical curriculum aligns well to the Warrington decision making process and to open education ideals.
Envirethical Nature Study
How children and teachers, working together may find meaning, and interest in common things. Envirethical nature study demands as its ultimate objective not the growth of plants and animals but the growth of children's minds and personalities; not talks by the teacher but investigation by the pupil; not tabulated information culled from the internet but definite answers to specific problems or experiments from personal observation of nature itself. Envirethical nature study will use the New Zealand Department of Education book “Nature Study A Handbook for Teachers” by D.Beggs and illustrated by R. Sharrell. First published by R.E. Owen Government Printer Wellington 1955 and "New Zealand Nature Study" by Wm. Martin, B.Sc.Published by Whitcombe and Tombs Limited 1947.
When:Every second Wednesday from 1.30 – 2.50 as part of the enviro clubs option.
Where:Warrington school
What:14ish children and a teacher and another adult will use the Warrington School walkable environs to study nature. The guiding methodology will be based on the ethics that are instilled into the text of "Nature Study A Handbook for Teachers” and "New Zealand Nature Study"
Equipment:The two adults carry named exercise books for each child, large plastic ground sheets, container that holds magnifying glasses, good quality colouring and drawing pencils, nature identifying books (modern and historic), a good quality Maori dictionary that give botanic names and descriptions, a map and compass, a digital camera, binoculars and other materials as the study develops.
Invited to attend:Other nature interested or capable adult members of the community as gardeners, ornithologists, geologists.
Session one: August 13 2008
Collect all children together share the study of nature and what this means to them. List all the equipment we may need. Talk about using the old nature study books and flora and fauna identification books. Pack the bags and head outside to look at an unidentified bird that was found on the beach and then frozen in shopping bags. Look at the birds structure using a bird part identification chart and name its parts. Looking and touching moving its wings and neck. Move into the middle of the paddock, unpack the gear and hand out books, allow the children to head off in all directions equipped for observing nature with exercise book and pencils.
Kereru perching tree camera zoom strain, flax niibblers edge nicks middle gobble holes, water jumping skim stone fleas, duck flapping water splash, pack up time debrief.
Session two: August 27 2008
Newsletter day before telling children we are going to the pond and we will be making scoop nets, I have wire and and sticks but children will need to bring some pantyhose, children will also need to wear gumboots.Pre-check of site with adult assistant. Gather up children and create scoops by pushing wire stretched coathangers up cut off panty hose legs. Tape them onto sticks. Walk with insect books and other equipment. Meet owner and do visual check of site and point out dangers, cow and calf, ponds are deep with steep banks and electric fence.
Look into pond from wooden platform, kneeling with naked eye, view insect water life, insects moving above and below, surface tension feet, magnifying glass observe wrigglers big head upside down, scoop and glass jar, flick life forms from net, insect identification book, mosquito pupae larvae siphon, back swimmers, stream slime, duck dock feathers, iris and petunia; mother and daughter.
Session three: September 10 2008
Gather together and discuss what is a flower, bloom and blossom. Wander around the school looking at flowers, picking selections and placing in the basket.Talk about picking only single samples of flowers unless there is a large amount. Try and find varying sizes and make statements about similarities. Once back at the ground sheet lay all flowers out to view, discuss, cut up and place into flower press.
Petal plucking numbering, sliced cross section, corolla sepal stigma, cardboard label squish, earwig invader, petal colour page smudge,cardboard floral layers,tighten wingnuts, sunny positioning, drying.
Flower Blossom Pollination Conifer
Session four: September 24 2008
Create a 
Ram Master for trip to the rocks, discuss its contents laying out the risks that may be found and asking for other risks the students may know of.
Gather all equipment, head count children and walk to the beach. On the beach and rocks begin to look at treasures found and give basic understandings.
Compare bi-valves with uni-valves, limpets to chitons, male crabs with female crabs, plant to animal. Use books to locate correct names of found creatures, magnifying glasses to look closer for hidden details and waterproof camera to view creatures inside rock pools.
Chiton limpet disagreement, cats eye recipe, mussel rock clinging, sea squirt animal disbelief, waterproof camera macro, rock pool treasures basket filled, schoolroom stench basket treasures rot.
Crabs Univalves Bivalves Chiton Limpet Sea Anenome Sea Squirts
Session four: October 22 2008 Bugs and worms
Earthworm Worm Annelida Worm Farm Worm Anatomy Worm Anatomy Dissection Slater Slater Anatomy Slater NZ
Themes that occurs within the book as displayed in the contents of the nature study book -
General approach
The class treatment of topics
Indoors and outdoors
School grounds and school gardens
The smaller plants
Trees and shrubs
Insects
Other small animals
Pond, stream and the seashore life
Birds
Mammals
Nature study in the junior room
Other bits to consider
Care code - themselves, others (including critters), environment
Health and safety code - boundaries, suitable clothing, handling
Gear - clothes, equipment
Recording info to share
Using the equipment
In the hide
Bird feeder
Frog statistical study
Nature study
We are a yr 0-8 group of students
Envirethical Non-toxic Cleaners Investigation
- As part of the School's Enviro-Clubs a team of 8 children and investigated and transformed the school cleaning cupboard!
- They began with a sneaky look at our Cleaner's current cleaning resources and analysed as best we could what was in them... BE CARFUL... POISON... TOXIC... SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE !!!
- We then flicked through the alternative literature on non-toxic cleaning products to see what we could possibly make to replace some of the chemical cleaners with
We found some recipes to play with that don't require the use of gloves, mask, or goggles. With household ingredients such as:
baking soda
white vinegar
eco-friendly liquid soap
eucalyptus oil
lavender oil
- The children became chemists and mixed their first batches of "www.cleaners".
- First a non-toxic general purpose cleaner (in 2 batches, one with the eucalyptus scent and the other with lavender)
- Next a non-toxic (and very easy to make) disinfectant and a desk cleanser.
These have been given to the school cleaner to trial for 2 weeks, which she has enthusiastically agreed to do. 1 year later the school cleaner is still happy with our cleaning products and we now sell them to the wider community from the Seacliff Market.
- We now make all our school's cleaning products for - floors, doors, desks, windows, ovens, bench tops
Our school cleaner says "The cleaners are working good so far. They're nice to use and smell beautiful, AND they don't irritate my hands!"
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FANTASTIC WWW.CLEANERS NON-TOXIC RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY OUT YOURSELF!!!
Envirethical Rag-rugging Group
Hi, we're two nine year old girls from Warrington School. For enviro groups, we've been in the rag-rugging group. To start, our supervisor brought an old coffee sack along. Then we each chose a coloured strip of organic wool blanket. With a crochet hook, we looped it over and over again, eventually filling it in with lots of colours.
It is great for the environment because we don't have to buy new rugs every year. It is recycling because we use blankets that are old and that no one wants to put on their beds. We enjoy enviro groups because it is educational and sociable because we can chat while we work. Most credit to our supervisor. By I.C.L and E.K.M.S
Envirethical Knitting/Craft Group
Winter was a great season for sitting in a circle with a group of children learning to knit. We loved chatting away together, making woollen wonders and relaxing!!
We are now branching out into creative explorations of christmas craft for presents and decorations, using resources that we have readily available.
Envirethical Community Service Group
Hi we are in the community service group and we enjoy it alot. It's good for the environment because it is sustainable and it's nice for the people who we have helped and it makes them feel really nice for what we have done for them. Can't wait for next week.
By T.A.F and N.A.A
Envirethical Cooking Group
As another club group there are about 7 children doing cooking this term. I have only started doing this club this term as at the beginning of each new school term we get to change, so we get to try out all different sorts of Envio Friendly clubs at our school. I have only made two different things this term and they are:
Lemonade Scones - Instead of using milk in the mixture we used lemonade. Which sounds a bit weird but they turned
out a different texture than when you add milk.
The second product we made were Banana Chocolate Chip muffins. The muffins tasted real yummy and delicious.
This club teaches us how to learn some of the basic cooking methods so then we wont need to go running to the supermarket just to pick up some scones for when visitors pop in too see us. We can make them ourselves and there are very basic ingredients in them that we usually have in our cupboard at home.
Envirethical Building Group
We have made an eco-friendly building out of sticks, branches, flax and sacks. But as a building group we have also made a fire and made some damper, YUM YUM.
Ingredients for damper: salt
sugar
flour and that's all !!
We had a big discussion all about how to build our hut, what shape to make it and looked at lots of different types of buildings. Now if we get lost in the bush we will be able to make a hut to have shelter. I like how we are making a hut for everyone and work together with adults and get to see how it's done. We even stuck everything together without using any nails or rope... we used flax only. It was a lot of fun making the frame. C.I. and S.R.
Integrated Envirethical Inquiry Project Terms 1 and 2 2008
- Warrington school Eco Village project
- [1] Otago Daily Times - April 21 - Model Eco Village
Other Integrated Envirethical principles to explore
Envirethical Mathematics:
Comparing the worlds populations through number, statistics and measurement when including density.
Envirethical ICT:
Using wherever possible recycled ICT components. Using Gnu/Linux operating systems free open source software.
Envirethical Clubs
Envirethical School Council
Envirethical Assessment
Envirethical Worm Farm
- Pull the guts out of an old washing machine and you have an instant worm farm
- Just add worms and worm food (food scraps, crumpled paper and weeds)
- Keep adding layers
- Leave for a while (3 months) and then lift up the washing machine to reveal lovely worm castings
- Worm castings can be added directly to all gardens providing lots of food for plants
