Permaculture Ideas for the Classroom

Discussion in 'General chat' started by earthabode, Oct 23, 2008.

  1. earthabode

    earthabode Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2008
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi All.

    I think this is permaculture related so thought you guys might be able to help me with it. :D

    Each year I instruct on a teacher trainers program for Korean elementary, middle and high school English language teachers.

    The overall goal of the program is to help students with their own English ability, expose them to different teaching methods and provide them with some new ideas they could use in their own schools. What I would like to do is put together a new elective that loosely focuses on ‘green ideas’ in the school. That’s two hours a day for eight days.

    A handful of ideas I have used before.

    An eight day compost heap (food scraps, shredded waste paper, cardboard, etc) linked with how school waste can be better put to use, yet to be done!!! Winter coming on here?

    Established Organic School Gardens (dvd)

    Peak Oil (A Crude Awakening / dvd) which lends itself to just about anything - car pooling, bikes, alt fuels or heating

    Understanding Waste https://www.storyofstuff.com

    The Druk White Lotus School (design dvd) https://www.dwls.org/

    Meatrix / The Biodaversity Code / https://www.freerangestudios.com / linked with the foods we eat and animals in education

    Any ideas? What would you do with a two hour block lesson?

    How bout assessment? (government policy) :(

    I know this arnt ya typical post but thought I'd give it a shot.

    Cheers,

    glenn
     
  2. 9anda1f

    9anda1f Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2006
    Messages:
    3,046
    Likes Received:
    200
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    E Washington, USA
    Climate:
    Semi-Arid Shrub Steppe (BsK)
    Re: Permaculture Ideas for the Classroom

    Hey Glenn,

    Your syllabus sounds great. I think the "Story of Stuff" will be a big hit and help set the tone for your class.

    Do the schools have waste cooking oils? Perhaps a little bio-diesel workshop? https://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

    The upper grades might be especially interested ... :D
     
  3. earthabode

    earthabode Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2008
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: Permaculture Ideas for the Classroom

    Hiya 9anda1f,

    Yep, the biodiesel idea is a good one. Recently picked up 'Alcohol can be a Gas' by David Blume which is a great read on biofuels and so much more.

    I'm kinda thinking that a good starting point might be to look at the mountain of paper waste, food scraps, and now the autumn leaves that are simply piled up and burnt. And then to look at the many ways this 'waste' could be reused on site. It's something each teacher could, if they want, take away and start to do in their own schools. The possibilities are endless.

    So much great stuff out there, but so little time.

    Thanx again,

    glenn
     
  4. barely run

    barely run Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2005
    Messages:
    583
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Re: Permaculture Ideas for the Classroom

    What about worm farms for the school scraps........kids love squishy things and the results could be sold as fund raiser for the school. Instruction and demonstartion would fit well into your timeframe
    Cathy
     
  5. kathleenmc

    kathleenmc Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2006
    Messages:
    136
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
  6. permacultureideas

    permacultureideas New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2011
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi - I really enjoyed reading this thread and it's probably way too late to provide something for you, but I'm sure some people will find it through search engines (like I did).

    I worked in an outdoor classroom teaching permaculture principles and covered lots of ideas. One of which I got from Will Hooker's free online Permaculture Design Course (via iTunes University) [here: https://permacultureideas.blogspot.com/2010/06/introduction-to-permaculture-free.html].

    His friend set up a dovecote in the middle of a garden and noticed that when the pigeons/doves went to nest for the evening they didn't fly in straight away; they would perch in a nearby tree to scout the area for dangers, and while they did this they'd do a poo. When the coast was clear they would then fly in. So he built a tall 'T' bar out of a very long stake and a stick on the top, then stuck it into one of the garden beds, which was then used as a perch by the pigeons/doves. Subsequently their poo would up the phosphorous content of the garden soil and when the bed had enough he'd simply pull out the stake (the 'T' bar) and push it into another bed. Phosphorous is an otherwise non-renewable resource. It's also in chicken poo, but with this method there's much less work involved.

    The kids really enjoyed making the dovecote - one could even be made out of corflute - you know those real estate signs?? - (score the folds with a knife to bend and fold). Even if no pigeons or doves are ever attracted, at least whenever they see it they'll be reminded that there's always opportunities to avoid thoughtless labour and to continue making a thoughtful observation of the things going on around them!

    I've saved up a lot of these ideas and put them on my Permaculture Ideas blog - everyone is welcome to be inspired:
    https://permacultureideas.blogspot.com/

    Spread the love!! ...and feel free to comment.


    Sorry about the late reply - took something like 4 years!! :)
    Thanks.
     
  7. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2006
    Messages:
    4,771
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    0
    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzCGRyAtaTg&feature=player_embedded[/video]
    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzCGRyAtaTg&feature=player_embedded[/video]
     

Share This Page

-->